Ezra 3:1-7
1Now when the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. 2Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers arose and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. 3So they set up the altar on its foundation, for they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4They celebrated the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the fixed number of burnt offerings daily, according to the ordinance, as each day required; 5and afterward there was a continual burnt offering, also for the new moons and for all the fixed festivals of the LORD that were consecrated, and from everyone who offered a freewill offering to the LORD. 6From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, but the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid. 7Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food, drink and oil to the Sidonians and to the Tyrians, to bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, according to the permission they had from Cyrus king of Persia.
I deal with depression in a unique way…everyday. Since I was in my mid-twenties I have suffered from some form of depression or another. Sometimes it’s the results of my own doing but a lot of times it is more of just not getting enough rest, exercise and watching my diet. While that all may seem to be something I can control, guess again. I’m an unpaid staff member with a small urban church who is attempting to get out of survival mode into a growth stage. I study for Sunday School and am presently preaching through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, which includes an incredible amount of study as well as preparation time. I counsel people who are dealing with real life issues. I have just finished taking my second semester of New Testament Greek, which takes about fifteen to twenty hours out of my week. My job is also very intense and stressful because of my position as a supervisor over an area which is constantly scrutinized by auditors. And somewhere in there is the need of my family which includes my wife, both of our parents, siblings, and of course Malley our weimaraner, and Patches our cat. Does the word exhausted come to your mind? Well, if it does then you’re on the right track. In fact if you say depressed because of lack of down time, you have the clearest picture of them all. There is however, one thing which helps me reset and refocus. That one thing is daily private and weekly corporate worship of our Lord.
When the Jews begin to return to Jerusalem with the blessings of Cyrus king of Persia (Ezra 1:1) the first thing that do is reestablish worship. Notice some of the things they do to re-establish this worship. First, they rebuild the altar of sacrifice in its original place (v. 3a). The words “they set up the altar on its foundation” means they literally found were the altar was originally and rebuilt it there. Second, they began to make sacrifices (v. 3b). These sacrifices were not a one time deal but a constant thing which was done in accordance with what Yahweh had instructed them in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It also can be seen in the re-establishing of the Feast of Booths and the following the instruction directly from Scripture itself (v. 4-6). Verse 3 notes that they did this despite the fear and threat they felt from those nations which surrounded them.
The second thing they did was to start rebuilding the temple. Verse 6 goes out its way to make note that “the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid.” They paid those who going to do the work and supply the material (v. 7).
The key note is that worship was important to the Jewish community and serves as an example to us today in Christianity. You and I will show faith in what we worship. We will continue doing those things which are important to us. If private and public worship is important to us then we will daily meet with God in prayer and His word. If public worship is important to us then we will meet with God along with other fellow believers at the local church we belong to for the sake of praying and seeking God through the teaching of His word. The key is that both must be important not just one or the other. When we truly worship God then He will open our eyes up to what He is doing and how He is working. It takes sacrifice, time, possible humiliation, and laying a foundation worthy of praise to our Father.
How about you, do you worship God in truth and spirit? Do you draw to God daily in personal and weekly in corporate worship? Do you know that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation and true worship of God? Do you understand that the reason we don’t sacrifice today the way the Jews did during those days is because Jesus Christ took our sins on Him at the cross? That He sacrificed Himself so that we would not have to suffer the agony of an eternity without Him. Worship starts with sacrifice. The only sacrifice we have is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The only way to truly worship God is through Jesus.
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