Ezra 3
Ezra 3 focuses on the process in which the people of Israel, who returned from Babylon, gather in Jerusalem for the first time and rebuild the temple. This chapter is divided into two main parts. First, in verses 1–6, we see the people gather together and build the altar, offering burnt sacrifices according to the law. Then, in verses 7–13, the foundation of the temple is laid, along with the congregation’s response—expressed through both joy and tears from those who remember the former temple—and the chapter concludes.
1verseWhen the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.
2verseThen Jeshua the son of Jozadak stood up with his brothers the priests and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his relatives, and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.
3verseIn spite of their fear because of the peoples of the surrounding lands, they set the altar on its base; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.
4verseThey kept the feast of booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required;
5verseand afterward the continual burnt offering, the offerings of the new moons, of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of everyone who willingly offered a free will offering to the LORD.
6verseFrom the first day of the seventh month, they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD; but the foundation of the LORD’s temple was not yet laid.
7verseThey also gave money to the masons and to the carpenters. They also gave food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus King of Persia.
8verseNow in the second year of their coming to God’s house at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the LORD’s house.
9verseThen Jeshua stood with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together to have the oversight of the workmen in God’s house: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brothers the Levites.
10verseWhen the builders laid the foundation of the LORD’s temple, they set the priests in their vestments with trumpets, with the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the directions of David king of Israel.
11verseThey sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to the LORD, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.” All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the LORD’s house had been laid.
12verseBut many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice. Many also shouted aloud for joy,
13verseso that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people; for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard far away.
Summary of Key Points
- Unity and Worship of the Community (Verses 1–6): The people gathered in Jerusalem first restore worship by building an altar. Even as they feel fear toward their enemies during the process, they do not stop worship.
- Restoration of the Temple Foundation (Verses 7–13): The people prepare building materials and begin to lay the foundation of the temple. The older men who remember the former temple weep, while the younger generation cheers, rejoicing in the newly beginning temple construction.
The Meaning and Characteristics of the Entire Chapter
Ezra 3 emphasizes that worship to God is central to the community, as the first step toward restoration. The returnees rebuild their identity as a faith community by first building an altar and offering worship according to God’s decrees. In addition, in the way that memories of the past and the hope of a new beginning coexist, it shows that on the path of faith, a variety of emotions and experiences are intertwined.
Meditation Points
- Let us reflect on the attitude of the people who kept worship as their priority even amid difficulty and fear.
- When regret about the past and new hope coexist, let us think about how we can continue our journey of faith.
Apply to Yourself
- Let us examine how much worship is prioritized in my life and reflect on whether I am making an effort not to lose the center of faith in any situation.
- Between past hurts or regrets and new expectations, let us search for hope in God and think about what I can do for the restoration of the community.
