The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone (lit. chief cornerstone); the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps 118:22-24).

The cornerstone of the temple is the foundation of the earth, upon which the world is built. When the foundation is shaken, the world tumbles down. In fact, when man sinned, the foundation of this world was shaken, and as a result, the world was brought under curses, and disasters began to happen. Yet, as the above scripture says, the stone rejected by men became the cornerstone—the new foundation, and a new world is being created and built upon it. So, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

We have already seen how God spoke through the prophet Haggai to those who had returned from the exile but had a hard time building the temple. There was another prophet, Zechariah, who was contemporary with Haggai. It was two years after the foundation of the temple was laid for the second time that the community of Bethel came to the priests and the prophets in Jerusalem and asked:

Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years (Zech 7:3)?

This fast in the fifth month had been observed by the community of the exiles to remember the destruction of the temple. Beside this one, there were actually three more annual fasts that they observed—in the fourth month to remember the destruction of Jerusalem, in the seventh month to remember the death of the governor Gedaliah, and in the tenth month to remember the siege of Jerusalem. But since the temple was now being built, it seemed reasonable to ask the above question.

In response to that, God first pointed out the reason why such destructions had come upon them as follows:

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other (vv. 9-11).”

Because of this, the foundation of Israel was shaken, and the nation was destroyed, and the temple was burnt. But God now says:

Let your hands be strong. You who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were there when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty so that the temple might be built. … As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong (8:9-13).

And to the question they asked at the beginning, he answered:

The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace (v. 19).

In order to live in a new age, it is essential that you do not let the former things linger in your life. God spoke the following words to the same Jewish community of the time:

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland (Isa 43:18-19).