Worship Restored!

Ezra 3:1-13 

    1 And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose 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. 3 Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries, they set the altar on its bases; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening burnt offerings. 4 They also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings in the number required by ordinance for each day. 5 Afterwards they offered the regular burnt offering, and those for New Moons and for all the appointed feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and those of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to the LORD. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, although the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid. 7 They also gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the permission which they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

    8 Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the LORD. 9 Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah, arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites.

    10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD:

      "For He is good,
      For His mercy endures forever toward Israel."

Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

    12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so 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 sound was heard afar off.

Ezra records the restoration of worship of the LORD and the temple in Jerusalem.  The LORD had moved the heart of the new owners of Babylon, Cyrus king of Persia, to send chosen volunteers of God’s people from Jerusalem and Judah, the remnant, back for the restoration.  Here we see their success.  They offered the required sacrifices and celebrated the feasts, even though the people of the surrounding nations were threatening to the Jews and their task at hand.  They despised the LORD and were set against the restoration of the temple, as well as His people.  Nonetheless, they began restoration of the temple after beginning the sacrifices of worship.  The money from donations (Ezra 2:69) was used to import the needed materials and pay the laborers.  Zerubbabel set up the building teams with the priests and Levites.  Then, as the foundation was laid, music sounded forth in worship and praise to the LORD.  They sang of the mercies of the LORD forever, the grace and goodness of God to His people in faithfulness to bring them back, restoring the wandering sinners who had been exiled, now forgiven and restored in relationship and fellowship with their God, just as the temple where they worshipped was restored as well.  Worship was restored!  We can see the grace of God to us in this example of God’s working for restoration also; He blesses us in order to build up His temple, which consists of all who are in Christ, Jew and Gentile outside who have been brought together as one people (1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 2:14).  We then give towards the work of the gospel to worship in spirit and in truth, whether for a building to worship Christ in, or to meet the needs of the fellow saints (2 Corinthians 8:12-14, 9:11-13).  God the Father has restored us to a relationship with Himself, reconciling us in His Son to be able to sing praises of His infinite mercy and goodness forever.  The restoration of the old temple and worship by animal sacrifices pales in comparison to our spiritual restoration of reconciliation in grace, and His sacrifice has made it possible for us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to Him in return as His temple, the church (Romans 12:1, 1 Peter 2:5).  Amen and amen!