Ezra 3 AT LAST! How thankful we are that God is not unaware of our human needs. The returned exiles needed a place to live and it was probably not without difficulty that they "dwelt in their cities." Other people had settled in the area, some by the Assyrians who wanted to keep the population mixed so they would not unit against them, and likely others who saw empty houses and just moved in. The Lord God gave them time to get their accommodations in order, but "when the seventh month was come" here they all came from all parts to Jerusalem. The time had come to begin doing what they were sent to accomplish - rebuild the temple. We do have legitimate needs in life and are thankful for our gracious heavenly Father who knows what we need better than we do ourselves. But when the time comes to apply ourselves to the work of the Lord, we must not let personal ambitions for ourselves take the place of our calling and obligation to Him. We will never be fully satisfied with what we have, so those considerations are less than urgent. A casual attitude toward the things of God is never acceptable.
There were a number of things the returned exiles did together at that time when they came together as "one man" in unity of purpose. They gathered together as one man; they set the altar on his bases; they offered burnt offerings; they kept the feast; they gave money; they sang together; they praised the Lord together. That did not mean they could do, or even had the right to do, everything but they were solidly behind the actions of the priests and leaders so the work of God could go forward without arguments or controversy. A unified people, is a strong people. Strong people can do great things for God even when there is opposition and fear.
It is important to get first things first in the work of the Lord. To set the altar where it belonged was of greatest importance. God isn't limited to a building but after seventy years of private worship in the ungodly religious world, it was important that public testimony be established even out in the open where there was no building. The altar emphasized the consciousness of the people toward the presence and protection of God, and the on-lookers who had moved there saw an attitude and testimony of faith even though they didn't understand it. The altar also emphasized the purpose and commitment of the Lord's people and demonstrated that they were seeking God's power and were dedicating themselves to living for God in a public way. They had sinned as a people and the altar fire had been out for seventy years. Now they had experienced forgiveness and wanted that to be seen. When a person has been saved by God's grace, the public testimony of baptism in view of living a new life for God, and the gathering with the Lord's people to worship, is probably one of the best ways the truth of the Gospel can be seen even without words.
Resettlement under the Assyrians of the northern areas had brought strangers into the area who didn't know anything about the Lord God of Israel. There was a fear of them that could have been intimidating if the Lord's people were only saying words of faith. When the remnant gathered together as one man, and the burnt offering began on the altar that was set in the right place, and the smoke of acceptance could be seen even from a distance - then the unity of purpose and action was able to be seen out in the open for all opposition to see. That would have made it plain to onlookers that these people had a God they trusted and who would preserve them from those who opposed. Worship reveals our respect and reverence for God, and testifies to all that we have faith in Him. Our praises and offerings of gratitude from the hearts of redeemed people shows that we believe worship is foremost in our hearts - it comes first. Obedience to God from the heart and fellowship with our Lord takes precedence over any personal activities in which we might be engaged.
The burnt offerings that ascended to God from that place of ruin was a testimony of faith, thanksgiving, worship and praise. The work of the priest, Jeshua, was to build the altar. Ours is to seek first the kingdom of God. The spiritual things come before the temporal things. A building does not reflect the heart of God's people toward Him. We worship privately daily when we give thanks, worship and praise to God in our hearts as we pray, read the scriptures and perhaps sing a hymn. When I listen to God speaking through His word, I am listening to Him communicating His will to me. In family life we have times when we read the scriptures with our children, listening to what God has to say to us. Then we pray and maybe sing a hymn of praise as we respond as a family to God's grace to us. That practice sets a tone for the day and in the evening is a reason and way for us all to express our thanksgiving. Assembly gatherings for remembrance, prayer, praise, hearing the voice of God through His word, and proclaiming the Gospel, are significant times of worship. When there is unity in our fellowship with God, then there is unity of purpose and unity of worship.
There is an order in the things of God that we find in the pattern written in the word of God. The spiritual life of God's people is seen in the offerings we bring to the altar. Christ is the altar; Christ is the sacrifice; Christ is the center of everything. Instead of fear of opposition there is trust and confidence when we see "Jesus only." There is a desire in the hearts of true believers to express their faith in God and demonstrate their motive for living. We recognize Christ in our worship as the "sweet savor" for God as in the burnt offering in which everything was for God. In Jerusalem the priests kept the order of daily burnt offerings; the feasts of Jehovah; the monthly "new moon" offerings and the freewill offerings in the way it was written "in the law of Moses." Leadership responsibility today involves keeping the will and word of God before the people now that we have "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" that has made us free from the "law of sin and death."
In making preparations for the work of building the house of the Lord, both Zerubbabel and Jeshua realized the need of planning and prayer before taking action. The instructions for those builders had to be understood and also the reason God wanted the house rebuilt. In the process of rebuilding not everything can be done at once. But they knew why they were there and the importance of building the altar and building the temple. The burnt offering was the starting point. Then the foundation must be prepared. Likely the temple was built on the foundation of Solomon's temple. A solid foundation is essential for any work of God. The unseen work is as important as that which is visible. The law of Moses was the guide for those in the ancient day. What was done had to be scripturally correct with the word of God followed in every way. We have the same obligation to follow the scriptures, not do things our way.
The returnees had the order right as far as what they were doing so far, but the temple work had not started. They had come to build the house of the Lord. The leaders had to coordinate the work and maintain a sense of oneness in the work. Once a work is begun, they need to "set forward" the incentive to keep the momentum of the work moving toward completion. The materials began to come together as the logs came from Lebanon. The foundation site was cleared by removing the broken parts of the old. A new start isn't just a patch-up job of the old. In any work for God a unified leadership is needed. Unity between those who lead and those who labor is needed. A sense of commitment to the work on the part of all is needed. Foundation work is not glamorous nor obvious, but is fundamental and absolutely necessary for a settled work.
Those who returned from Babylon were conscious of their need of God, so they worked for God. They used what they had for God and gave all praise and thanks to God and worshipped Him. When our attitude is right toward God, we are motivated to serve Him with all our heart. There are principles that we have learned to go by and the phrase "as it is written" is not a casual statement but is the basis of authority on which our practices are based. When the work was begun on the foundation, there was joy on the part of those who saw evidence of a long-delayed hope now becoming real to them. There would be joy for the glory of God being first seen visibly in their labors. There would have been joy for the establishing of a place for His name. There would have been joy for God's goodness and mercy in the recovery and restoration of His people to Him, and now to His work.
The sorrow and weeping may have been on the part of older people who remembered the glory of the temple Solomon built. Likely there was sadness for what had been lost because of sin. There would have been sadness because of what could have been for many years, but those were wasted years. There was likely sadness as they faced the guilt for what they had done, and what they had not done. There was likely sadness because of their past failures and for the departed glory that had once been in that place. We can't avoid times of sadness as we think of past failures and losses, but we are not doing right if we dwell on that which we cannot change. We begin where we are with what God has given us and move forward in faith and confidence in Him alone. When we "do with our might" that which we can, we can have joy instead of sorrow; peace instead of pain; trust in the trials of labor and life.