Day 268: Rebuilding the Temple

Ezra 3:7-13 The work of rebuilding the Temple got underway under the supervision of the Levites. The process had a ritualistic tone: As the foundation was laid, the priests and Levites sang hymns in praise of God for his steadfast love. (CCC 214, 220, 1191)

Ch 4:1-24 Following the Babylonian Exile, some of the Samaritans attempted to help rebuild the Temple but were turned away on account of their pagan practices.

The Book of Zechariah

Author and Date:

• Zechariah was probably born during the exile in Babylon and resettled in Judah with the first wave of returnees around 537 BC.

• A member of a priestly family, he preached his oracles about 519 BC, not long after Haggai.

Audience:

• As did Haggai, Zechariah wrote to the Jews at the time of the post-exilic restoration of Jerusalem to encourage them in the rebuilding of the Temple.

Main Themes:

• Zechariah’s primary theme was to convey hope during a time of frustration and desolation.

• The work of rebuilding the Temple and the infrastructure of Jerusalem was vast and daunting, almost too much to bear.

• Zechariah was in concert with Haggai in proclaiming that this work, however difficult, was essential in order to allow God to bring about his promised salvation.

• In fact, God himself willed that the work be done, and he would provide his assistance.

• When finished, God would again dwell in his Temple in the midst of his people (cf. 2:15-16).

• Yet, this could happen only with their cooperation, which included not only the rebuilding of the Temple but also their conversion (cf. 1:2-6)

• Rebuilding the Temple would bring a multitude of blessings; among them, the priesthood would be renewed and the people purified of their sins. 

• Here, the prophecies move beyond the physical restoration of Jerusalem and into the messianic realm.

• The Messiah, a “good shepherd,” would come, bringing more peace and blessings to God’s people as well as a means of salvation for all nations.

• The people, however, would reject the Messiah and kill him but later would repent (cf. 12:10-13). 

• With this repentance, God would reestablish his kingdom on earth, defeat the sinful nations and the sinful individuals within his people, and grant prosperity to those from every nation who worship the Lord.

• Zechariah resonates repeatedly within the Gospels, for example, when Christ rides into Jerusalem on a donkey (cf. Mt 21:5; Zec 9:9), when Judas accepts his thirty pieces of silver (cf. Mt 26:15; Zec 11:12-13; Mt 27:5), and when the centurion pierces Christ’s side with a lance as he hangs from the Cross (cf. Jn 19:34, 37; Zec 12:10).

• The imagery of this book is also found in the Book of Revelation.

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

Zechariah 1-14 Zechariah was a key figure during the time when the exiled Jews returned from Babylon in the late sixth century BC. Along with Ezra and Haggai, he helped in the effort to rebuild the Temple and to restore Israel to its former glory both as a people and as a nation. The first eight chapters revolve around this historic period, while the final six chapters look ahead to the Messiah and the hope that the Kingdom of God would be established on earth.

Ch 1:1-6 Zechariah’s first prophecy is a call to conversion, noting that the previous generation did not heed the prophets’ warnings and so were exiled and their Temple destroyed. (CCC 1430)

Ch 1:7-17 In the first of eight visions, the Lord indicated that he would provide help for the Temple project and would defend Judah against its enemies. The horsemen were prepared to wage war in defense of Jerusalem. Four horsemen and other apocalyptic symbols reappear in the Book of Revelation.

Ch 1:8-11 The four horsemen of Zechariah’s vision are angels, who are personal, spiritual beings created by God. In Scripture, they often serve as God’s messengers (hence “angel,” from the Greek angelos, meaning “messenger”). IN addition, every person is placed in the care of a specific angel, referred to as a “guardian angel.” (CCC 336)

Ch 1:18-21 The four horns may represent the four compass directions, indicating the nations from every side that had been antagonistic to Judah and who were now targets of God’s wrath.

Ch 2:1-13 The New Jerusalem would not have walls because its capacity was without limit. No walls were necessary as a line of defense because God himself would provide protection for his people.

