Rebuilding the Temple

INTRO

The Israelites had been in captivity for 70 years but had now been released to return to their homeland. From 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles, they learned how the Israelites came to be in captivity and what they had to do to get back to the Lord. King Cyrus had released the Israelites (from Persia, formerly Babylon) and given them permission to rebuild their city Jerusalem and their temple.

TEACHING

Ezra 3:1: Ezra didn’t talk about their journey, but just announced that in the seventh month the people gathered in Jerusalem. Alexander Maclaren commented, “It is a strange narrative of a journey, which omits the journey altogether . . . and notes but its beginning and its end. Are these not the main points in every life, its direction and its attainment?”¹Genesis 12:4–5 gave a similar description of Abram’s journey. That’s the beauty of faith . . . we have to depend on God as we make the journey.

Ezra 3:2–3: Ezra listed the names of the men who began to build the altar of God. Jeshua and Zerubbabel were the spiritual and civil leaders of this group of Israelites. They offered burnt offerings to God every morning and evening even though they feared the surrounding people. They worshipped and celebrated the Festival of Booths as if the temple had been completed.²They chose to live as though the temple were completed because it would take a while to rebuild it. An assembly like this had not taken place for 70 years (the period of captivity). They built this altar on the foundation that had remained while they were away. Again, this echoed Abram’s actions in Genesis 12:7 when he built an altar to the Lord as soon as he arrived in Canaan. In Matthew 6:33, we’re told to seek God first and then all things will be provided. So, when we come into a new job, new marriage, have kids, or whatever the circumstance is, we don’t have to be concerned about the things we need. We only need to be concerned about seeking the Lord. For the Israelites, the altar fanned the flames of their faith so they could do what they needed to do.

Note that even though they feared the people, this fear did not prevent them from setting up the altar and worshipping God. Who were the surrounding people the Israelites feared? According to MacArthur, these were the settlers brought in by the Assyrians and Babylonians when the Israelites were deported. When the Israelites returned, the settlers saw them as a threat.³

Ezra 3:4–6: The Israelites celebrated the Festival of Booths based on what the Law required as described in Numbers 29. They were celebrating and seeking the Lord even though the temple had not yet been rebuilt.

Ezra 3:7–13: In these verses, the Israelites laid the foundation of the temple. They paid the stonecutters and artists. They brought cedar wood from Lebanon as authorized by King Cyrus. Isaiah 60:10–14 said that foreigners would build their walls and kings would serve them and that the glory of Lebanon—its pine, fir, and cypress—would come to Israel to beautify God’s dwelling place.

In the second month of the second year, they began to build. They appointed the Levites to supervise the work (v. 8). According to Wiersbe, this meant they spent seven months gathering the materials and preparing to build.⁴In Psalm 11:3, David wondered what the righteous could do when the foundations were destroyed. Here, Jeshua and Zerubbabel led Israel to rebuild on the foundations (vv. 9-10). Remember even though this book is named for Ezra, Ezra was not yet in Jerusalem. This building effort was led by Jeshua and Zerubbabel, and this temple was known as Zerubbabel’s temple.

Some of the people thought Zerubbabel was the coming king. In Haggai 2:23, the Lord said He would take Zerubbabel and make him like His signet ring. Zechariah 4:6–10 described Zerubbabel in similar language, which also led some of the people to believe he was the coming king. The prophets had told Israel to get excited when they saw Zerubbabel rebuilding the temple. But Zerubbabel wasn’t the coming king—he pointed to the king.

When the builders laid the foundation of the temple, the priests and Levites took their positions to praise the Lord. As David had instructed (v. 10), they sang and praised God because His faithful love endures forever (v. 11). Psalm 136:1 reminds us that God is good and that His love is eternal. Practically speaking, you could just be coming out of bondage, captivity, a hard situation, an illness, or financial challenge. No matter what you have done or faced, God is truly a Promise Keeper. In Genesis 12, God chose the Israelites. Now He says He hasn’t forgotten them or forsaken them—they are still His chosen people. This is our phrase for Ezra—God is the Promise Keeper. And after 70 years of captivity, the Israelites are reestablishing themselves by seeking the Lord.

How did rebuilding the temple point to the Messiah? Second Corinthians 1:20 says, “For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in Him.” God’s promises are ultimately fulfilled in Christ. This was a foreshadowing of Christ, the ultimate Promise Keeper. God didn’t forget about His chosen people as the Israelites came out of captivity, and even in a fallen world, He hasn’t forgotten about you and me. God keeps His promises as we continually seek the Lord.

Many of the older priests, the Levites, and family leaders, who had seen the first temple, wept loudly (v. 12). This implies that they were saddened when they did not see the same splendor of Solomon’s temple in the new one (1 Kings 5—7). As MacArthur said, this temple was smaller and less beautiful without the riches of David’s and Solomon’s days and the Ark of the Covenant was also gone. An altar was not the same as the Ark. An altar was where they made offerings, but the Ark was where the presence of the Lord dwelled. The older men were weeping because the Shekinah glory of the Lord was not there.⁵At the same time, the younger ones shouted with joy because they were excited to be walking into something new. Psalm 126:1–6 was written as a song celebrating Zion’s restoration.

CLOSING

We have to fan the flames of faith and seek unity when we see God doing something good. We should never despise small beginnings because God is keeping His promise through His children.

In Ezra 4, the Samaritans opposed the rebuilding of the temple and King Artaxerxes stopped the building. But in Ezra 5, Zechariah and Haggai delivered their messages from the king, and the temple building was resumed. When God is doing something new, opposition will come from without and from within.