2:9
“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former”. In Mark 13:1 we read of the disciples marvelling at the splendour of the temple. We see here, and in Zechariah, Ezra and Nehemiah, the importance of the temple. In Ezekiel 47 the water of blessings flows out from the temple. Yet this temple was destroyed in AD 70, and in Mark 13 Jesus goes on to warn the disciples that the temple would be destroyed. So this temple was a precursor to the real temple, which is you and me, God dwelling in His people. As it says in Rev 21:3 the dwelling of God is with men. And Jesus said that “from within you shall flow streams of living water” (John 7:38). And it is this dwelling of God with His people that will bring true peace. We need to remember that the word for peace, shalom, means so much more than an absence of trouble, it means the totality of Godly blessing. The reality if the events surrounding the building of the physical temple demonstrate the reality of the work that God will do in and through His people.
2:10-12
This is about two months after the last word from Haggai. This time there is no indication of who it is directed to. In fact it seems that the word was God speaking to Haggai telling him to ask the priests the given question. So it is possible he was in the temple when he received the word, or he would have gone to the temple after receiving it. Holy meat is meat that has been offered to the Lord. Haggai had to ask the priest if someone carrying such meat touches other things, do they become holy. The priests, of course, answer no. You cannot become holy be default.
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