A Time to Build

 Have you ever started some project and then set it aside fully intending to get back to it? Every summer we make a list of projects we would like to get done around the house and at the church. And every year by the end of summer we still have projects to do. It seems this is what happen to the Israelites, they were all excited about building the temple; but then they got sidetracked. They placed the alter and started the sacrifices and that was a good thing, but soon...

Ezra 3:1-7
3:1 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices. 4 Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. 5 After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred feasts of the LORD, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the LORD. 6 On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, though the foundation of the LORD's temple had not yet been laid.

7 Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.
 

In 1958, Vince Lombardi accepted the position of head football coach at Green Bay, Wisconsin. He was not getting a “dream team.” The Packers had developed a tradition of losing; it was a team few respected.

Lombardi arrived in Green Bay firm in the belief that he could turn the pitiful Packers around. He brought the lessons he had learned as assistant coach under Earl “Colonel Red” Blaik of West Point. Stick with simple blocking and tackling, execute plays perfectly, and behave respectfully on the field. Lombardi expected strict obedience, dedication, and total effort from everyone. Long hours were the custom, intensive training the rule.

Legend has it that, after a particularly humiliating defeat, Lombardi stood before his tired and dirty players in the locker room with the intense look they had all come to recognize. The room was silent. Lombardi held up a football. Then he declared, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” From then on it was back to basics.

Three years after arriving at Green Bay, Vince Lombardi led the Packers to the National Football League championship. They became the dominate team in football, winning five NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls. Their dramatic turnaround resulted from obedience to the coach, hard work, and mastery of the basics.

When the exiles returned to Palestine, the Jews were coming off repeated years of captivity, seventy seasons of defeat. The leaders, prophets, and to some extent the citizenry, understood that if the community of faith were to flourish, it would require strict obedience to God and a return to the basics of faith: acceptable worship, adherence to the law, and purity among the people.

In the close of Chapter 2 we left Israel in their cities, but you can well imagine what a bad position their affairs were in, the ground untilled, the cities in ruins, walls broken down. But now in Chapter 3 we have an account of the early care they took in the re-establishment of religion among them. They set up an altar, and offered sacrifices upon it, kept the feasts, and contributed towards the rebuilding of the temple (v. 1-7). They laid the foundation of the temple with a mixture of joy and sorrow (v. 8-13). This morning we will concentrate on the rebuilding of the alter and the sacrifices.

1. They Built an Altar (vs. 1-3)

The Jewish seventh month occurs in the fall around September or October. For the Israelite, it is their most sacred month since it contains such major holidays as The Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. During this time the people gathered together in Jerusalem “as one man,” which means, they met “with a common purpose” or “unanimously.” The Israelites gathered themselves together in Jerusalem, not by coercion but instead by an overpowering need to worship God. This was a time of remembrance, of sacrifice, and of celebration.

Jeshua (yay-shoo'-ah) the son of Jozadak (yo-tsaw-dawk') was the High Priest, and his “brethren” were also “priests.” And Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah. By mentioning these names, verse 2 emphasizes that both religious and civic leaders rose up to build “the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it.” They did this in obedience to the “Law of Moses, the man of God.” The Israelites viewed Moses as a person through whom God had worked; his words were understood to be from God Himself. This being the case the Law of Moses was to be followed to the letter.

The exiles who had just returned to their cities, had their hands full restoring them, and providing even the basic necessities for themselves and their families. These reasons and many more could have been used as excuses for not attending and worshiping at God's altar.

Many today foolishly put off coming together with other Christians until they have finished “settling in”. The zeal they once had for Christ Jesus is place under the banner of irreligion, they leave behind they ways of Christ Jesus for all their business, their hobbies, their entertainment etc. They forget to attend God's altar. Let worldly business be second to the business of God and it will prosper you better.

They positioned the rebuilt altar “on its bases,” that is, upon its original foundations. The new altar was placed exactly where the old one had been before it was destroyed by the Babylonians. Even though decades stood between these people and the last time Israelites had sacrificed to God, the continuity of place connected the new with the old. Today you can still see a Israeli commitment to keep the temple in its original location by their devoted regard for the temple mount in Jerusalem.

Verse 3 adds a strange qualification to their restoration of the altar: “Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries, they set the altar. …” The Hebrew literally reads: “They built the altar on its foundations because [kı̂] of their fear of the people of the lands.” They were afraid, because of the unfriendly disposition of their surrounding neighbors. They were in the midst of enemies that bore ill will towards them and their religion, and they were no match if it came to a fight.

Perhaps a fear of neighboring peoples encouraged the Israelites to focus on the priority of reestablishing their relationship with God. Restoring the worship of God might ward off danger, because God’s presence would protect the people. They rebuilt the altar; they would not be frightened from God by whatever opposition they were likely to face. We must never let the fear of man keep us from our relationship with God.

Not only did they rebuild the alter, the people began to offer “both the morning and evening burnt offerings” as prescribed in the Law (Ex. 29:38–46). These sacrifices would remind the people of God’s daily presence with them. Through God's Word you can know that God is with you daily. And as for sacrifices – well Christ Jesus did away with the need for them once and for all. 

 

The alter was rebuilt and the burnt offerings once more given. What was next for the Children of Israel?

2. The Feasts and Festivals (vs. 4-5)

The people were able to offer the elaborate sacrifices required in the “Feast of Tabernacles” (4:4). This Feast was also known as the Feast of Booths or Sukkoth (the Hebrew word for “booths” is “sūkkôt”). It was one of Israel’s three great festivals and was celebrated in the fall.

The Feast of Tabernacles combined a harvest festival (similar to our Thanksgiving) with a reminder of the Exodus, when Israel had to live in booths (tents) after being set free from Egypt. In keeping with the exiles' passion to follow preexilic form, they celebrated the feast in preparation for temple reconstruction. From this point on, it seems, the exiles observed all the details of the law.

They made all the proper offerings except the prescribed offerings for the Day of Atonement. They could not do that offering because it required a temple or tabernacle. Unlike the returning exiles, you do not need a temple or a tabernacle. You do not have to worry about feast and sacrifices. All you have to do is confess with your mouth and believe with your heart that Christ Jesus, the Son of God; died, was buried, and rose again and you will be saved.

It was the seventh month of the Jewish calendar and the alter had been reset and the prescribed offering and sacrifices were in full swing, well...almost.

3. No Foundation (vs. 6-7)

Verse 6 tells us: “although the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid.” Even before the restoration of the temple began, the people worshiped as if they had a temple. It would be the next year before the temple foundation was laid: in the second month of the following year the foundations of the new temple were laid with due solemnity (Ezra 3:8).

Notice that even before they laid the physical foundation for the temple, the returned exiles laid a spiritual foundation of worship. Without a strong spiritual foundation built upon Christ Jesus you can not have a strong Christian walk.

In verse 7 you read of the initial preparations for the restoration of the temple itself. The officials of Judah hired laborers (“masons and the carpenters”) and arranged for the necessary building supplies. It is interesting to see the parallels between the preparations for the original temple and the preparations of the new temple . I think it speaks to the consistency of God, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8).

Conclusion: We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be...If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man. - C.S. Lewis

The returning Israelites gathered to worship in the seventh month, they rebuilt the alter as prescribed and then they began to worship by offering up sacrifices as dictated to Moses by God. But even though they restored the alter they still did not have a solid foundation for the temple.

You too need a solid foundation to build on. But your foundation will not built of stone, mortar and wood. Your foundation must be built on the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. It must be shored up by God's Holy Word. It must be maintained by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But the building of a new life in Christ Jesus will not start unless you let Him into your life as LORD and Saviour. Why not do that now?