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Good weekend to you my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
We’ve all had the experience of TIME running much faster than we want it to, and sometimes we actually run OUT of TIME, or find ourselves far behind a time schedule. That is especially true in a rebuilding project, have you experienced that? Join me again please in Jerusalem about 2500 years ago. Everywhere you look at that time, dirt is flying, as the ruins of the demolition of the city of Jerusalem and the great Temple of God are being cleared and restoration begun!
Yesterday we looked at Ezra’s description of the rebuilding of the huge Altar for Burnt Offerings on the Temple mount. (Ezra 3:2) In fact that reconstruction happened exactly on the foundation of the original Altar which had first been constructed there almost 500 years before by King Solomon! (Ezra 3:3) In that same verse we also see there was opposition to this Jerusalem rebuilding project from Gentiles who had moved in and taken over some sections of the ruins of Jerusalem, some actually building their homes there. Therefore, the returned Israelites who were former Jerusalem residents and had been in exile for many years, found themselves unwelcome in and having to fight for permission to live in and rebuild their own town!
As with any significant project, this rebuilding of the Temple was a massive undertaking which would require resources not found in that part of Israel, as well as vast amounts of gold and silver. This project would require some supplies found only in surrounding countries. So, Ezra 3:7 reports: “Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters and gave food and drink and olive 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.”
Lebanon, the country to the north, then as now, was famous for its timber. The leaders of this rebuilding project did as their ancestors had done centuries before: they made trade agreements with the leaders of Lebanon and timber was cut and floated by sea down to the port city of Joppa and then carted inland to Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 2 gives a detailed description of how king Solomon had accomplished this same feat, hundreds of years before, with thousands of loggers working in Lebanon; and hundreds more men floating the logs to Joppa; and hundreds more men somehow carting those heavy logs more than 40 miles inland to Jerusalem!!
If you’ve ever been to Israel, you know this is rugged terrain and this would have been an outrageous undertaking which would have been arduous, laborious and required extensive man and animal power, as well as great planning.
There’s a gap of time between Ezra 3:7&8 as this massive project was being developed. Ezra 3:8 says: “In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the people who had returned from captivity in Babylon, began the work. They appointed Levites to supervise the building of the house of the LORD…” (Ezra 3:8-10) Are you wondering WHY it took the people so long to get serious about their work to rebuild the great Temple of God in Jerusalem?
Well, remember, they needed to clear out the demolition rubble and rebuild their own homes, and of course they needed to start their businesses, especially farms and ranches to grow the food and animals needed by these 50,000 Israelites who had returned from exile and were beginning to rebuild their lives and their city!
Yet remember, as we saw yesterday, they had first rebuilt the huge Altar for Burnt Offerings and daily, morning and evening, a lamb was slaughtered in worship to God. (Ezra 3:3) As that smoke rose up and the sound of voices and instruments could be heard all across the city, I have to believe it was a great encouragement to all these hard working, weary exiles, that one day before too long, the Temple would be rebuilt and God’s great blessing would once again be poured out upon Jerusalem. But in the meantime, it was hot, tiresome, hard work, day in and day out, week after week, month after month.
Pause a moment. Even though our lives are very easy in comparison to theirs, do you sometimes find yourself worn out in the challenges of life as TIME runs so fast you can’t accomplish the things you envision for yourself, your family or the projects you are attempting?
What helps you stay focused and committed to the tasks before you when your strength begins to wane and you feel perhaps more opposition than support from people around you? I think I found a secret here in HOW these hard working Jewish exiles were attempting this huge rebuilding project 2500 years ago, that might be helpful to you and me as the heat of summer 2025 approaches us.
Consider this: The Temple mount was then, and is today, the highest point in the city of Jerusalem. From every direction, especially down in the City of David, as the smoke rose up from the morning and evening sacrifice the eyes of every person were lifted UP to the Temple Mount, the place where the great Temple used to be and where worship was once again beginning. And as their eyes followed the smoke up into the sky, their hearts were drawn to the ageless, tireless, Sovereign, All Powerful God of Israel.
Then their minds focused on the stories they’d all heard from their ancestors of God at work defending and protecting and providing for His people Israel, here in this place Jerusalem, but also way back when their ancestors had been in Egypt, or wandering in the desert, or crossing the flooded Jordan, or under attack by their enemies, or even surviving in exile in Babylon.
Do you see it my friends? Their very souls were stirred to action by these memories which awakened profound gratitude and praise to their God, as well as celebration in anticipation of what this city Jerusalem and their rebuilt Temple would be like one day in the not-too-distant future.
From the weariness of their labor came encouragement and renewed perseverance for the project as they praised God and trusted Him for all they would need to accomplish the impossible. Can you imagine adults encouraging their children and grandchildren to NOT lose hope, but keep working and praising God as they worked?
So, this weekend my friends…
* What are the projects you believe God has called you to invest your time and energy into this summer 2025?
* What will be the results of your efforts this summer in WHO you will BECOME; WHO you will HELP and ENCOURAGE?
* And what will you and God accomplish together with God’s direction and supply?
Let’s pause this weekend along with those workers in Jerusalem who look up, morning and evening to realign their priorities with God, and let’s do the same.
Let’s look UP in our worship to gain a fresh perspective. Let’s thank God for all He has done for us and invite Jesus to refresh and realign our summer priorities for God’s glory and the accomplishment of His purposes!
And I have found a great worship song to help us with this…listen carefully to the words! And I’ll meet you back here again on Monday…
Today’s Scripture: Ezra 3:6-9.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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