Listen "Ezra 5 – Building Up The Temple Part 2"
Episode Synopsis
https://youtu.be/lqF4lLZ-DbE
Story so far…
God is sovereign
In the book of Ezra we read of how God miraculously and sovereignly delivers the Jewish nation out of exile in Babylon back to Jerusalem. We learn that the first Jews back find Jerusalem in ruins and once they’ve settled in at home they prioritise rebuilding their place of worship.
Building up the… altar!
The first thing they rebuilt was not the walls of Jerusalem although that would have protected the city, nor did they start with the temple, but the first thing to be rebuilt was the altar. Worship came first. The altar was the place of both sacrifice and celebration, and this came before any other activity. By the end of chapter 3 we have a fully functioning altar and the foundations of the temple.
In our context, we must prioritise worship of Jesus above anything else we wish to build. We offer our lives as living sacrifices and celebrate the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus.
Our bodies and our churches are temples to God (1 Cor 3 and 6). And as we build ourselves up in the most holy faith (Jude 20) we find that there is an enemy who will not sit back and let us get on with it.
Opposition from the foundation
By the end of chapter 4 the work has halted. Jerusalem’s enemy Babylon saw that holy city as dissident and rebellious.
Likewise, we are seen by Satan and his kingdom as a rebellious and dissident, and definitely a threat. He may try to use fear tactics to keep us from building ourselves up in Christ, but it is he who really fears us.
Nevertheless, for the returning exiles, the empire of Babylon used physical force to stop the building of the temple. Biblical historians tell us that the pause in building was around 18 years.
So the work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem had stopped, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.
Ezra 4:24
Whatever the reason for the delay, God’s purposes still stand. He will do whatever is required to see that his kingdom is established.
Back on track
Ezra 5
At that time the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jehozadak responded by starting again to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them and helped them.
3 But Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues soon arrived in Jerusalem and asked, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and restore this structure?” 4 They also asked for the names of all the men working on the Temple. 5 But because their God was watching over them, the leaders of the Jews were not prevented from building until a report was sent to Darius and he returned his decision.
Ezra 5:1-5
At the start of Ezra chapter 5 they are encouraged by the prophets to resume building. All Ezra tells us is that it was because of the prophets that the building resumed. He does not give us the details of the prophecy.
But Haggai does.
Haggai, a prophet mentioned at the start of our reading gives us some interesting detail that we don’t read in Ezra. Here’s Haggai chapter 1:
Haggai 1
On August 29 of the second year of King Darius’s reign, the Lord gave a message through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
2 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The people are saying, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.’”
3 Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins 5 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! 6 You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied.
Story so far…
God is sovereign
In the book of Ezra we read of how God miraculously and sovereignly delivers the Jewish nation out of exile in Babylon back to Jerusalem. We learn that the first Jews back find Jerusalem in ruins and once they’ve settled in at home they prioritise rebuilding their place of worship.
Building up the… altar!
The first thing they rebuilt was not the walls of Jerusalem although that would have protected the city, nor did they start with the temple, but the first thing to be rebuilt was the altar. Worship came first. The altar was the place of both sacrifice and celebration, and this came before any other activity. By the end of chapter 3 we have a fully functioning altar and the foundations of the temple.
In our context, we must prioritise worship of Jesus above anything else we wish to build. We offer our lives as living sacrifices and celebrate the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus.
Our bodies and our churches are temples to God (1 Cor 3 and 6). And as we build ourselves up in the most holy faith (Jude 20) we find that there is an enemy who will not sit back and let us get on with it.
Opposition from the foundation
By the end of chapter 4 the work has halted. Jerusalem’s enemy Babylon saw that holy city as dissident and rebellious.
Likewise, we are seen by Satan and his kingdom as a rebellious and dissident, and definitely a threat. He may try to use fear tactics to keep us from building ourselves up in Christ, but it is he who really fears us.
Nevertheless, for the returning exiles, the empire of Babylon used physical force to stop the building of the temple. Biblical historians tell us that the pause in building was around 18 years.
So the work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem had stopped, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.
Ezra 4:24
Whatever the reason for the delay, God’s purposes still stand. He will do whatever is required to see that his kingdom is established.
Back on track
Ezra 5
At that time the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jehozadak responded by starting again to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them and helped them.
3 But Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues soon arrived in Jerusalem and asked, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and restore this structure?” 4 They also asked for the names of all the men working on the Temple. 5 But because their God was watching over them, the leaders of the Jews were not prevented from building until a report was sent to Darius and he returned his decision.
Ezra 5:1-5
At the start of Ezra chapter 5 they are encouraged by the prophets to resume building. All Ezra tells us is that it was because of the prophets that the building resumed. He does not give us the details of the prophecy.
But Haggai does.
Haggai, a prophet mentioned at the start of our reading gives us some interesting detail that we don’t read in Ezra. Here’s Haggai chapter 1:
Haggai 1
On August 29 of the second year of King Darius’s reign, the Lord gave a message through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
2 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The people are saying, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.’”
3 Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins 5 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! 6 You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied.
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