THE COMPLETION OF THE TEMPLE

I’m not much of a sports fan. Though I enjoy participating in sports, the very idea of watching other people exercise leaves me cold. But a number of years I found myself watching one of the Olympic events. It was a race. I’m not certain, but it may have been the Marathon. In any event, the runners were in their final two or three laps. The lead runner crossed the finish line. For him the race was over, but the other runners never slowed up. And then something took place that grabbed everyone’s attention. One of the runners collapsed on the track. Bent over double and clutching his side, it was evident that he was in great pain. He struggled to get again to his feet but could not. From the stadium stands, an older man rushed to the track. The security guards at first sought to detain him, but then they recognized him as the young runner’s father. The father reached his son and helped him to his feet. And then, with his support and at a very unsteady gait, the two continued the last lap and the finish of the race.

They were dead last. But they finished the race. And as they crossed the finish line together, there was a thunderous roar of approval from the spectators. I do not think that there was a dry eye in the stadium.

There is something deeply satisfying about finishing a project. This is especially true when that project is one that has the endorsement of the Lord. There is something inherently glorious in completing a task that has been mandated by heaven.

That is what takes place in the fifth and sixth chapters of Ezra. In the previous chapters, God had provided the vision, the permission and the materials for the rebuilding of His temple. But then opposition had arisen. The people became discouraged. And the work stopped. A year passed. And then another year. And another. And still the work remained incomplete.

Finally something takes place that will bring a renewal of the task. It is the Lord Himself who brings this about through a revelation to His prophets.

Haggai describes the situation that existed among the people of the land. There were housing shortages, disappointing harvests, lack of clothing and jobs, and inflation had taken its toll. People were working more and more for less and less.

Ezra’s account does not give us the exact dates of when this took place. But we do find that information provided in the books of Haggai and Zechariah.

Notice what is the mechanism that the Lord uses to renew the work of construction on His Temple. It is the prophetic revelation which brings about a renewed leadership to the task at hand.

Notice that the Lord works to move the LEADERSHIP of His people to bring about His work. This is the normal pattern in which God works.

Both the prophets and the priests and the descendant of the king had a role in the completion of the work of the Temple. They were working together and there is no indication of any jealousy or friction between any of them.

There is a principle here that you need to see. It is that God usually brings His blessings upon His people through the leadership of that people.

This is seen in the kings of Judah and Israel. When a godly king came to the throne, God blessed both that king as well as his subjects with prosperity. When an evil king came to the throne, the Lord brought famine and pestilence and foreign enemies against that king and against his subjects. It is for this reason that the Scriptures urge us to pray for our governmental leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

This also has an application for families. Fathers have an awesome responsibility, not only for their own spiritual lives, but for the spiritual lives of their families. If you are a father, then you are responsible for the spiritual well-being of your entire household. As you follow the Lord and are obedient to His Word, so shall your family receive blessings from the Lord. And as you are disobedient to the Word of truth, so shall your family reap the negative consequences of your disobedience.

It is not long before news of the renewed construction project gets out. The local Persian governor soon pays a visit to the site and questions the workers.

His question would have been intimidating in the extreme. "Who gave you the authority for these actions?" He is taking names for an official report to the king. Those in leadership will bear the full responsibility for their actions. The names are given and the report is sent in.

It should be noted that Tattenai had both the authority and the wherewithal to halt the work of reconstruction pending his inquiries. But he did not do so. Instead he allows the work to continue while he makes his inquiries.

Why? What prevented him from stopping the work? The answer is given in verse 5 - the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews. As a result, the work continued unabated.

There is a respectful boldness in their answer. On the one hand, they wish to give no affront to the civil authorities. To this end, they appeal to the former Decree of Cyrus. The fact that they ask that it be searched out indicates that they did not have a copy of the original decree in their possession. And so, they respectfully ask that it be located to substantiate their claim. On the other hand, they are determined to obey God rather than men. Therefore they state in no uncertain terms that they are servants of God.

In keeping with the request, a search is made of the official archives and Babylon and the Edict is NOT discovered. But that is not surprising. Babylon no longer served as the center of an empire. The Persians now ruled from their own palace cities in the east.

Xenophon tells us that it was the habit of Cyrus to spend the winter in Babylon, the spring in Susa and the summer in Ecbatana (Cyropaedia 8:6:22).

Once permission has been given, the full weight of the Persian government lends itself to assist in the project. There is a symphony of effort as the elders and the prophets and the Lord and even the kings of Persia combine their mutual efforts to rebuild the Temple of God.

It has been noted that there is no mention of Zerubbabel from this point on. It could be that he had either retired from leadership or that he had even died. Or it could be that he is not mentioned because his role from this point onward was more "behind the scenes."

In this chapter we come full cycle in our story of the rebuilding of the Temple. We started out in chapter 3 where the work was begun. Then it was halted in chapter 4. In the last chapter we saw it resumed and the workers were questioned by the local governor. Finally, at the end of this chapter, we see the work completed.

Now the Jews enter into a service of dedication as they present the results of their labors to the Lord. It is a joyous time of sacrifice of worship as the priests are appointed to their appropriate divisions - the priesthood is divided into 24 courses so that each course would officiate twice per year in the temple. All of the courses would come together at the times of the great feasts.

Now as they come, it is for a time of celebration to the Lord. We are told the number of sacrifices that are brought and the number is considerably less than was brought for the initial dedication of the Temple in the days of Solomon. There are considerable less worshipers gathered. And the Temple may be considerably smaller. But that is okay. The issue is not the size of the offering, the number of people or the size of the structure. The issue is the heart of worship.

One key thing that is lacking in this dedication which was observable in the previous dedications of the Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple was the visible presence of the Lord in the Shekinah Cloud. After the Tabernacle was erected, we read that the cloud of the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle so that even Moses was not able to enter in (Exodus 40:34-35). In the same way, when Solomon’s Temple was dedicated, the cloud of God filled the Temple so that the priests were for a time unable to minister (2 Kings 8:10-11).

But this time there is no mention of the cloud. There is no visible presence of the Lord. The people celebrate, but there is silence from heaven. The book of Malachi contains a promise of the coming of the Lord’s presence.

The Passover stood at the very beginning of the Jewish Religious Year. It celebrated the time when the Lord had delivered the Israelites from Egypt. There is something of a correlation between the events of the Exodus and the events of the book of Ezra.

Since the time of the exile, the Jews would have been unable to properly observe the Passover

with its sacrificed lamb. After all, the only appropriate place to sacrifice the needed lamb would have been at the Temple. In the same way, since the destruction of the temple by Titus in A.D. 70, Jews have not been able to sacrifice Passover lambs but have substituted eggs and roasted meat.

The Passover ultimately looked forward to the One who would be the fulfillment of the Passover Lamb, giving Himself for the sins of the world so that the wrath of God might pass over those who were under the sentence of death. It was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ and it is no accident that his crucifixion took place at the time of the Jewish Passover.