8:7,8
The Lord will bring about His salvation of the people. Man is forever trying to work out his own salvation, whether by political means, economic means, philosophical means, or even religious means. None of this works, and it certainly does not produce a salvation that is marvellous in His eyes. So the Lord would work out His own salvation, bring the people back from east and west. Then they would be His people, and He would be their God, faithful and righteous.
8:9
We know that much of this prophecy was looking many years ahead to Christ, and to all that would happen after that, but there was an immediate relevance as well. And the immediate relevance mattered. So the people had to be strong and get on with the building of the temple. It is significant that the rebuilding of the temple and the walls of the city had many aspects to it. We need to read Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah in order to get a complete picture of what was going on. There was practical organisation, this is found especially in Nehemiah. There was religious organisation, as recorded in Ezra, and there was prophetic input as recorded in Haggai and Zechariah. We have a tendency to focus on just one of these aspects, usually the one we are most comfortable with, or most involved in, but we need all three aspects. This is just as true for church life today.
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