Some thoughts from Ezra
“In Ezra 3, the people have come back from exile, and they begin to rebuild the temple, and they start by laying the foundations. It says that when the builders had finished laying the foundations, the priests and the Levites stopped, took their trumpets and cymbals and began singing God, saying: "He is good, his love for Israel endures forever".
It goes on to say how they were celebrating the foundations - not even the whole temple.
The most beautiful part, for me, is when there's such vulnerability in 3:12 where "But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy".
The contrast of this dynamic of some people weeping, some people shouting for joy, but together it was a huge sound - 3:13 "No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away".
I read these words and was absolutely floored, thinking about how this feels like us right now. We've been laying new foundations these past 2 weeks, foundations of new places of worship in hundreds of homes in this city, hundreds of living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, gardens. There will be people who have wept when remembering what came before now, and there'll be times when those same people have shouted for joy at where we are now. I just can't help but feel the POWER that comes when this huge noise of joy and grieving comes together as we're building lots and lots of new foundations.
AND the promise of peace always prevails. In Haggai 2:9 it's written "'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house' says the Lord Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace.' declares the Lord Almighty".
I'm so baffled by how we have a God who is so good and brings peace in these times - in times where there's weeping and there's joy and there's a lot of noise and confusion.”
- Jess Sutton
