“But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy.” – Ezra 3:12
Isn’t it interesting how two groups of people could see the same thing and respond in such different ways? The faithful remnant that had endured exile in Babylon and returned to Jerusalem came together and laid the foundation for a new Temple in which to worship God. This was their number one job upon returning home. Most of the people there were excited. They’d worked hard and the foundation was finished. Soon (they thought), there would be a fine temple in which to worship God. So, they shouted with joy.
However, the older members of the group remembered how big and beautiful the first Temple had been. They knew the rebuilt Temple was pitiful compared to what had once stood in that place. They wept with sorrow for what had been lost. Neither group was wrong in their feelings. But here’s the thing…. The first Temple was gone. It was in the past and it wasn’t coming back. However, God was in the present and He was worthy of worship! It was reasonable to lament the old Temple’s destruction but that lament couldn’t be permitted to discourage or hold back the returned exiles from building the new, lesser, Temple.
The size or beauty of the Temple was much less important than its purpose. It was being built to worship the Living God of the Universe. While His Temple might have changed and diminished, God hadn’t. He had sustained the faithful through 70 years of exile and brought them home under the blessing and permission of a pagan king. God was, and is, worthy of all worship, no matter how humble or grand the building.
This is important to remember in our own time. Sometimes we can be tempted to live in the past that we remember as being much better than the diminished present. Even if that’s actually true, we must not let our mourning for the past keep us from investing our energy in worshiping and serving God right now. Even if we lament what once was, we must fully embrace what is and what is about to be for the glory of God here and now. God is the great I AM – He is eternally present. It is in the present that we should commit and #FollowJesus