Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ezra 3-5.

As soon as the Returned Exiles got settled back in the land they began work on rebuilding the altar to the Lord in Jerusalem.  Then, when the altar was rebuilt they began making offerings upon it and began working on laying a foundation for the rebuilt Temple.  Once they had completed the foundation, they held a festival to praise the Lord for bringing them thus far.  All of the people were emotionally overcome by the moment, some weeping, some shouting in joy.  The noise was so loud that it was impossible to distinguish those who were weeping from those shouting in joy.  In a similar way, we should not be ashamed to allow our emotions to overwhelm us when we worship the Lord, especially when something positive happens.

I am always torn by the accounts here where the Returned Exiles rejected the request of those living in the land to assist them in rebuilding the Temple.  On the one hand, those who offered are identified as enemies of the Returned Exiles.  On the other hand, I believe that we should welcome all who wish to worship the Lord.  Perhaps if the Returned Exiles had allowed those living in the land to take part in rebuilding the Temple, they would not have become the enemies of the Returned Exiles.  Or, perhaps they would have acted to undermine the restoration of faithful worship of God.  The writer of this passage clearly believes that these people were not acting in good faith when they asked to take part in rebuilding the Temple.  All in all, this passage highlights the need to determine whether those who offer to help you serve God share your understanding of what serving God means.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.