{N}1,{/}3 This is the only passage of the prophetic books where God asks something for himself; more exactly, for his worship. In all other passages the prophets leave to the institutions, to the kings and the priests the responsibility to maintain the worship according to the demands of the Law. It would seem that for them the Temple and the sacrifices were neither the place nor the means to find a true conversion, that conversion that completely changes our relationship with God. For them, it is in the social order and in the mutual relations among brethren of one and the same family that we find the way to see God beyond his masks.
Nevertheless, Haggai's text is still prophetic: it is necessary to rebuild the Temple so that God may come visit it. They look forward to the future, and hope still continues being the great virtue at a time when they were getting tired of seeing that the marvels God had promised were not being realized.

