Thursday December 14
Ezra 3:8-13 Celebration of the altar
In the second year after their
arrival at the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel son
of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest
of their people, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem
from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and
upwards, to have the oversight of the work on the house of the Lord.
And Jeshua with his sons and his kin, and Kadmiel and his sons, Binnui and
Hodaviah along with the sons of Henadad, the Levites, their sons and kin,
together took charge of the workers in the house of God.
When the builders laid the
foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in
their vestments were stationed to praise the Lord with
trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, according to the
directions of King David of Israel; and they sang responsively, praising and
giving thanks to the Lord, ‘For he is good, for his
steadfast love endures forever towards Israel.’
And all the people responded with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of families, old people who had seen the first house on its foundations, wept with a loud voice when they saw this house, though many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted so loudly that the sound was heard far away.
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Ezra is one of those books of the Old Testament that we don’t
often read and in fact, we can almost miss as it and its’ companions, Nehemiah
and Esther, are sandwiched between Chronicles and Job. It tells of the time after the Babylonian
exile when the Persian king, Cyrus allows the people of Israel to return to
Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple that the Babylonians had destroyed.
The verses before today’s reading (3:1-7) recall the first worship
service that is held before work has even begun. Today’s reading recalls the foundation being
laid. More than just a construction
site, it becomes a place of witness as people’s voices praised God as the
foundation was built. They sing of God’s
faithfulness: “For he is good, for his
steadfast love endures forever toward Israel” (3:11)
This event in their life of faith was about much more than the
rebuilding of the temple. It recalled
God’s presence in the midst of exile and God’s promises being fulfilled as they
returned from exile. It all pointed to
God and God’s steadfast love.
In the midst of our preparation for another event – the birth of
Christ – how do we lift up our praises for all that God has done for us? Where is Christ amidst our own celebrations?
Prayer: God from whom all blessings flow,
keep us every mindful of your steadfast love as we go about our daily
lives. We pray that we may live our
lives in praise of you today and always.
Amen.
Pastor Jen Boyd
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