The glory that was now absent from the temple was not purely visual. It was heavenly. When Solomon dedicated the temple during the Feast of Booths, a cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord
(1 Kings 8:10–11). God in glory was present among his people! And it was this glory of God that departed from the temple at the exile, as depicted in Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 10:1–22).1 You can be sure that that would have been on the minds of the people who heard the Lord’s question, Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory?
In the exile, God’s people had acutely experienced the absence of God from their midst, because of their sins. So, they are well aware that it is all well and good to rebuild the place, but without God’s presence, it would remain worthless, empty.2
3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?