Ezra 3: The Worship of God by the People of God

"And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD,

'For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.'" Ezra 3:11

I type this devotional a mere hour before Tom Brady will, more than likely I'm convinced, win his seventh Super Bowl ring. Yet before I have to deal with that grief, I thought I would focus on one of my favorite chapters in the Bible: Ezra 3, lest I become disturbed.

In Ezra 3, we find a mere phenomenal piece of the Word of God. As we've examined in the past two chapters, Ezra is a book all about what it looks like for a people to return to their God. The Israelites had been deep in slavery and entrenched in their own sin for 70 years, but by his sovereign hand, God had delivered them. In chapter 1, we found the story of that deliverance, and in chapter 2, we found the numbers and names of the returning people. Through it all, we've seen God's faithfulness, but how do the Israelites respond to God's faithfulness? And similarly, how do we respond to the faithfulness of God?

In Ezra 3, we find all of the "returners" gathered in unity (literally, "as one man"). They are all united in the place of God for the glory of God ready to carry out the mission of God according to the plan of God. And in Ezra 3, they simply get going. Zerubbabel and Jeshua, the Israelites leaders of the time, get the process started. They, along with their brothers, build the altar of the Lord. Think of an "altar" for a moment. It has one purpose and one purpose alone: to offer sacrifices to God. And that is exactly what the people do. They build the altar and offer their sacrifices on it, following the LORD's instruction outlined in the law of Moses. In this act, we see two things: the people's obedience to God's law in offering sacrifices, as well as God's grace. The people were in slavery, but God has rescued them and strengthened them to return to their worship of him.

Next, the people reinstitute the festivals. These festivals each commemorated something that God had done for them in the past. They start with the Festival of Booths, which commemorated the Exodus. Do you see the parallel here? The Israelites had just been rescued from slavery in Babylon, and they remember their rescue in slavery in Egypt. God had saved them once, and he has now saved them again.

Yet lastly, and most wonderfully, we find the foundation of the temple set up in this chapter. Logs are brought in, stonemasons are appointed, and the mere foundation of the temple is set up, and the people rejoiced greatly. They sing at the top of their lungs, saying, "For he [the LORD] is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel." God had not only delivered them from slavery and enabled them to worship him once again, but now he is coming back to dwell with them. That is what the temple symbolizes--the very presence of God. In the foundation of this new temple, the people knew that God was still faithful to them, though they had sinned. Thus, they shout at the top of their lungs of God's faithfulness.

Yet at the end of this chapter, we find an interesting thing. Though many respond to the building of the new temple with joy, many who had seen the old temple respond with weeping. Why? Most likely because this temple paled in comparison with what the old temple once was. In the time of Solomon, the temple was much greater. And although God was in fact returning to his people and the Israelites were on their right trajectory again, it just wasn't the same. Yet, I think we can realize something very important from this verse, that though this was a great time in the history of Israel when God restored his presence with his people, it wasn't God's kingdom come on earth. In other words, this wasn't the end. God, someday and at some time, would in fact bring his kingdom to come fully and finally on this earth. We see this begin happening at Christ's advent when Christ came to bodily dwell with his people. However, we will see this finally and fully when Christ comes again.

So, what do we do in response to these words? Ultimately, this chapter gives us a great framework for the worship of God by the people of God. We see this in the people's sacrifices and festivals, as they responded faithfully to God's faithfulness towards them. Yet, we see this most prominently in verse 11, where the ESV says that the people sang "responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD." I love that. What is worship? According to Ezra 3:11, worship is simply responding correctly to the deliverance of God. Does that mean singing? Sometimes. Does that mean obedience? Always. And if we are not responding with worship to what God has done for us by his son Jesus Christ, we are living in sin.

In summary, ask yourself today: how are you responding to the grace of God? Have you surrendered your life in worship to him, or are you living in disobedience? Have you gone back to obeying all of God's statutes and ways, as the people of Israel did? Or have you just simply given up? Dear friend, let me implore you: remember what God has done for you. Meditate on it. Dwell on it, And don't forget it. He has sent his Son to die on your behalf. Surely such an act deserves a life of eternal worship to our eternal King. Amen!