The foundation
This week is on Ezra 3:10-11:
These verses seem weird given their context. Israel was in the process of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. They had just finished the foundation, and they stopped to celebrate God's goodness. Most people would just celebrate themselves at that point, for having worked hard to clear ground and lay a foundation. Others might dread how far they had to go before they were finished. The Israelites celebrated God, whose temple it would be.
It's true what they sang though. God is good. And his love does endure forever. The temple had been destroyed, and the land overrun by people hostile to the faith. People were killed and exiled. But now the the temple was being rebuilt and they happened to be part of it. See the shift in focus? It wasn't their temple, built for God, as a way of manipulating his favor. It was God's temple, and they were simply playing along because he let them.
God is good. He could have left the temple as it was. He should have, for how ungodly the Israelites were to have provoked him to destroy it in the first place. But God's love endures forever. He still remembered his love for his people even years later. He changed the hearts of the strongest empire in the world, in order to give them back what they'd lost. That's really good!
People nowadays would be like "We can't rest until we've got the temple rebuilt! We can't settle for anything less! No celebrating until the job is done, or people will think we're unspiritual!" But the Israelites were like "Yay! Look what is happening! The temple is coming back!" They were watching God's grace unfold, after years of hopelessness. The fact that it had even begun was miraculous enough that they were confident it would continue to completion. It wasn't their work. It was God's.
Do we stop to celebrate God's work when we see it unfolding? Or do we just wait impatiently or try to move it along ourselves? Do we even recognize God's grace in the things we experience, or do we still view our lives through us-centered eyes? Sometimes even the foundation of what God is doing with us is reason enough to celebrate. God is good. And his love endures forever, meaning our entire lives. Enjoy it.
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.
These verses seem weird given their context. Israel was in the process of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. They had just finished the foundation, and they stopped to celebrate God's goodness. Most people would just celebrate themselves at that point, for having worked hard to clear ground and lay a foundation. Others might dread how far they had to go before they were finished. The Israelites celebrated God, whose temple it would be.
It's true what they sang though. God is good. And his love does endure forever. The temple had been destroyed, and the land overrun by people hostile to the faith. People were killed and exiled. But now the the temple was being rebuilt and they happened to be part of it. See the shift in focus? It wasn't their temple, built for God, as a way of manipulating his favor. It was God's temple, and they were simply playing along because he let them.
God is good. He could have left the temple as it was. He should have, for how ungodly the Israelites were to have provoked him to destroy it in the first place. But God's love endures forever. He still remembered his love for his people even years later. He changed the hearts of the strongest empire in the world, in order to give them back what they'd lost. That's really good!
People nowadays would be like "We can't rest until we've got the temple rebuilt! We can't settle for anything less! No celebrating until the job is done, or people will think we're unspiritual!" But the Israelites were like "Yay! Look what is happening! The temple is coming back!" They were watching God's grace unfold, after years of hopelessness. The fact that it had even begun was miraculous enough that they were confident it would continue to completion. It wasn't their work. It was God's.
Do we stop to celebrate God's work when we see it unfolding? Or do we just wait impatiently or try to move it along ourselves? Do we even recognize God's grace in the things we experience, or do we still view our lives through us-centered eyes? Sometimes even the foundation of what God is doing with us is reason enough to celebrate. God is good. And his love endures forever, meaning our entire lives. Enjoy it.
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