A Remnant Rebuilds

KEY VERSE: “The children of Israel kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.” —Ezra 6:16

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Ezra 1:2-4; 6:14-16

MANY problems accompanied the reconstruction of the Temple after the Jews returned from exile. Because Jerusalem’s walls were sorely damaged, they had little protection from enemies trying to disrupt their building efforts. Also the more elderly Jews who remembered the grandeur of their former Temple were disheartened at the austere lines and far less glorious materials used in the new construction. As a result, many delays were incurred, and the people began to lose interest.

The Lord sent special prophets and leaders to Israel during this time to give them heart, and spur on their efforts to complete the work. One of these prophets was Ezra. While Ezra encouraged them in building, he also knew that if their new Temple, when finished, were to have any meaning and purpose for them, another kind of reconstruction program was needed—a restoration of the Israelites themselves to harmony with the law of their God, and a creating in them of a steadfast desire to remain in harmony therewith.

Ezra, the scribe, was an ardent servant of God. He loved the Lord, and he loved the people of God; and loving them, he wished to see them prosper. He knew that during their long exile in Babylon they had lost contact with God’s law, that probably the vast majority of those who had been born in captivity knew little or nothing of that law. It would be useless to expect them to be obedient when they had so little knowledge. So, Ezra journeyed from Babylon to Jerusalem, and upon arrival initiated among the Israelites an educational program designed to acquaint them with God’s law, and encourage them to be obedient to it.

On the first day of the seventh month of the year, the people all gathered together to hear the Book of the Law read to them. (Ezra 7:7-10) “So they read in the Book in the Law of God distinctly,” the account states, “and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” The people agreed to obey it. They made a covenant with the Lord based upon what they had just learned. At Mount Sinai the whole nation had entered into a covenant with God based upon the Law, so what occurred in Ezra’s time must have been merely a renewal of that covenant.

There is no greater source of strength for the accomplishment of difficult tasks by God’s people than the assurance that they are doing his will, and that he will be with then in what they undertake to do for him and his cause. It was this assurance that God gave to the Israelites through the Prophet Ezra. “The Lord stirred up the spirit of … the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,” and the Temple was finished.

The experiences of the Israelites, and God’s providences over them in connection with their return from captivity in Babylon, convey many inspiring lessons which should be of great benefit to spiritual Israelites of this age. One of those lessons is summed up for us in our Key Text. It is a lesson of victory through endurance, and not becoming weary in well doing. Many failures along all lines of human endeavor are due to a lack of that quality which enables one to stick to a project until it is accomplished.

Momentary enthusiasm for an undertaking, which quickly diminishes when the novelty wears off, is of little value, either in the ordinary walks of life, or in our service of God.

The Temple was a symbol of God’s presence in the midst of Israel. To the natural-minded Israelites, who lacked faith in the unseen things of God even at the best of times, outward symbols of his presence no doubt proved to be a great aid in their worship. But even more important, God designed them to be typical of his spiritual temple made up of Jesus and his church.

Our work for the Lord today, as it has been true of the Lord’s people throughout the Gospel Age, is of a spiritual nature. We are workers together with God in the construction of a spiritual temple. We, too, have our enemies. They are the world, the flesh, and the devil. Satan and the world ever seek to discourage us and hinder our work by appealing to us through the weaknesses of our fallen flesh. But God has also sent us help—teachers whose ministry and lives have spurred us on to complete the work and to live for that day of great joy when the spiritual temple of God will be dedicated!

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