It was time to turn their attention to the task at hand. The sons of Israel were back in their land and settled in their cities. God appeared to have granted his people time to get their own houses in order at the expense of his. To their credit, “as one man” the people gathered in Jerusalem with sleeves rolled up. Unity is fleeting and good leaders exploit it for good not bad, and that is what Joshua and Zerubbabel did. It was time to heed “what was written.”
There was an underlying motivation to get to work, and that was fear, and it started with building an altar to offer sacrifices. Put directly by Ezra, the people were “terrified” because of “the people of the lands.” We do the same thing when fear creeps in. We pray prayers upon prayers, thinking that if we blanket God with requests for relief, he’ll grant our wishes. Truth is, we should fear God more than men, “for what can mere man do to me?” Psalm 56:4
12 “Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? Deuteronomy 10:12–13
The people cannot be faulted for their renewed commitment to obediently and regularly offer burnt and free offerings to the Lord, but the foundation of the temple had not yet been laid! It was God’s one request to start and finish his house. I am struck by the progression. The Lord allowed attention to their personal needs, then prompted consistent worship, and finally, sparked the practical steps to construct his house, and the people responded by giving money to the “masons and carpenters,” and food, drink, and oil to “grease the skids” with the Sidonians and Tyrians (Ezra 3:7) for the required cedar wood. Some are predisposed to “dicker with” and “beat down” contractors to get what you want. The Christian principals are “you get what you pay for,” and “you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar!” The Lord never wants his people to be jerks! We should be the fairest people on earth.
After establishing lines of authority and appointing supervisors over the work, it commenced. In due time, the foundation of the temple was complete. Having built a few houses, this is indeed a milestone and worthy of a bit of joy, yes, but there’s still much work to be done. Nevertheless, the people of God were beside themselves in glee.
They sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. Ezra 3:11
This shows how meaningful a solid foundation is in God’s eyes and to those seeking him. Failure to lay one in anything will prove disastrous. From that point on, things will either go smoothly or errors will be compounded. This is a picture of the importance of marriages built on the unity of the partners to follow God’s lead, a business built on godly principles, and a church committed to sound doctrine.
But we read that there were mixed emotions in those who viewed the new foundation. To some, it was a somber reminder of past disobedience and waywardness. Despite the joyous worship service they were having, some recalled the journey required to return to a place of faithfulness. The wise learn from their mistakes and understand, despite our failings, “the Lord is good,” and He is so forever.
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