Ezra 3:8-13

2. The foundation of the new temple is laid.

TEXT, Ezra 3:8-13

8

Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem in the second month, Zeruhbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites from twenty years and older to oversee the work of the house of the LORD.

9

Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God.

10

Now when the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD according to the directions of King David of Israel.

11

And they sang, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, saying For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever. 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.

12

Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers-' households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy;

13

so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.

COMMENT

Ezra 3:8 refers to the following year, the second month: our April or May. Their religious year began with the beginning of Spring, which would be easy to justify. No work had been done during the Winter months, but with the arrival of seasonable weather the construction began. This was also the month in which Solomon had begun his building (1 Kings 6:1).

Again we have the names of the two leaders, Zerubbabel and Jeshua, this time in reverse order from verse two. Perhaps the author is emphasizing their equality in importance and honor. They were assisted not only by their relatives and by the whole band of Levites, but by the total company who had returned to Jerusalem. There would be no restriction on the other tribes-' entering the Temple till it was dedicated.

We may be surprised that the Levites were put to work beginning at the age of twenty (nineteen by our reckoning, since an Israelite was one year old through the first year of life). Previously we have been told that their responsibilities began at the age of thirty (Numbers 4:46 f.), or twenty-five (Numbers 8:24). But David reduced this age to twenty (1 Chronicles 23:3; 1 Chronicles 23:24-27). They are the only group for whom the age requirement is made; perhaps this is to tell us of their care in conforming to the sacred ordinances. Also, it made good sense to assign the Levites, the tribe of priests, to positions of overseership as they would be more familiar with the services for which the House of God was designed, and they would be the ones making greatest use of these facilities.

In Ezra 3:9, the identity of Jeshua is not as simple as we might suppose. G. Coleman Luck[21] believes him to be not the high priest, but the Levite named in Ezra 2:40, where he is also associated with Kadmiel, and where the name Hodaviah (very similar in its Hebrew spelling to Judah) also appears. Young's Concordance lists five different Jeshuas mentioned in Ezra!

[21] G. Coleman Luck, Ezra and Nehemiah, p. 28.

This is certainly a possibility. Nevertheless, the mention of Jeshua the high priest with his kin in the previous verse leads more normally to seeing him here, setting an example to others by his involvement in the construction. Holy hands are not defiled by heavenly work.

Ezra 3:10-11 call attention to the revival of another longstanding tradition. King David had divided some of the Levites into twenty-four groups to provide music, each in their turn, at the House of God (1 Chronicles 6:31-48; 1 Chronicles 25:1-31). On the completion of the foundation the successors of these groups, with musical instruments and with their voices and accompanied by the priests, praised and gave thanks to God. This was another function of the Temple, and it was resumed without waiting for the building to be completed. The service of song has its God-given usefulness, as do the sacrifices, in inspiring and purifying the worshipers.

In Ezra 3:11, the words of their song are reminiscent of several of the Psalms: Psalms 106:1; Psalms 118:1, and Psalms 136, every verse, all speak of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, For he is good, for his lovingkindness is everlasting. The words, toward Israel, could be deduced from Psalms 118:2. The response of the people was a great shout in celebration of the finishing of the foundation.

Ezra 3:12 further describes this reaction as being of two kinds. Some of them, the more aged people, could recall seeing the previous Temple; it had been but a few more than fifty years since it had been destroyed and they had been led to Babylon. What they saw now must have been a pitiful reminder of the splendid Temple they had known before (Haggai 2:3). Or for some, even the small beginnings would bring a flood of holy memories that would be expressed in tears; they need not all be the tears of sadness. For some, this was the end of fifty years of frustration. And from others (even of the elderly; the verse does not specify that the younger persons had a monopoly on the rejoicing) rose a great shout of joy.

Ezra 3:13 concludes the scene as the two emotions, the shout of joy and the sound of weeping, are blended into one indistinguishable but impressive tone. For in worship there is a place for both: the tears of sorrow, and the shout of joy.

WORD STUDIES

LAW: Torah (Law of Moses, Ezra 3:2). The idea of legalism is not present in this word. It is possible that the word is derived from a verb, throw: hence, to throw out the hand, to point out, to direct or instruct. It is more likely that it comes from the verb, give light: hence, enlightenment or instruction. Law in the O.T. is the kind of loving instruction which a father gives to his children to help them avoid unhappy consequences of bad choices, or to enable them to live happy lives.

ALTAR: Mizbeach. The verb from which it is taken means slaughter, either for food or for sacrifice. Most of the meat or food which was sacrificed in Israel, specifically of the peace and thank offerings, the meal or grain offerings, trespass or guilt offerings, and even certain sin offerings, was eaten by the offerers, or by the priests, or by both (Leviticus 7). This excludes only the burnt offerings. Sacrifice in Israel was a time of festivity and fellowship.

TABERNACLE: Sukkah, or Sukkoth (Feast of Tabernacles): tent, booth, hut, or temporary shelter made of green boughs. This was the housing of the Israelites on their trek from Egypt to Canaan, and they were commanded to keep it fresh in their memories by living in such structures one week of each year.
LEVITE: the basic idea is to join, or cleave, or entwine. It was the function of the Levites to join the people to God, to cause them to cleave to Him, or to be entwined with Him.

SUMMARY

What a variety of material in one small chapter!
Ezra has informed us of the prompt and effective religious action of the people and their leaders. He has singled out for emphasis the one most important article in the holy surroundings: the altar. He has stressed the part played by the Law of the Lord in their renewal, and has taken us through a brief but detailed review of the ancient ritual. If he has left out an item or two, we have not been offended; his number of the vessels in chapter one had included many which he had failed to name, and his final total of the returnees in chapter two was more than the names and numbers he had previously given.
Then he has shown us the gathering of materials and workmen, and the beginning of construction of the new Temple. We have thrilled to the sound of music, and we have felt the surge of a variety of emotions as they observed the first small results of their labors. So far there has been no significant opposition, and no enemy has been singled out by name.