ZERUBABBEL TELLS WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY CAME TO JERUSALEM.
What an experience to realize that we eventually arrived at Jerusalem. You know when we read the prophecies of Isaiah that this wonderful deliverance would happen you get excited but when it dappens it feels too good to be true.
After we have settled, we all assembled as one big family in Jerusalem. We choose the seventh month for this important gathering. Why?
But let me first tell you why I choose the seventh month for this important event.
The 7th month (Tishri) was one of the most sacred months of the entire Jewish religious year.
The 1st day of that month was the New Year’s Day of tour civil calendar. The month began with a blowing of trumpets and a holy get-together. You should have heard the echoes of the trumpet sound from the Kidron and Hinnom valleys. The trumpet sound entered our ears and brought new hope to our hearts. We were starting a brand-new beginning. And this is what I appreciate from God. He is a God of new beginnings.
And if you have messed up as we Jews did, I invite you to allow our loving God to give you a new beginning. He has a way of deleting our previous failures and putting us on a brand new, close by our sides.
Let me read to you what God told us in Lev. 23:24 “These are the LORD’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:”
Ten days after the trumpets announced the new year and the new beginning, later came the solemn Day of Atonement.
Lev 23:27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the LORD.
What emotion does the word Atonement cause in your heart?
The Day of Atonement was followed by the Feast of Tabernacles, from the 15th to the 22d day of the same month (Lev. 23:34–36).
The people were prepared to stay long enough to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (v. 4), one of the three great feasts every Jew was required to observe in Jerusalem (Ex. 23:14; Lev. 23:2; Deut. 16:16).
BUILDING OF THE ALTAR OF SACRIFICE
We had to survey the old Temple area to ascertain where the altar of burnt offerings had originally been located. On that sacred spot, a new altar was to be built. The altar was the center of Jewish worship, and services could not be carried on without it. The altar must have been completed by the last day of the 6th month (see v. 6).
I just want to tell you that we shed a few tears while doing this restoration. This was the heart of the message of salvation because the sacrificial lamb was a symbol of a loving God that would be prepared to take our punishment upon Himself and let us go free.
The setting up of the altar of daily burnt offerings greatly cheered the faithful remnant. Heartily they entered the preparations necessary for the rebuilding of the temple, gathering courage as these preparations advanced from month to month.
They had for many years been deprived of the visible tokens of God’s presence. And now, surrounded as they were by many sad reminders of the apostasy of their fathers, they longed for some abiding token of divine forgiveness and favor.
Above the regaining of personal property and ancient privileges, they valued the approval of God. Wonderfully had He wrought in their behalf, and they felt the assurance of His presence with them; yet they desired greater blessings still. With joyous anticipation they looked forward to the time when, with temple rebuilt, they might behold the shining forth of His glory from within.
The workmen engaged in the preparation of the building material, found among the ruins some of the immense stones brought to the temple site in the days of Solomon. These were made ready for use, and much new material was provided; and soon the work was advanced to the point where the foundation stone must be laid.
This was done in the presence of many thousands who had assembled to witness the progress of the work and to give expression to their joy in having a part in it. While the cornerstone was being set in position, the people, accompanied by the trumpets of the priests and the cymbals of the sons of Asaph, “sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because He is good, for His mercy endures forever toward Israel.” Verse 11.
Despite our fear for the enemies around us, we built the new altar on its former foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices.
The smell of the morning and evening sacrifices reminds us of the fact that God is well pleased in saving us.
Then in accordance with what is written in the law, we celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. You should have seen the beaming smiles on the faces of the people who brought their offerings.
On the first day of the seventh month, we began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, though the foundation of the LORD’s temple had not yet been laid. Then we gave money to the masons and carpenters and gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.
Rebuilding the Temple
Now we move forward to the second month of the second year after our arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem and began to restore the ruined temple of God. We appointed Levites twenty years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the LORD. I must tell you what happened next, it is so important to hear it.
When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel.
At last, we continued the beautiful order of service that was practiced during the reign of King David.
You should have heard the praise and thanksgiving we sang to the LORD that day. Can you guess the contents of the lyrics? “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.”
The beautiful words just became loader and loader. Just to think we have laid the foundation of the temple at last. And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
And what’s more important is the fact that we started building this second temple on the same date that the first temple was built.
But I also watched and heard sounds of sadness that day. It was caused by those who still had the size and beauty of the previous temple in mind.
ZERUBBABEL
I want to bring honour to Daniel whom I met in personal on several occasions. Under his leadership we exiles had determined to start from the beginning to worship God according to His expressed will. We didn’t ever want to fall again into the sins of indifference and idolatry, on account of which they our fathers had had to suffer so much.
Daniel reminded us of the following words or Moses:
Deu 12:5 But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go;
Deu 12:6 there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
Deu 12:7 There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you.
Although we had but recently returned from Babylonia, we were already aware of the hostility of their neighbours, who were not a little displeased that the Jews had now returned to their homeland.
They have occupied some parts of Judea during the Exile, and were now asked to return these to their rightful owners. Naturally, they looked with suspicion upon us the Jews, who made it plain that henceforth no other worship than that of Jehovah would be tolerated.
This hostility have already been revealed in threats. We assembled in Jerusalem in a state of fear. Though we had permission from Cyrus to raise up both our altar and our Temple, it was not at all certain that this could be accomplished without encountering serious opposition from the neighbouring peoples.
Cyrus had only recently come into possession of these areas, which had belonged to the Babylonian Empire, and he may have exercised only nominal control over them.
Festival of tabernacles.
The festival requirements were carefully observed. For us to live in tents or booths had a real and appropriate meaning at this time. The feast was originally established as a memorial of the 40 years of desert wandering. Once more we had been led back to our homeland from a foreign country, where we had been in exile. Once more they were living in tents, until more permanent places e could be built.
Burnt offerings are prescribed for each day.
These offerings are not those mentioned in vs. 3 and 5, but pertained to the Feast of Tabernacles. The regulations concerning them are found in Num. 29:12–40. All particulars there enjoined were now carefully observed, as may be concluded from the record here given of the celebration.
PAID BUILDERS
During the festive assembly discussions were held concerning the rebuilding of the Temple, and contracts were closed with artisans able to carry out the plans there laid.
Many of us had been employed by the Babylonians in building their palaces, temples, and fortifications. The professional skill acquired in Babylon now proved to be a great asset, and I, Zerubbabel set the masons and carpenters to work at their respective tasks, paying them regular wages in money.
The purchase of cedars from the Lebanon Mountains was made by contract with the Sidonians and Tyrians, with compensation in kind. Phoenicia was a narrow strip of coastland and had to import foodstuffs Solomon had paid for the materials received from Hiram of Tyre with wheat, barley, wine, and oil (2 Chron. 2:15), and similar arrangement was now made by me, Zerubbabel.
From the most ancient times the Lebanon region had furnished cedarwood for building palaces, temples, and other public buildings throughout the civilized countries of the Near East.
A special grant of Phoenician timber made by Cyrus seems to be intended. Although outside of this remark we have no written evidence of such a grant, the provision made in the official decree, as later found in Ecbatana, to have the cost of the Temple paid from royal funds, apparently included the purchase of building material with public money.
The food, drink, and oil must have been provided by the Persian administration, because the newly arrived Jews could hardly have found enough foodstuffs even for their own needs in the half-deserted country to which they had come.
NEXT TIME
I received an offer from the Samaritans to assist me in the building of the temple. Come and listen what happened.