That this day fell within the Feast of Booths (see earlier note on this verse) also meant the remembrance of an important event in Israel’s history. At this feast, years earlier, Solomon dedicated the temple (1 Kings 8:1–3).1 With all Israel in Jerusalem, living in makeshift booths, the Lord’s dwelling place turned from temporary to permanent, from a portable tabernacle to a magnificent temple. That day, the celebration, the volume of sacrifices, was massive—a Feast of Booths for the ages, one to remember at following Feasts.
But now, to remember is to compare. And to compare is to become discouraged. Solomon’s temple was a sight to behold. Funded by a united kingdom at the height of its power, the temple was made of cedar, pine, and carefully quarried stones. Gold was everywhere (1 Kings 6:30). It was built with the finest craftsmanship and the best resources. And the manpower! Wood-cutters, stone-cutters, men to carry material, supervisors—in total, there were over 180,000 labourers (1 Kings 5:13–16; 2 Chronicles 2:17–18). And it still took seven years to build.
That temple was demolished in 586 BC. That’s sixty-six years before the date Haggai was speaking. Among his hearers would have been some older folks, in their seventies and eighties, who had seen the temple in its final days. They would have remembered the splendour of that magnificent structure. You can just hear their nostalgia, Solomon’s temple was stunning! Nothing like it!
Now, to remember is to compare. And to compare is to become discouraged. After less than a month, a feast month, the actual rebuilding had barely begun. There had been that work done sixteen years ago on the foundation. But the whole area would have needed clearing again, fresh assessments of what could remain and what must be torn down, and all the usual preliminary tasks: organising labour crews, securing materials, and setting the project in motion.2 The scale of the task was overwhelming. The people could hardly have done much since their repentance earlier in the month (Haggai 1:12–15), not to mention that the seventh month of the year was the busiest in the Israelite festal calendar (Feast of Trumpets; Day of Atonement; Feast of Tabernacles; Leviticus 23:23–43). Perhaps just enough work had been done to impress upon the people the magnitude of the work. This all dawns on them, as they are gathered, at a feast, among the unsightly ruins in a devastated city. They are disheartened.3
This makes for a particularly apt setting for Haggai. He comes with a message to encourage a disheartened people.
1 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet,