Ezra 3:1-13
EZRA 3:1
And when the seventh month was come, and the children of
Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one
man to Jerusalem.
The seventh month was Tishri which corresponds to our
September/October. The returnees
were now settled in their cities of ancestry.
This was an important month because the first day was the Feast of
Trumpets. The tenth day was the Day
of Atonement. The fifteenth day was
the Feast of Tabernacles during which the Law was read to every man, woman, and
child. The first day of the seventh
month was the feast of Trumpets. It
was a biblical festival which involved a holy convocation or assembly of the
people.
Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, In the seventh month, in the first
day of the month, shall ye have
a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. (Leviticus
23:24)
EZRA 3:2
Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren
the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded
the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is
written in the law of Moses the man of God.
Jeshua was the son of Jozadak who was carried away into
Babylon.
And Jehozadak went
into captivity, when the LORD
carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. (1 Chronicles
6:15) At this time Jeshua was
the High Priest and together with the other priests they constructed an altar to
God in the very place where the altar stood in the temple of Solomon.
At this time Zerubbabel’s temple had not yet been built but they saw the
necessity of offering a burnt offering to the LORD as a sign of their obedience
to God and his law. They were
making atonement for their sins and seeking the blessing of the LORD for the
purpose of constructing the temple.
EZRA 3:3
And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was
upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt
offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and
evening.
They had set the altar upon the bases where it stood
before. They still had fear of the
surrounding nations that they were still vulnerable to attack since they were
recently settled in the land. They
had begun to offer burnt offerings in the morning and evening which was
according to the law of God.
38 Now this
is that which thou shalt offer
upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. 39
The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt
offer at even: (Exodus 29:38-39)
They immediately began to offer these sacrifices in hopes that God would
protect them from potential enemies who may want to invade their land.
EZRA 3:4
They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is
written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to
the custom, as the duty of every day required;
They also kept the Feast of Tabernacles which commenced
on the fifteenth day of Tishri.
They offered burnt offerings according to what the law prescribed for each day.
And on the fifteenth day of the
seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work,
and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: (Numbers 29:12)
Numbers 29 gives the prescribed amount of burnt offerings and the type
for each of the Eight days of the Feast.
EZRA 3:5
And afterward offered the continual burnt
offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were
consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto
the LORD.
Then after they made offerings according to the feasts,
they continued with the burnt offerings morning and evening which was a
continual or perpetual daily offering.
This was after the feast of tabernacles that they were to keep all the
other feasts which the LORD gave them in the law. The new moons were celebrated
the first day of each month. Then
those who desired to make a free will offering may do so at the appropriate
time.
EZRA 3:6
From the first day of the seventh month began they to
offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the
LORD was not yet laid.
The first day of the seventh month was the commencement
of the feast of trumpets. Then the
first day of the month was considered a sabbath and a memorial of the blowing of
trumpets.
Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, In the seventh month, in the first
day of the month, shall ye have
a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. (Leviticus
23:24) This was to be done even
before the foundation of the temple was laid.
They had begun with sacrifices thanking God for him bringing them back to
the land from captivity. Then as
they continued to obey God and sacrifice to him, it would bring them into a more
spiritual mindset readying themselves for the building of the temple.
This verse is also a principle for today’s Christian.
Just because you do not belong to a church whether it be by situation or
choice, it does not mean that you cannot continue in your Christian walk and be
involved in some manner in the Great Commission.
EZRA 3:7
They gave money also unto the masons, and to the
carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of
Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the
grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.
The money they gave to the masons and carpenters may have
been gold and silver but also something called money tablets which were tablets
of clay that served as something akin to a bank note or a promissory note.
These funds were given to the skilled workers so they would be able to
start ordering building materials for the temple.
This transaction was to Tyre and Sidon to purchase cedar trees from
Lebanon. These cedars were also
used in the temple built by Solomon when Hiram sent them to Solomon.
After they were cut down, they were sent to the port of Joppa which was
the closest seaport to Jerusalem.
Cyrus also ruled Tyre and Sidon so he gave commandment to them to give whatever
was needed for the building of the temple.
Remember Cyrus was commissioned by the LORD to build the temple so he
wanted to make sure everything was done right because his reputation was on the
line.
EZRA 3:8
Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of
God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel,
and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and
the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem;
and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the
work of the house of the LORD.
The trek from Babylon to Jerusalem was about a four month
length.
For upon the first
day of the first month began he
to go up from Babylon, and on the first
day of the fifth month came he
to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. (Ezra 7:9)
So when the second year came, they were all settled in the land and they
had received the materials they needed they all began to start the construction
of the temple. All of them took
part and no one was to excluded.
The High Priest, the priests and Levites, twenty years and up plus all the other
citizens of Judah who came out of Babylon.
Every person had their part in the construction of the temple.
The born again Christian is also a priest and every time they witness to
someone and they become saved, they are having a part in building the final
temple which is the body of believers.
Know ye not that ye are the temple
of God, and that the Spirit of
God dwelleth in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
EZRA 3:9
Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren,
Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in
the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren
the Levites.
Then Jeshua (not the High Priest) and Kadmiel who were
Levites.
The Levites: the children of Jeshua and
Kadmiel, of the children of Hodaviah, seventy and four. (Ezra 2:40)
These were the legitimate sons of Judah who were probably good in their
mechanical and building skills.
They were the ones in charge of overseeing the work force which would commence
the building of the temple. The
sons of Henadad also partook in the repair of the walls under Nehemiah.
And the Levites: both Jeshua the
son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; (Nehemiah 10:9)
These Levites were not above taking up instruments to do the work.
EZRA 3:10
And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple
of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the
Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance
of David king of Israel.
Then when they had laid the foundation of the temple of
the LORD, there was a celebration.
The priests had dressed in their priestly apparel with trumpets to blow when the
foundation was completed. The
cymbals were instruments of brass which made a tinkling sound.
Then the Levites were to utilize the cymbals in the same manner which
David used them.
And David spake to the chief of the
Levites to appoint their brethren to
be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and
cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy. (1 Chronicles 15:16)
This was a time of great joy since Judah did not have a temple for
seventy years and were unable to sacrifice unto the LORD but now once this
temple is done, they will be able to return to an obedient life under the law.
The children of Asaph were singers and musicians.
The singers: the children of
Asaph, an hundred twenty and eight. (Ezra 2:41)
Asaph was an appointed singer by David. The sons of Asaph were the
descendants.
16 And David spake to the
chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren
to be the singers with
instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up
the voice with joy. 17 So the Levites appointed Heman the son of
Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari
their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; (1 Chronicles 15:16-17) The true
Christian also has something to be joyous about because our foundation was given
to us in Christ.
For other foundation can no man lay than
that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11)
EZRA 3:11
And they sang together by course in praising and giving
thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth
for ever toward Israel. 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.
They had all sung together the praises of God and giving
him thanks for the fact that the foundation of the temple was laid.
They were probably singing some of the Psalms and especially Psalm 136
where it states that LORD’s mercy endures forever.
O give thanks unto the LORD; for
he is good: for his mercy
endureth for ever. (Psalm
136:1) Then all the people
shouted with a great shout that the foundation of the temple was now laid.
The word “great” in the Hebrew also carries with it the meaning of “loud,
mighty and long.”
EZRA 3:12
But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the
fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the
foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and
many shouted aloud for joy:
Then there were many among them who saw the first temple
which was the temple of Solomon and these men were really in their age.
When they had seen the foundation of the temple, they had wept in joy and
many of them shouted aloud in joy.
They remembered the temple of Solomon and all its beauty and here they were part
of the building of the second temple.
Perhaps some of them thought it was going to be as big and beautiful as
Solomon’s temple but there would be a disappointment because it was not going to
be like Solomon’s.
For who hath despised the day of small
things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of
Zerubbabel with those seven;
they are the eyes of the LORD,
which run to and fro through the whole earth. (Zechariah 4:10)
It seems no matter what God did for them, they were never satisfied.
EZRA 3:13
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 noise was heard afar off.