In a higher sense, the seventh month suggests the Holy Spirit’s grace, which is described in the prophet Isaiah and in the Revelation of Saint John as sevenfold. And certainly in that month, after our captivity, we gather in Jerusalem, where we are washed from our filthiness and the errors of vice, and protected by the defense of good works and finally are illumined by the greater grace of that same Spirit, so that we are lit in the love of supreme peace, which is contained in the true unity: Jerusalem, indeed, means vision of peace.

Or rather let them learn of you, who are so well instructed in such histories, how that Jeshua the son of Josedek the priest, and his brother, and Zerubbabel the wise, the son of Salathiel, and Ezra the priest and scribe of the law, as the temple was being built after the captivity, the feast of tabernacles being at hand (which was a great feast and time of assembly and prayer in Israel), gathered the people together with one accord in the great court within the first gate, which is toward the east, and prepared the altar to God, and there offered their gifts and kept the feast. And so afterwards they brought hither their sacrifices, on the sabbaths and the new moons, and the people offered up their prayers. And yet the Scripture says expressly that when these things were done, the temple of God was not yet built; but rather while they thus prayed, the building of the house was advancing. So neither were their prayers deferred in expectation of the dedication, nor was the dedication prevented by the assemblies held for the sake of prayer. But the people thus continued to pray; and when the house was entirely finished, they celebrated the dedication, and brought their gifts for that purpose and all kept the feast for the completion of the work.

Typologically, in this passage, the founding of God’s temple holds a figure of those who, recently converted to the faith, prepare a place or abode in their heart and body for the Lord, as the apostle says: Do you not know that your limbs are the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you;^[1] and again, That by faith Christ dwells in your hearts.^[2] Accordingly, those who when freed from captivity had come up to Jerusalem had indeed arranged to build a temple, which, by their labor, they eventually achieved, but first they built an altar and commended themselves to the Lord with daily burnt offerings, so that in this way being made more pure they might deserve to start the work of building the temple. Likewise with respect to the spiritual edifice too it is necessary in every way that whoever has decided to teach others should first teach himself, and one who aims to instruct his neighbors to fear and love God should first make himself worthy for the office of teacher by serving God more eagerly, lest by chance he should hear from the apostle, You, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?^[3] This is why the apostle says in regard to himself, But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, in case when preaching to others I myself should be found wanting.^[4] Consequently, it is fitting that the descendants of the exile are found to have offered God no victims or sacrifices other than entire burnt offerings . . . , because whoever lives an evil life yet desires to teach others to refrain from illicit acts must give himself over entirely to his Creator by living well and refraining even from things that are permissible, so that he might not only by the merit of good action more copiously obtain heavenly help in preaching but also, by the example of that same good work, encourage his hearers to follow more effectively what he teaches.

[The text] says they came to the temple of God not because they found the temple already built, since, to be sure, it was said earlier that it did not yet have foundations. Rather, to the temple of God means to the place of God’s temple—to the work by which they desired to rebuild the temple. And so modern Jews^[1] who habitually claim that not the temple walls but only the roof was destroyed by the Chaldeans are mistaken, since Ezra plainly writes that the descendants of the exiles rebuilt the temple from its foundations. However, since it was said above that they came to Jerusalem on the seventh month,^[2] and here it is added that in the second year of their arrival they began the work of the temple in the second month, it is clear that for seven months they prepared the stones, cement, timber and other necessary materials, but when the eighth month began they started to press on at last with their longed-for work: for there were six months in the first year and the seventh in the following. Any learned person will very easily find a great mystery in this. For seven pertains to the sabbath, on which day the Lord either rested from all his works after he created the earth^[3] or when he redeemed the world through his passion and rested in the tomb. Eight refers to the first day after the sabbath^[4] on which he rose from the dead; seven looks to the hope of our sabbath rest after death, eight to the joy of our everlasting happiness after resurrection.

When Jerusalem was demolished by Nebuchadnezzar, the kingdom was destroyed, and no longer were there hereditary successions to the sovereignty as formerly; at that time, moreover, being out of power, the posterity of David were living in captivity. But, when the followers of Salathiel and Zerubbabel returned, they led the people more democratically, transferring the rule henceforth to the priesthood because of the intermingling of the priestly and royal tribes.

Of those who had seen the first temple, some were uttering cries of weeping, others of joy when the foundation of this temple too was laid before their eyes—of joy, indeed, because the temple of the Lord that had been destroyed had now begun to be restored; of weeping because they were distressed when they realized what a difference there was between the poverty of the undertaking of that time and the former most magnificent power of Solomon, whereby the original temple was founded. They rejoiced greatly because they had been freed from captivity and had received the authority to restore the temple, but they wept loudly because they knew that the first temple, whose size and beauty they could in no way equal, had been destroyed on account of their wickedness. For the prophet’s words, The glory of this new house will be greater than that of the first,^[1] pertain not to the greatness or decoration of the house but to the act of building itself, because the fact that the few surviving captives were able to accomplish such a great undertaking even as their enemies were opposing them was a greater and more obvious miracle of divine power than that a very rich king who had no adversaries at all but rather the very powerful and wealthy king of Tyre as a collaborator,^[2] did this with most accomplished craftsmen, just as he desired. So too, the glory of that most recent house will be greater than the first because the worshipers in the first house preached to the peoples the writings of the Old Testament, namely, the Law and the Prophets, whereas in the second house Christ and the apostles spread the good news of the grace of the New Testament and coming of the kingdom of heaven.