Ezra chapter 3 recounts the significant early steps taken by the returning Jewish exiles to reestablish worship in Jerusalem, beginning with the rebuilding of the altar and the resumption of sacrificial offerings according to the Law of Moses. This chapter highlights the community’s dedication to restoring proper worship practices despite the challenges and uncertainties they faced upon their return, emphasizing their commitment to honoring God even before the temple itself was rebuilt.
The chapter continues by detailing the preparations made for the reconstruction of the temple, including gathering materials and enlisting skilled workers, while also noting the community’s fear of surrounding peoples, which motivated their urgency in reestablishing worship. This section illustrates the resilience and faith of the Jewish exiles as they sought to honor God amid ongoing external threats and internal challenges related to reestablishing their religious and communal identity.
The chapter concludes with an emotional and symbolic moment when the foundation of the temple is laid, evoking a mixture of joy and sorrow among the people. While many rejoiced at this significant milestone, others who remembered the grandeur of the original temple wept, reflecting the complex emotions tied to rebuilding after such profound loss and highlighting the enduring hope and challenges faced by the Jewish community as they worked toward restoring their spiritual center.
Chapter 3 (BBE)
1 And when the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people came together like one man to Jerusalem.
2 Then Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, with his brothers, got up and made the altar of the God of Israel for burned offerings as is recorded in the law of Moses, the man of God.
3 They put the altar on its base; for fear was on them because of the people of the countries: and they made burned offerings on it to the Lord, even burned offerings morning and evening.
4 And they kept the feast of tents, as it is recorded, making the regular burned offerings every day by number, as it is ordered; for every day what was needed.
5 And after that, the regular burned offering and the offerings for the new moons and all the fixed feasts of the Lord which had been made holy, and the offering of everyone who freely gave his offering to the Lord.
6 From the first day of the seventh month they made a start with the burned offerings, but the base of the Temple of the Lord had still not been put in its place.
7 And they gave money to the stoneworkers and woodworkers; and meat and drink and oil to the people of Zidon and of Tyre, for the transport of cedar-trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, as Cyrus, king of Persia, had given them authority to do.
8 Now in the second year of their coming into the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, the work was taken in hand by Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come from the land where they were prisoners to Jerusalem: and they made the Levites, of twenty years old and over, responsible for overseeing the work of the house of the Lord.
9 Then Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, the sons of Hodaviah, together took up the work of overseeing the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brothers, the Levites.
10 And when the builders put in position the base of the Temple of the Lord, the priests, dressed in their robes, took their places with horns, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with brass instruments, to give praise to the Lord in the way ordered by David, king of Israel.
11 And they gave praise to the Lord, answering one another in their songs and saying, For he is good, for his mercy to Israel is eternal. And all the people gave a great cry of joy, when they gave praise to the Lord, because the base of the Lord’s house was put in place.
12 But a number of the priests and Levites and the heads of families, old men who had seen the first house, when the base of this house was put down before their eyes, were overcome with weeping; and a number were crying out with joy:
13 So that in the ears of the people the cry of joy was mixed with the sound of weeping; for the cries of the people were loud and came to the ears of those who were a long way off.
Important Verses
Verse 1: A description of the people gathering together in Jerusalem to begin the process of restoring worship.
Verse 2: The rebuilding of the altar by Jeshua and Zerubbabel, allowing the resumption of sacrificial offerings according to the Law of Moses.
Verse 3: An account of the people’s fear of surrounding nations, which motivated their urgency in reestablishing worship practices.
Verse 6: The reinstatement of daily offerings, even before the foundation of the temple had been laid.
Verse 12: The emotional response of the people, mixing joy and sorrow, upon witnessing the laying of the temple’s foundation.