Daughter of Zion: The term “daughter of” normally personifies a place, in this case Jerusalem, but here it serves also as a type of Mary (TYPOLOGY!!). The exhortation to “rejoice” (sometimes translated to “Hail!”) is echoed in the words of the angel to her at the Annunciation, where she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus the Messiah. (CCC 722) 

Ch 2:10-13 These verses may be read at Mass on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Ch 2:13 The name of God is to be used only in praise, blessing, and adoration-in other words, reverent prayer. It is not to be used lightly or abused. Even within our thoughts and the deep recesses of our hearts, the name of the Lord must be maintained in unspoken “loving adoration.” (CCC 2143)

Ch 3:1-9 Joshua was the high priest who would restore the Temple priesthood upon returning from exile. Ritual purification of the people was predicated on a purified high priest; therefore, God cleansed Joshua first so that he might in turn purify all of Judah to “remove the guilt of this land in a single day” (3:9). St. Ambrose saw Joshua as a type of Christ (TYPOLOGY!!): Joshua’s soiled garments symbolized Christ, who took upon himself the sins of the world, and Joshua’s raiment in clean garments prefigured the victory of the Resurrection over the stain of sin.

Ch 3:8-9 The Branch: The immediate reference is to Zerubbabel, who was a descendant of David and, thus, a part of the Davidic “branch” from which would come the Messiah. The spiritual renewal of the priesthood would prepare the way for the coming of Jesus Christ, the Savior. The prophet Isaiah also spoke of the Messiah as a direct descendant of King David: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord” (Is 11:1-2).

Stone with seven facets: These seven facets prefigure Christ, who is perfect wisdom and knowledge. Christ compared himself to a stone: the stone rejected by the builders that would become the cornerstone of the building (cf. Mt 21:42). (CCC 552, 712, 756)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• It is only fitting that the arrival of the exiles to their homeland should culminate in the celebration of the Feast of Booths in Jerusalem (Ezr 3:4).

• This feast was originally given to Israel to commemorate the giving of the Law and God’s providence during her forty-year wandering in the desert; the returned exiles now make it their own in an unprecedented way.

• They, too, have experienced divine redemption from their foreign captors; they, too, have made their own long journey back to the Promised Land.

• And yet, something is incomplete about this new Exodus.
  When the foundation stone of the new Temple is laid in the second year of return, amidst all the shouts of praise and thanksgiving, there is mourning.

• Those who once saw the splendor and glory of the first Temple (built by Solomon) mourn the modesty of the second Temple and “weep with a loud voice” (Ezr 3:12). 

• So great is their lamentation, that the people cannot distinguish this weeping from the joyful shout of those rejoicing that day.

• This is a powerful indication in the narrative of the gap between the current state of affairs and the future that the prophets had foretold.

• Not only will the second Temple be less resplendent than Solomon’s, it certainly will not be the glorious Temple spoken of by Ezekiel during the exile in Babylon (Ez 40-48).

• The new Exodus has begun, but it strains towards a further fulfillment. 

• Not long after the laying of the foundation stone, the Samaritans-descendants of the few Israelites left in the land and the pagans who had been settled in the area by Assyria roughly two hundred years before-request a share in the Temple building project.

• The assimilation of the Israelites with the pagans settled into the land included a syncretistic mixing of religions, so that the Samaritans no longer lived and worshipped God according to his law.

• The returnees refuse the Samaritans’ request saying, “We alone will build to the Lord” (Ezr 4:3).

• Those who build God’s holy Temple must be dedicated to him alone.

• The Samaritans make the people afraid to build (the Hebrew suggests that this was most likely achieved by military action), and they hire counselors to “frustrate their purpose” (Ezr 4:5), thus halting construction of the Temple. 

Haggai and Zechariah

• The prophets Haggai and Zechariah minister to the community during this time.

• Their prophecies reveal two important aspects of post-exilic life that Ezra passes over.

• First, Haggai’s prophecies suggest that work on the Temple ceased not simply due to the external conflict with the Samaritans but also due to the people’s negligence.

• Rather than setting their minds to complete the Temple, they became preoccupied with making their lives comfortable in the land (Hg 1:2-6).

