Year 2, Day 41: Ezra 3

Proper Beginning

Here in Ezra 3 we hear about the rebuilding of the altar in Jerusalem.  We might think of the altar as a strange place to start.  After all, if we were designing a church today, would we start with the altar?  No, we’d probably start by laying out the seating for the congregation and picking out the chairs to be used.  Then we’d plan the stage according to how the seats would allow it to be experienced.  Finally we’d plan the specific elements of the stage like pulpit, lectern, altar, area for communion, etc.  But I doubt that when creating a worship space in today’s world that we would start with the altar.

But remember that in Judaism the altar is the cornerstone to faith.  Without the altar there could be no sacrifices.  Without the sacrifice there is no forgiveness of sin.  Without forgiveness of sin, well, there is no grace – only judgment.  From that perspective we can understand why the altar was pretty high on the list.  In modern churches, our “altar” was the cross and the sacrifice is Christ.  But in ancient Judaism – pre-Christ – they didn’t have the luxury of having a once-for-all sacrifice that couldn’t be taken away.   No wonder that they did the altar even before they rebuilt the temple!

Also remember that for at least two generations (and more for the folks from Israel and not Judah!) there had been no sacrifice.  Imagine going 50 years (or more) without hearing someone declare with confidence that your sins actually are forgiven and you can be in a relationship with God!  We say it so often that we take it for granted.  But if you went a few generations without hearing it, I bet you’d miss it!

Jeshua

Before leaving this altar focus, let’s pay a little attention to the name of the person who leads it.  The name given is Jeshua (or Joshua in some translations).  Of course there is also Zerubabbel.  But run with me for just a second.  The Hebrew people are in exile.  When God deems it time for them to come back … it is Jeshua that focuses them on the importance of the sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin.

I think there is some significant foreshadowing going on in this passage.  About 5 centuries later another Jeshua (whom we know better as Jesus) will walk on the stage and remind people about the importance of a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.  That Jeshua will die for the sins of the people.  I think in some small way God is trying through this passage to give yet another moment of preparation for His people to understand Jesus when He returns to fulfill God’s true agenda.

Foundation

The second half of this passage has to do with laying the foundation of the temple.  It is clear that the refugees returning to Jerusalem gave out of their possessions in order to build the temple.  There was something sacrificial about providing the place for the sacrifices (and atonement of sin, really).  I don’t mean this in a works-based sense, but rather in a response to God’s work.  It is God who saves; we can respond to His work of salvation sacrificially should we desire it.

We get a sense as we read this passage that those who may have remembered the Temple from before the Babylonian conquest were saddened by the new Temple.  This is likely because the new Temple was probably very plain.  These were refugees coming back without too many resources.  They could only accomplish so much with what they had.  Anyone remembering the splendor of the building that Solomon was able to build would likely have felt bad.

However, this is why it is important to hear that the praises were given so much that it was impossible to distinguish the praise from the mourning.  We are not to dwell on the past.  Neither are we to assume that the greatness of our construction has anything to do with the greatness of God.  I’ve quoted Isaiah 64:6 often this week, but “all of our righteous deeds are like filthy rags.”  The splendor of our sanctuary is nothing compared to the splendor of God.  The splendor of our worship space is nothing to the splendor of the works that God can do within it. 

And for the record, the same is true for our bodies, which Paul tells us is the new Temple.  Our splendor, our beauty, our qualities are nothing compared to what God can do through us if we simply give up control.

The space doesn’t matter.  It simply doesn’t matter.  What matters is that God is alive and active in the space.  This is why the people rejoice in this passage.  The foundation for the Temple may be plain.  It may be simple.  But God was working through it.  That is what is important.

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