Ezra 3

The returned exiles gather in Jerusalem and put worship first: they rebuild the altar and restart the sacrifices before the temple itself is begun. Then, when the foundation is laid, the people praise God with trumpets, cymbals and song. The day ends with a mixture of joyful shouting and grieving tears that nobody could tell apart.

Ezra 3:1

Seven months after the return, the people were settled in their towns. Then they came to Jerusalem together. The seventh month was the busiest month for Israel’s sacred feasts. Their unity matters here: a scattered remnant becomes one worshiping people.

BSA: assembled (“gathered, came together”): They did not drift into Jerusalem one by one but deliberately came together for God. one man (“united, in unity”): The whole community acted with a single purpose.

See also: Leviticus 23:23-44.

Ezra 3:2

Jeshua the priest and Zerubbabel the governor lead the work together, one spiritual and one civil. Their first task is the altar, built just as the Law of Moses directs. Before anything else, they want to be right with God and worship him his way.

BSA: burnt offerings (“ascending sacrifices”): The whole offering went up in smoke to God, picturing complete surrender.

See also: Exodus 20:24-25; Haggai 1:1.

Ezra 3:3

They set the altar on its old foundation and offered the morning and evening sacrifices. They did this while afraid of the neighboring peoples. Fear did not stop their worship. They put God first and trusted him for their safety.

BSA: feared (“experienced terror or dread”): Their fear was real and strong, which makes their obedience more striking.

See also: Exodus 29:38-42.

Ezra 3:4

They kept the Feast of Tabernacles, when Israel lived in temporary shelters to remember God’s care in the wilderness. They also offered the exact number of sacrifices the Law set for each day. Their obedience was careful, not casual.

BSA: Tabernacles (“booths, temporary shelters”): The feast recalled God sheltering his people on their journey, fitting for those just returned from exile.

See also: Leviticus 23:33-43; Numbers 29:12-38.

Ezra 3:5

Worship became a regular rhythm: daily offerings, New Moon offerings, all the appointed feasts, and voluntary gifts too. Duty and willing generosity went together. The community was rebuilding a life centered on God.

BSA: freewill (“voluntary, spontaneous”): Beyond what was required, hearts moved to give gladly.

See also: Numbers 28:1-15.

Ezra 3:6

The offerings started on the first day of the seventh month, well before any temple foundation existed. Worship did not wait for a building. God was met at the altar, and the rest could follow.

BSA: foundation (“base, starting point”): The temple was still only a hope, yet worship had already begun.

Ezra 3:7

Now they prepare for the building. They pay the stoneworkers and carpenters. They also send food, drink and oil to Sidon and Tyre in exchange for cedar from Lebanon, floated down the coast to Joppa. All of this had the approval of Cyrus, as in Solomon’s day.

BSA: authorized (“permitted, granted”): The Persian king’s permission lay behind the work, showing God moving a foreign ruler.

See also: 1 Kings 5:6-10; Ezra 1:1-3.

Ezra 3:8

In the second month of the second year, the actual building begins. All the returned people take part. Levites from twenty years old are put in charge. The temple was a shared work, not the task of a few.

BSA: supervise (“oversee, direct”): The Levites were given leadership of the work, not just labor.

See also: Numbers 8:24.

Ezra 3:9

Several Levite families stand together to oversee the workers. The verse names them and stresses that they acted as one. God’s house is built by people who serve side by side.

BSA: joined together (“in unity and cooperation”): Shared leadership and a common aim kept the work moving.

Ezra 3:10

When the foundation was finished, the priests in their robes took up trumpets, and Asaph’s descendants took cymbals. They followed the order of worship David had set. They stopped to praise God for the first stage before going on.

BSA: apparel (“special robes, garments”): The priests dressed for the occasion, treating the moment as sacred. prescribed (“given direction, ordered”): Their praise followed David’s long-standing pattern, tying the new work to the old.

See also: 1 Chronicles 16:4-6; 1 Chronicles 25:1.

Ezra 3:11

They answered one another in song, using words found in many psalms: God is good, and his faithful love lasts forever. Then all the people shouted. Even a small beginning, after seventy years of exile, was proof that God had kept his promise.

BSA: loving devotion (“faithful love”): The Hebrew word speaks of God’s steady, covenant-keeping love, which had not failed through exile.

See also: Psalm 136:1; 2 Chronicles 5:13.

Ezra 3:12

Some of the old men had seen Solomon’s temple. They wept aloud, since this foundation seemed small beside the glory they remembered. Others shouted for joy. Both reactions were honest. Grief for what was lost and joy for what is given can sit side by side.

BSA: wept (“cried, mourned”): Their tears were real mourning for what had been destroyed. joyfully (“with joy, in celebration”): Others looked ahead and rejoiced at what God was starting.

See also: Haggai 2:3-9.

Ezra 3:13

The cries of joy and sorrow ran together into one great noise that carried far away. God received it all. The scene is a picture of a people who had suffered much and still hoped.

BSA: distinguish (“discern, recognize”): Joy and grief were so mingled that no one could separate them.

See also: Psalm 126:5-6.