Something to Shout About

August 4, 2013

Ezra 3:10-13

BACKGROUND of text:

Because of Israel’s refusal to abandon their idols, God sent them into captivity by the Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar in- vaded Jerusalem and destroyed Solomon’s temple.

This captivity lasted 70 years (Jer. 25:11-12).
Israel lived in captivity without a temple, without feasts, or sacrifices.
King Cyrus overthrew the Babylonians in 539 B.C. and allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem. (About 50,000 Jews returned home).
Three years later, the Jews laid the foundation for the new Temple.
At the laying of the foundation for the new temple the people “sang TOGETHER” (v. 11) in praise to the Lord for His goodness to them.

QUESTION: But, their “togetherness” was interrupted as the young men shouted for joy and the old men wept “with a loud voice.” WHY are the young men shouting for joy while the old men are weeping?

The Old Men = The PAST:

1.What They Remembered –

They remembered the first temple.
They remembered it’s Grandeur… it’s Gold… and it’s Glory.
They remembered the glory of God that filled the first temple, 1 Kings 8:8-13; 2 Chron. 5:13-14; 7:1-3
They remembered shields of gold, now replaced with shields of brass!

2. What They Realized –

They understood the new temple wouldn’t be the same—It would be smaller and not as glorious (cf. Hag. 2:3).

The Young Men = The PRESENT:

1. What They Remembered –

They never saw the first temple.
They had no frame of reference of what Solomon’s temple looked like or of it’s glory.
All they remembered was a life of captivity in a foreign land.
All they could remember was slavery and bondage.
They couldn’t remember the first temple, but they were thankful for what they had!

2. What They Realized –

The young ones couldn’t remember the old days, but they could see a new day of opportunity had dawned for them and they embraced it wholeheartedly!
These young people were excited about what God was doing in their day.
Some people are so caught up in the past, they cannot get excited about what God is doing in the present!
The past is gone forever and we “must” live in the present.

Be careful you don’t become trapped in the past and totally miss what God is doing today.

Bottom Line (application):

There is a valuable lesson for us today as God continues to do something new and fresh. I sometimes hear Christian long for the old days of revivals under preachers like D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, and Mordecai Ham. There may be a tendency to compare what God is doing today with what God did back then.

God sent the prophet Haggai to tell these people that the glory of this new temple would actually exceed the glory of the old temple (Hag. 2:9). Why? Because Jesus would walk in this new temple, and where Jesus is, the glory is infinitely greater.

Be on guard against longing after the old days. Stay young in the Spirit. Shout for joy at what God is doing now.