Lesson: Ezra 3:1-7
Golden Text: “They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required” (Ezra 3:4).
INTRODUCTION. People often
begin to worship God from the heart out of desperation brought on by some type
of trouble. In this week’s lesson we see that Israel was
desperate. They had been allowed to return to the Promised Land
after being in captivity in Persia. They found themselves under
great stress from their enemies who lived in the land. They had
the challenge of establishing a city and sustaining themselves agriculturally
and financially. However, when they began to honor the Lord by
restoring the prescribed worship, they moved from desperation to joyful worship.
II. THE SETTING FOR THE
RESTORATION (Ezra 3:1).
Ezra was a captive during the Babylonian
Captivity. He was also a
scribe (see Ezra 7:6, 12) and a priest (see Ezra
7:1-5). As a scribe, his duty was to copy, interpret
and transmit the books of the Law. The Jews were taken captive by
the Babylonians with a series of deportations to Babylon beginning in 605
B.C. The Captivity would last for 70
years (see Jeremiah 25:11; 29:10) from 586 B.C., when
the temple was destroyed, to about 516 B.C. when the
returning exiles rebuilt it.
A. The time and the
people’s circumstances (Ezra 3:1). After resettling in the towns and villages where their
ancestors had lived (see Ezra 2:70), our text begins with
“And when the seventh
month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people
gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.”
The Jews had two calendars,
a civil calendar and a religious calendar. The “seventh
month” on the religious calendar was Tishri which is the same as our
mid-September through mid-October, but it was also the first month on their
civil calendar. It was celebrated by the blowing of trumpets and a
holy convocation, or sabbath day in which no work could be done (see Leviticus
23:24-25). The Day of Atonement followed on the tenth day (see
Leviticus 23:26-32), and the Feast of Tabernacles was observed from the
fifteenth to the twenty-second day of the month. Since the seventh
month had such spiritual significance, it seemed to be the proper time to
reestablish their worship. In the seventh month the people
“gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.”
The phrase “as one man” means that the people
were in full agreement that the reestablishment of worship must take precedence
over anything else. After years of captivity, they now understood
that if they neglected worship disaster would
follow.
III. THE ALTAR OF SACRIFICE
RESTORED (Ezra 3:2-3)
A.The
leaders of the restoration (Ezra 3:2).
This verse says “Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his
brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and
builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it
is written in the law of Moses the man of God.”
The leaders in
restoring the worship in Jerusalem were first “Jeshua the son
of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests.” Here called
“Jeshua,” this priest is called Joshua in Haggai 1:1 and
Zechariah 3:1. He was the grandson of Seriah, the last high
priest before the Captivity (see II Kings 25:18-21). The phrase
“his brethren the priests” refers to Jeshua’s relatives from
the priesthood. There were 4,289 members of the Jewish priestly
family among those who returned (see Ezra 2:36-39). It was very
important that the restored worship be conducted by descendents of Aaron.
The next leader was “Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his
brethren.” The name “Zerubbabel” was
Babylonian and means “offspring of Babylon.” However, he was of
Jewish royal lineage being a descendent of David and the grandson of Jehoiachin
(see I Chronicles 3:17-20). Since he is called the governor of
Judah (see Haggai 1:1), he was also most likely the political leader of the
returning Jews. The phrase “and his brethren”
could refer to either other Israelites, or probably others of the royal
Davidic line. All of these men came together to rebuild the
“altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon.”
Rebuilding the altar came before anything else.
The temple foundations had not been laid yet indicating that offering of
sacrifices was the main feature of Jewish worship, because it was the divinely
given means for atonement, or forgiveness of sins. Without an
altar there could be no sacrifice. The altar was constructed
“as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.”
In other words, the altar was built according to the
instructions given in the Law of Moses, and the returning exiles saw the need
for following the law. They understood that their fathers had been
removed from their land for disobeying God’s Law, and they certainly didn’t want
to repeat that mistake.
B.The burnt offerings resumed
(Ezra 3:3).
This verse continues to say “And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because
of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto
the Lord,
even burnt offerings morning and evening.” This group mentioned in the previous verse “set the altar
upon his bases” meaning that they set the altar on its
foundation. They may have been able to find the place where the
altar once stood and set it up there. The phrase “for fear
was upon them because of the people of those countries” gives us the
reason why it was so important that they finish the altar first.
They were afraid of the peoples who now occupied the land and they
realized they needed God’s protection. “The people of
those countries” were the groups of people who now lived in
Israel. These included nations that the Jews didn’t cast out of
the land as God directed including the Amonites, Moabites, and Edomites, and the
Philistines. There were also foreign peoples living in Judah and
Israel that were brought in by the Assyrians who intermarried with the Jews who
were left in Israel after the Assyrian invasion. This created a
group later called Samaritans. No doubt all of these groups of
peoples hated the idea of a restored Jerusalem and may have thought the
returning exiles threatened their claim to the land.
