Ezra Chapter 3
By Ken Yeo
Last Updated: 2021-6-8
Explanations
1. Big picture of
rebuilding the temple (Ch. 1-6)
a) Return (chapter
1-2)
b) Building the
temple (Ch. 3-6)
2. Chapter 3
outline
a) rebuilding the
altar (3:1-6)
i.
building the altar (3:1-2)
ii.
responses at the alter completion (3:3-6)
b) rebuilding the
temple foundation (3:7-13)
i.
building the temple’s foundation (3:7-9)
ii.
responses at the temple’s foundation completion
(3:10-13)
3. Building the
altar (3:1-2)
a) Feasts
i.
The seventh month is a literary inclusio for v1
to v6.
ii.
The seventh month is the Jewish second set of
feasts: Trumpet, Atonement, Tabernacle (Lev 23). It is known as Tishri, in
September-October in our calendar.
b) Leaders
i.
The two leaders of the return are introduced: Jeshua,
the high priest (Zech 3:1), and Zerubbabel, the descendent of David. Zerubbabel
is the grandson of Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24)
ii.
Jeshua is the high priest. His grandfather,
Seraiah, was killed by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:18-21). Ezra is also from the
line of Seraiah (7:1). Normally Zerubbabel’s name is mentioned first (Ezra 3:8;
Hag 1:1, 12, 14); this time, Jeshua’s name is first, probably because he, as
the high priest, was the leader in building the altar.
c) Unity
i.
Israel is used instead of Judah. Although most
people were from the southern kingdom, namely the tribe of Judah and Benjamin,
they represent the entire kingdom of Israel.
ii.
The people are children of Israel (v1), the
altar is the altar of the God of Israel (v2). Many returned, but all gathered
as one man before God(v1). This is corporate worship in unity.
d) Altar
i.
They build the altar of the God of Israel first.
There is no worship without an altar.
ii.
They offered burnt offerings by following the
Law of Moses, the man of God. Worship must follow God’s way. We will see the importance
of Laws again when Ezra returned later in Ezra 7:2, almost 80 years later.
iii.
Moses is called the man of God (also in Deut
33:1; Josh 14:6), just like Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha (1 Sam 9:9; 1 Kings
17:18; 2 Kings 4:7). It is another name for prophets.
4. Responses at
the alter completion (3:3-6)
a) They worshipped
God despite fearing the peoples of the lands.
b) They offered
burned offerings to the LORD in the morning and evening according to the law
(Ex 29:38-42; Num 28:1-8): first offering since exile, the last offering was 50
years ago. These are daily offering.
c) They kept the
Feast of Tabernacle according to the law. They lived in tents to remind them
how God had provided them during the 40 years of wilderness. The feast was
celebrated in the original temple dedication (2 hr 5:30). On Ezra’s return,
they would also celebrate the Feast of Tabernacle (Ezra 8:17).
d) Other offerings
were made, including the new moon and freewill offerings. The new moon offering
is offered monthly, and the freewill offerings can be offered any time. The
point is, Israel has reestablished the sacrifices commanded by Yahweh.
e) They offered burnt
offerings on the 1st day of the seventh month, at the feast of Trumpet.
f) All these
offerings are done before the temple foundation has laid, similar to what David
did, he built an altar and offered sacrifices before the Solomonic temple was
built (1 Ch 21:28-22:1)
5. Building the temple’s
foundation (3:7-9)
a) The foundation
of the temple was not yet laid.
b) They hired
masons and carpenters to build the temple foundation
c) It was God’s
provision that the Israelites could use the grand from Cyrus to build the temple’s
foundation
d) They give food,
drink, and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians (non-Jews) to bring cedar trees
from Lebanon via Joppa, just as the 1st templet (1 Kings 5:1-10; 2 Chro 2:1-16).
These activities passed through two provinces of Cyrus. It would be tough to
accomplish without Cyrus’s decree, another sign of God’s provision.
e) Zerubbabel and
Joshua are mentioned again. They are the leaders
f) They became the
work on the second month of the second year (May 536BC), 70 years after the first
exile in 605BC. The work of the original temple was also started in the second
month (1 Kings 6:1).
g) They appointed
the Levites, who are 20-year-old and up, to supervise the work
h) Jeshua and
family, and the sons of Henadad and the Levites supervised the workmen
i) The Levites
Jeshua and Kadmiel were mentioned in 2:40.
6. Responses at
the temple’s foundation completion (3:10-13)
a) When the
builders laid the foundation, the priests and Levites, including the sons of
Asaph, praised the Lord according to the arrangements set up by King David of
Israel (1 Chr. 16:5-6).
b) The laying of
the temple’s foundation is a fulfillment of God’s prophecy (Is 44:26).
c) They sang: "For
he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel." The
Israelites sang the same song when the first temple was built (2 Chr 5:13). They
praise God’s goodness and steadfast love to them as the people of Israel because
it was God who brought them back to the land. Jeremiah has prophesied that
Yahweh would bring his people back to the land, and the land would once again
filled with a voice of gladness and would sing the song again (Jer 33:10-11).
God is indeed faithful, good and His steadfast love endures forever. This song
is also the basis of many of David’s songs for David understood God’s
character. Many Psalms (Ps 106,107,118) have the same theme. The name of Yahweh
reveals His characters as He revealed to the Israelites through Moses in Ex
34:5-7.
d) All people
shouted with a great shout to praise the Lord because the foundation of the
house of the LORD was laid
e) Those who have
seen the first temple wept with a loud voice that can be heard far away. They
might be comparing the size of the foundation. Haggai (Hag 2:3, 9) and
Zachariah (Zec 4:10) preached against it. God said He would fill this house
with glory; the latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former
(Hag 2:7-9). They could also weep because they remembered it was the nation’s
sin and idolatry and disobedience to God’s law that had brought divine judgment
upon them. If that is the case, these were the tears of repentance.
f) They could not
distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the weeping.
g) The emphasis of
this section is the celebration, not the actual building.
Applications
1. God raised
Jeshua and Zerubbabel as leaders to the Israelites to rebuild the altar and
temple. God always raises up leaders to lead His people to worship Him. We are
all leaders in different capacities, and maybe God is raising you as a leader
for a small group or a leader in your community. Are you willing to respond to God’s
leading?
2. The Israelites
built the altar first because it is the most important thing. Christians ought
to make our worship to the Lord our number one priority in life. Do you have a "family
altar" in your home? How important is worship to your family?
3. Just as the
Israelites worshiped God despite fear for the surrounding peoples, Christians
ought to worship God despite fear of persecution from the world.
4. Just as the
Israelites worship God as one, we as Christians are members of the body of
Christ. When we interact with Christians from different backgrounds, we should
always keep the unity of Christ’s body in mind by concentrating on our
similarities, not our differences (John 17; Eph 4).
5. The Israelites
who returned rebuilt the temple’s foundation knew it was Yahweh’s goodness and
steadfast love that allows them to return to reestablish their worship to
Yahweh. God is good. His steadfast love endures forever. We as Christians ought
to worship God and praise Him for His goodness and steadfast love, for He would
never forsake us; when we drift away, He always works to bring us back to Him
(John 10:29).