Day 250 - Ezra 3, Haggai 1-2

The man who dies before his time does not build his tomb, for, although he lives, he is dead. [1Ti 5:6.] He does not hear the words of Haggai, whose name interpreted the banqueter, for he does not enter the tabernacle of God “with the voice of joy and praise, the noise of one feasting.” [Psa 42:4 (41:5 LXX).] How does he hear his voice if he does not see his works? If he saw them, he would hear the word which was put within his grasp, he would rejoice in his acts, whereby “he knocked and it was opened to him,” [Mat 7:7.]and he would have gone down into his soul that he might feed therein upon the food of sincerity and truth. Because he failed to hear, the word of Haggai again comes, saying: Rise from houses embossed and carved with wickedness, and go up to the mount of heavenly Scriptures and hew the tree of wisdom, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. Make straight your ways, order your actions so that they may have due order which is necessary and useful for building the house of God—St Ambrose of Milan