This message was delivered on 24th day of the 9th month, some 2 months after the last message. The message is basically an explanation of why things had been going so much against the Jews in Jerusalem. 1:9, 10, 13. While they had continued with the formalities of worship with the priests and people engaged in the offering of the appointed sacrifices, 2:11-12, the blessing of God had been withheld from them. Why was this so? The answer lay in remembering a simple principle that underwrites all of our spiritual activities. It is well known but not widely applied.