Shout For Joy

SHOUT FOR JOY (EZRA 3)

I have an educator friend J living in one of the big Chinese cities where the pandemic restrictions were very harsh. He said, “It was crazy being in lockdown for a month, not being able to go outside.” At the slightest relaxing of restrictions, he and his wife were the first to fly halfway around the world to see their son in college overseas. After they left, the restrictions tighten up again to its stringent worst.

My friend called and asked, “Victor, can I stay in Hong Kong so that I can re-enter the mainland once it opens up?” I replied, “No, J. It’s better to find a place where you have family members for support because I don’t think it’s going to open up anytime soon.” We went back and forth as he was convinced the restrictions would loosen soon because the lockdown would not last forever!” I was convinced otherwise.

Eventually my friend stayed with his brother and his family in Asia instead of entering Hong Kong. Do you know how long he was away? Eight months, before sanity was restored!

Can you imagine the Israelites were in exile for 70 years? After their return to Jerusalem, it took them seven months to settle in their towns. Suggestions on the internet include six months to a year to settle into a new town or city for new residents, but it’s new immigrants in the Israelites’ case. The challenge of residence, resources and redevelopment were a struggle.

How do new residents start their lives again? What does it mean to be a community? Why are we to be good neighbors to believers and unbelievers alike?

Set Your Priority

1 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices. 4 Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. 5 After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred feasts of the Lord, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the Lord. 6 On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord's temple had not yet been laid. 7 Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.

Two Jews are walking through a neighborhood one evening when they notice they are being followed by a pair of hoodlums.

“David,” say his friend, “we better get out of here. There are two of them, and we’re alone!”

Unity requires work, wisdom and watchfulness.

The Israelites, or “children of Israel” in the Hebrew language, occurs for the first time in the book. It was a way to describe the unity of the new and next generation seven months into their arrival. They were as “one man” (v 1). The number “one” occurs twice (vv 1, 9 together). The company of 49,897 exiles (v 64) was gifted 5,400 articles of gold and of silver by Cyrus (Ezra 1:11) for the journey and later 61,000 drachmas (2/3 ton) of gold, 5,000 minas (3 tons) of silver and 100 priestly garments by the local leaders toward the rebuilding of the house of God in Jerusalem (Ezra 2:69), but the success of the mission was not in the money, but in their mindset. 50 thousand new immigrants was a recipe for disaster, but they were united, unanimous and undivided to make it work.

Twice, the mission of the returnees was said to build the house of the Lord God of Israel (Ezra 1:3, 5), so the first thing the priests and Zerubbabel did was to build an altar to the God of Israel (v 2). Why was this important? Because this was what their forefather Abraham did upon arriving in Canaan, altogether four times in his lifetime (Gen 12:7, 8, 13:18, 22:9) for thanksgiving, testimony and tracking purposes. The times of offering were morning and evening (v 3), beside daily offerings (v 4), the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred feasts of the Lord (v 5). The noun “day” occurs four times in verse 4 and once in verse 6.