• Like Solomon, who took twice as long to build his own palace than he took to build the Temple, the people turned their attention to their own “paneled houses.”

• Second, both prophets indicate that the people nurtured great hopes of the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom (Hg 2:20-23; Zec 6:9-14).

• Although their ideas of the messiah focused on the person or Zerubbabel, who was from the line of David, Haggai 2:23 makes it clear that Zerubbabel was only the Lord’s “signet ring.”

• Signet rings bore a seal that was used as a signature on official documents, authenticating their statements.

• Zerubbabel was a pledge, or seal, of a greater messiah yet to come.

• Together with the plain fact that Zerubbabel never exhausted all of Zechariah’s prophecies, this particular prophecy by Haggai is another reminder that the new Exodus, begun with Zerubbabel and those who first returned to the land, had yet to reach its completion. 

(*Walking With God: A Journey Through The Bible by Tim Gray and Jeff Cavins)

• A little heads up...Zechariah is going to have a bunch of dreams 

• These are God-inspired dreams aka VISIONS

• So there is going to be a lot of SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE going on in his prophecies

• But it’s ok, because ZECHARIAH IS A PROPHET!!

• So there’s a lot of stuff going on

• Let’s look at Ezra a little bit

• Some people say that Nehemiah is BETTER THAN EZRA (because it’s GOOOOOD WHOAH OH WHOAH OH WHOAH OHHHHHH!!!! 🎸 Ok seriously, if you get this reference, kudos for growing up in the 90s 🤪) and Fr. Mike had to work that in two days in a row

• In Ezra Ch 3 we have Worship Restored in Jerusalem

• THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!!

• Here are the people that come back

• What are they doing now?

• They are doing what they SHOULD BE DOING

• King Cyrus of Persia had given them access to the treasury that Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, had taken from the Temple

• So they were given all these treasures so they could RESTORE TEMPLE WORSHIP

• THIS IS THE WHOLE POINT!!

• Yes, the Promised Land is THEIRS

• Jerusalem is THEIRS

• Judah is THEIRS

• The City is THEIRS

• That land is THEIRS

• BUT…

• The main reason why this is so important is because of the Temple in Jerusalem

• The reason the Temple is important is because of the worship that is offered in Jerusalem

• So they set up the Temple and get the altar ready and begin doing what Moses had prescribed

• They begin, pretty quickly, offering up those sacrifices on a daily basis

• The morning

• The evening

• And all the feasts and festivals

• Then we have the story of the Foundation of the Temple Laid

• This is the second year of their coming to the House of God at Jerusalem

• They begin laying the FOUNDATION STONES

• THIS IS A BIG BIG DAY!

• People are saying, “Hey, we are DOING this. Not only are we offering up the sacrifice on the altar, but now we have this place that is the HOUSE OF GOD.”

• Remember going all the way back to where David had said, “Lord, I intended to do this. I wanted to build you a house. Here I am living in a nice house, but you are dwelling in a tent. I want to build this incredible house, this Temple of God for you.”

• Then God, through Nathan the Prophet, says, “No, your son Solomon is going to do this.”

• So Solomon did do this and built this INCREDIBLE GLORIOUS TEMPLE that gave glory to the Father

• So what happens?

• Ezra 3:10, “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...and they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord...And all the people shouted a great show, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 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.”

• So this Temple was smaller

• They had seen this INCREDIBLE GLORIOUS HOUSE

• And here they are, weeping, because they realize that this is going to be a PALE COMPARISON to the original Temple of God built by Solomon

• There is a PRO and a CON here

• The PRO is that these people, who are weeping, they REMEMBER

• They REMEMBER the way that here not only is God GLORIFIED

• But here we are as a people and have this place to gather 

• This place to give God worship 

• This place to offer sacrifice 

• So they remember this and they realize, “Man, this is NOTHING in comparison to what once was.”

• THAT IS A REAL GRIEF FOR THOSE WHO REMEMBER!!