IV. THE RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES RESTORED (Ezra 3:4-6)
A. The Feast of Tabernacles (Ezra 3:4). In this verse we are told that “They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required.” Now that the altar was finished, it was ready to be used fully. The “feast of tabernacles” was one of three yearly feasts that all Jewish males were to attend in Jerusalem. The other two were the feast of unleavened bread and the feast of weeks, or Pentecost (see Exodus 23:14-17; Leviticus 23:34-42; Deuteronomy 16:16). The “feast of tabernacles” is also called the Feast of Booths because the Jews were to build temporary shelters (tents, booths or lean-tos) to remind them of the time their forefathers spent in the wilderness of Sinai after they left Egypt (see Leviticus 23:39-42; Nehemiah 8:14-18). Living in these temporary shelters would also remind Israel that they were only strangers and pilgrims on this earth. This feast began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month Tishri on the Hebrew calendar, and lasted for one week. It was the first feast celebrated by the returning exiles after they restored worship in Jerusalem. The “Feast of Tabernacles” is the only feast that will be celebrated during the Millennial reign of Christ (see Zechariah 14:16-21).
This verse also says that the feast of tabernacles was kept “as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required.” In other words, the people observed the “feast of tabernacles” precisely as the law instructed. It was to last for seven days and each day required a certain number of animals to be offered as a burnt offering (see Numbers 29:12-38). More sacrifices were made during this feast than during any other. In addition, though the other feasts may have been a time of joy, the “feast of tabernacles” is the only feast at which the law commanded the people to rejoice (see Deuteronomy 16:14).
B. Other feasts (Ezra 3:5). This verse says “And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the Lord that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the Lord.” The phrase “And afterward” refers to the end of the Feast of Tabernacles. Once this feast was completed they “offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the Lord that were consecrated.” The people offered the burnt offering every day, including the new moon offering which was offered at the beginning of each month (see Numbers 10:10; 28:11-15). The phrase “all the set feasts of the Lord that were consecrated” refers to the seven feasts mentioned above (see commentary on verse 3) that were “consecrated” or set apart to God. In addition, everyone “willingly offered a freewill offering unto the Lord.” With all of the offerings to be given, surely there was a need for the altar. Note: When we give our resources to the Lord, it all belongs to Him and is no longer ours. If we say it must be used for something specific that we personally want to see done, then it is really not given freely. The Macedonian Christians got it right. They first gave themselves to the Lord and then they gave their resources (see II Corinthians 8:5). Giving is part of worship and it shows our gratitude to the Lord for what He has done for us. For sure it is impossible to earn God’s favor, but He still loves to have worshippers who show their open hearts with open wallets (see II Corinthians 9:7). The returning exiles brought offerings to the Lord out of their own free will that were not commanded by the law. God always looks for worship that comes from an open and willing heart. Joyful worship has to be more than what is commanded, it must be freely given from the heart.
C. Continual burnt offerings (Ezra 3:6). The writer here adds that “From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid.” As soon as the altar was finished, “burnt offerings” were offered unto the Lord beginning with the “first day of the seventh month” which was when they finished erecting the altar. The statement that “the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid” is very important. It shows that worship could go on even when there was no temple. As long as they had the altar they could offer sacrifices even though the temple was still in ruins.
V. REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE INITIATED (Ezra 3:7). Our final verse says “They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.” We are told in the first chapter of Ezra that King Cyrus of Persia was led by God’s Spirit to allow His people to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple. As already noted, upon returning home their first priority was to rebuild the altar. The construction of the temple would begin about a year later (see Ezra 3:8) so they started making preparations. They began by giving “money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters.” In other words, they hired “masons” (bricklayers) and “carpenters” (those who worked with wood) to work with stone and wood. They paid these workers from the gifts the people collected before returning to their homeland (see Ezra 1:4, 6) and also from the royal treasury (see Ezra 6:4). In addition the people gave “meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa.” The meat (or food), drink and oil were items that could be traded to the men of “Zidon” (Sidon) and “Tyre” in exchange for the purchase and transporting of “cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa.” These two cities, “Zidon” and “Tyre” were major sea ports in Phoenicia, a small country located along the Mediterranean Sea northwest of Palestine. The wood from “cedar trees” was coveted by many people because of its fragrance and resistance to rot and insects. These qualities made this wood ideal for use in rebuilding the temple.The phrase “according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia” refers to the permission to rebuild the temple that King Cyrus had given. The original decree of Cyrus gave the returning exiles the right to build the temple (se Ezra 1:2-4) and even specified some building details (see Ezra 6:3-5). Now worship was restored by the returning exiles. The altar enabled them to begin offering sacrifices to God and steps were being taken to rebuild the temple.
VI. Conclusion. God had moved the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia to send the Israelite captives back to Jerusalem to rebuild the house of God. Over forty-two thousand of them walked some nine hundred miles, taking with them whatever they could. While in Captivity, they had not been able to worship God as He had ordained since they had no altar or temple. Once they returned to Jerusalem, they had to start a new life in the Promised Land. When time came to rebuild the temple, they gave a freewill offering. God provided the workers and the leadership to begin their work. It was also time to resume the sacrifices and feasts that God had commanded for Israel. The joyful worship they had missed for seventy years was to be restored to them. It should bring the believer great joy to worship the Lord and to give Him ourselves and our resources..
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