Ezra 3:1–13 (November 4th, 2025)

Rebuilding the Altar

3:1 When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required, 5 and after that the regular burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon and at all the appointed feasts of the Lord, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid. 7 So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

Rebuilding the Temple

8 Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to supervise the work of the house of the Lord. 9 And Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together supervised the workmen in the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad and the Levites, their sons and brothers.

10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,

“For he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”

And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 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, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.

Rebuilding the Altar Before the Walls

Ezra 3Brian Lee

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Summary

When the seventh month came and the exiles gathered in Jerusalem, their first act was not to rebuild their homes or defend their borders but to rebuild the altar of God. Though they feared the surrounding peoples, Jeshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the governor led the people to restore the daily burnt offerings “as it is written in the Law of Moses” (v. 2). They also kept the Feast of Booths and reestablished worship even before the temple foundation was laid (vv. 4–6).

In the second year, they began rebuilding the temple. They appointed Levites and laid the foundation with praise and music. Trumpets sounded, cymbals clashed, and the people sang together:

“For He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever toward Israel” (v. 11).

Yet the sound was not uniform. Some shouted for joy, while others, the older priests and Levites who remembered Solomon’s temple, wept aloud (vv. 12–13). The chapter closes with a moving image of praise mingled with tears, where longing for the past meets hope for God’s continuing mercy.

Who is God

God restores His people to worship before He restores their circumstances.

In Ezra 3, God renews proper worship, sacrifices offered according to His Word. The Lord values the Word and the altar because atonement from God is essential. God's presence in the life of His people is more important than the prosperity of lives or even the temple walls. Our God dwells with His people through the Word and our worship. By stirring the hearts of priests, governors, and ordinary people to rebuild the altar, God shows that He delights in a people united around His Word and presence. He is near to those who tremble at His command and who find their security not in numbers but in worship.

What is our Guilt

We often desire the security of walls before surrendering to worship.

Like the exiles, we fear our "enemies" and want protection first, but the Lord calls us to build the altar before anything else. We are guilty of reversing God’s order. We seek comfort before consecration. We even demand protection before repentance. We invest in what is visible and "impressive," but neglect the quiet renewal of our hearts. The older generation wept because they knew what had been lost by disobedience, while the younger rejoiced, unaware of the cost. Both responses mirror our tendency to measure God’s work by our experiences or emotions. But in truth, we have all forgotten how central the word and worship are. Worship must come before rebuilding anything. We ought to remember how repentance must come before revival.

How does Grace Shine

Grace shines in the fact that God allowed the altar to be rebuilt at all.

The exiles did not earn this restoration. It was an act of mercy. God accepted their offerings despite the ruins around them.

The grace of God meets us in "unfinished" places. God meets us in our "ruins," our repentance, our longing. He assures us that His steadfast love still surrounds His people, despite the circumstances. True revival begins not in the rebuilding of our circumstances but in the rediscovery of God’s grace at the altar of Christ.

Prayer

Father, we thank you that your steadfast love endures forever.

Teach us to rebuild the altar before we build the walls. Please help us to seek your presence before our own protection.

Forgive us for trusting in structures, success, and circumstances more than in the Word and worship.

May our tears and our songs rise together before you until the day when Christ’s temple, the Church, is complete in glory.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.