• Not just back in the day, I remember things being simpler

• Back in the day, I remember things being better

• Because that is not always the case (EXCEPT when it comes to the Washington Redskins who WERE BETTER BACK IN THE DAY, I SWEAR!! 🤪)

• But this is actually ACCURATE

• They do remember a time when God was GLORIFIED IN THAT OLD TEMPLE

• Now, here is the new Temple that is a SHADOW OF THE PREVIOUS ONE

• The CON to their weeping means that they are STUCK

• Sometimes this happens to us where we get so stuck in LOOKING BACK AT THE PAST that we are not seeing what is ACTUALLY HAPPENING RIGHT NOW

• It could be that these elders, with their memories, were so stuck that they were UNABLE TO SEE WHAT GOD IS DOING NOW

• Remember, the whole THEME of Ezra is RETURN AND REBUILD

• There is also REPENT in there

• But these first moments are RETURN AND REBUILD 

• YES!!

• And the process of rebuilding is NOT GOING TO BE IMMEDIATE

• In the New Testament we learn that the Temple of Herod took 47 years to build

• We have to understand that when we become unable to see what GOD IS DOING NOW then we MISS OUT on what GOD IS DOING NOW

• THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT

• There is a PRO in remembering the past

• BUT...

• There is a CON in remembering the past in that we might get STUCK IN THE PAST and unable to see what GOD IS DOING IN OUR LIVES RIGHT NOW

• In Ezra Ch 4 we have Resistance to Rebuilding the Temple

• Who resists?

• The Samaritans!

• There were people who were back in the Holy Land and they are now known as the Samaritans

• They were basically saying, “This is our home. You guys are just moving back.”

• All those thousands of people that King Cyrus told they could leave Babylon and go back to their original land

• There were people still living in that land for 70 years though

• So these people, a lot of them being Samaritans, are saying, “Ok you’re coming back and claiming what was my land for the last 70 years.”

• There is some tension there

• BUT…

• They make an offer

• “Let us help you build this Temple. Because we are your family, essentially.”

• The Jews say no

• Why?

• IT IS VERY IMPORTANT!!

• 2 Kings Ch 17 tells us that these Samaritans had offered to rebuild the Temple but they were not worshiping the God of Israel

• They were worshipping their own gods

• IN FACT…

• This is why in John Ch 4 Jesus has this conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well

• She says, “You Jews say that the place to worship God is in Jerusalem and yet we worship here.”

• She highlights the fact that there is DIVISION here

• Why?

• Because the Samaritans might even SAY, “The Lord God” BUT they mean SOMETHING ELSE

• This is one of those points of division that is so painful to experience

• When churches split and even when doctrines change between groups

• Here are the people of Samaria saying, “Let us build the temple with you to the Lord God.”

• The Jewish people say, rightly, “No because you would be building this temple to your false god and we can’t do that.”

• Now of course there is some political conniving and they write a letter to Ahasuerus who we will see in the Book of Esther

• He is also known as Xerxes

• They also wrote another letter to Artaxerxes who was the next in line

• What do they say?

• They mix the truth with some lies

• And that is the best way to tell a lie

• We all know that

• Sometimes the Evil One gets to our hearts because he speaks A LITTLE BIT OF TRUTH AND THEN TWISTS IT 

• AND MAKES IT IS A LIE!!

• Here is what the Samaritans are doing as well saying, “Listen, these are people who rebelled against the previous folks. They rebelled against Babylon.”

• Ok, That part is true

• “And if they rebuild their walls and their temple, they will not pay taxes. They will not give you what you need. They will become this rebellious land over here in Judah and Jerusalem.”

• Ok, THAT IS NOT TRUE

• Because they always paid their taxes and did what was asked of them

• So the temple building was halted

• Until King Darius

• Ezra 4:24, “Then the work on the house of God which is in Jerusalem stopped; and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

• Why is that important?

