Worship Is Restored
I remember my father returned to Detroit for a visit after many years away. He asked me to take him to a well known deli so he could get a corned beef sandwich. I had grown up eating sandwiches from that deli and always enjoyed them. But when he tasted his sandwich, he was disappointed. He said that it didn’t taste the same as he remembered them from when he grew up in Detroit. In Ezra 3:1–6, 10–13 the exiles returned from Babylon and were eager to worship God and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. When the foundation was laid and dedicated, there were shouts of joy and praise. But the older priests and heads of families wept with disappointment because the new temple would not measure up to the old temple in size and grandeur. I pray that we would not be disappointed, but rejoice in praise and shouts of joy whenever we have a chance to worship the Lord. Amen
When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices. Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the LORD, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the LORD. On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, though the foundation of the LORD’s temple had not yet been laid. (Ezra 3:1-6)
After a remnant of Israelites returned back to Jerusalem from their exile in Babylon, they sought to return to worshiping God in obedience to the Law and in the place where He agreed to make His dwelling place with Israel. Construction of the new temple, had not yet begun, but an altar was erected to make sacrifices upon. Zerubbabel, led the construction of the altar, while Joshua and his fellow priests led the returned Israelites in offering sacrifices in accordance with what was written in the Law of Moses. Burnt offering sacrifices were made as well as other sacrificial offerings as they celebrated all of the appointed feasts. Sacrifices had not been offered in Jerusalem for 50 years (when Solomon’s temple had been torn down by Babylonian forces), and the people were eager to show their obedience to God’s Law. They built the altar and offered sacrifices even though they were in fear of the foreigners who were living around them.
When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD:
“He is good;
his love toward Israel endures forever.”
And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. (Ezra 3:10:11)
Later, the foundation for the new temple was laid. There was a great celebration of this achievement by the returned Israelites. A dedication of the temple’s foundation was led by the priests and Levites who all took up their instruments and sang praise to God in accordance with what David had prescribed. The priests and Levites sung almost identical words to what the priests and Levites sang at the dedication of Solomon’s temple (see 2 Chronicles 7:6). The people also joined in with a great shout of praise.
But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away. (Ezra 3:12-13)
In the midst of the celebration and joy around the dedication of the temple’s foundation, the older priests and family heads who had been around to see Solomon’s temple, realized how much the new temple would fall short of the former temple’s size and grandeur. While there were shouts of joy from those who had been born in Babylonian captivity and rejoiced at the opportunity to worship God in a new temple, there was also weeping from those who remembered the old temple. And the mixture of the two could be heard from far away.
God is always doing a new thing. Nothing stays as it was. We might long for the “old days”, but rarely can we go back to the way things used to be. We must forge ahead and find new ways of doing things. While there was disappointment among those who remembered the glory of the old temple, there was also an atmosphere of joy from those who were just eager to build a new temple and have a place to worship God. And ultimately God was more interested in the returning exiles wholehearted worship and obedience, than the size and magnificence of the temple they would build. Let us remember that the magnificence of our buildings is of little significance to the Lord…. He desires for us to return to Him in worship and build a heart that He can dwell in!
Blessings, Rev. Glenn