• The second year of the reign of King Darius is where we heard the Book of Haggai yesterday

• It is also where we opened up the Book of Zechariah today

• Haggai and Zechariah are writing at essentially the exact same time

• Zechariah writes two months after Haggai spoke this first installment of his prophecy

• So all of these events are converging at around the same time

• So like Haggai yesterday, Zechariah is a BOOK OF ENCOURAGEMENT

• The people have gone back to Israel, the land of Judah and Benjamin

• God, through Zechariah, is saying, “Don’t stop. Return from your evil ways and I will return to you. You have come into MY presence. I will come into YOUR presence.”

• SUCH AN INCREDIBLE WORD OF COMFORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT here in Zechariah

• Zechariah 1:17, “Cry again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’”

• So we have the first four of eight visions that Zechariah had

• One of those visions is in Ch 3: Fourth Vision: Joshua and Satan

• Remember that while Satan has come to mean the Evil One, of Principalities and Powers TODAY

• In the ancient world of the Old Testament Satan means “accuser”

• So that could mean the Devil himself

• OR...

• It could mean anyone who is an ACCUSER

• Here is the ACCUSER standing next to Joshua the High Priest who is dressed in filthy clothes

• He is NOT FIT to offer the sacrifice in the Temple

• THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!!

• In so many ways, we are unfit to enter the presence of the Lord

• Think about Fr. Mike as a priest and other priests

• In so many ways, they are like Joshua

• Unfit to stand in the Lord’s presence and offer him sacrifice with a pure heart, good intention, and as God wants it

• AND YET…

• THAT DOES NOT DISQUALIFY JOSHUA!!

• IN FACT…

• Zechariah 3:4, “And the angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, ‘Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with rich apparel.’”

• The angel basically says, “Hey now, basically you have been CLOTHED this way. Now, LIVE this way.”

• THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!!

• This is what EVERY ONE OF US who has been FORGIVEN BY JESUS CHRIST are invited to do

• Just like Jesus said caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

• That is an encapsulation to what is said to Joshua, the high priest

• “Ok your sin, your iniquity has been removed from you. Now GO AND SIN NO MORE. Now worship the Lord God in this way of truth and of goodness.”

• THAT’S WHAT ALL OF US ARE CALLED TO DO!!

• TO RECEIVE THE LORD’S MERCY!!

• TO RECEIVE THE LORD’S FORGIVENESS!!

• TO BE MADE NEW!!

• TO WALK FORWARD AWAY FROM OUR SINS TOWARD THE LORD!!

• Zechariah 3:9-10, “...I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day. In that day, says the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree.”

• THIS PLACE OF REST!!

• “I WILL REMOVE THE GUILT OF THIS LAND IN A SINGLE DAY.”

• QUESTION…

• WHEN WAS THAT DAY??

• THE ORIGINAL GOOD FRIDAY!! 

• In a SINGLE DAY when GOD HIMSELF PAID THE PRICE FOR OUR SINS

• In a SINGLE DAY when GOD HIMSELF MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO BE WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB

• THAT ON THAT GOOD FRIDAY, THAT SINGLE DAY, THAT GOD REMOVED THE INIQUITY NOT ONLY FROM THE LAND

• BUT…

• GOD REMOVED THE INIQUITY FROM OUR LIVES

• AND HERE WE ARE NOW MADE NEW

• JUST LIKE JOSHUA AND THE WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY, THE LORD GOD SAYS, “I DO NOT CONDEMN YOU. I HAVE FORGIVEN YOU. NOW GO AND SIN NO MORE.”

• WE CAN ONLY DO THIS WITH GOD’S GRACE

• FR. MIKE IS PRAYING FOR YOU

• BECAUSE WE NEED GOD’S MERCY

• WE NEED GOD’S GRACE

• WE NEED GOD’S STRENGTH TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD

• PRAY FOR FR. MIKE

• PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise and glory. We thank you so much. Thank you for your Word, as always Lord God. Thank you for your Spirit that not only inspired your Word, but also inspires us in reading. We ask that you please, Lord, clear from our minds anything that obstructs clear understanding. Anything that makes it difficult for us to not only perceive and understand, but also to receive and to embrace your Word which is your gift to us. May we praise you this day and every day. And may everything we are and everything we do, everything we have belong to you and give you glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”