Focused Efforts - ANB W1, D4 - 3.7.13

Thursday, Mar 7                                                                  Focused Efforts

Ezra 3.7-13

Let us not overlook the care which the returned exiles took in the preparation of the temple of the LORD. They spent two years preparing themselves for the work that was at hand. It was begun with the feasts and sacrifices unto the LORD which we have already studied, but they did not jump straight from the sacrifice to the building. Ezra tells us that they then began to bring in materials and workers for the job. While Ezra does not go into this detail, it is a fair assumption to believe that the masons and carpenters mentioned in v. 7 were of the best quality and reputation. It can also be assumed that God moved Cyrus to donate the cedar logs from his forests because they too were of the best quality. While not trying to motivate action based upon assumption, it is clear that God wants our best in what we do. This is why our purity is so important for the task at hand. God wants our best, unblemished efforts and this can only be done by our daily washing in the blood of Christ. The blood saves us once and for all from our sins, but we must return to that blood so as to submit ourselves daily to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, which will then lead us to a pure life.

For Israel, this was a two year process of purity and preparation. They had determined to build the temple in the manner that God had set forth for them to do. No other way would be sufficient, so if it took two years to purify themselves and prepare for the work, so be it…the proper worship of God was at stake here. So, two years and two months after the first exiles returned to their land, construction of the temple begins. All who returned began in the work and those of the tribe of Levi were appointed to supervise the work being done. There is great stress in these verses on cooperation and enthusiasm among all those who are involved. Zerubbabel and Jeshua could have co-headed the work being done, but in effort to work more efficiently and get the most of the human resources available, they appointed leaders from among the Levites. This was not a corporate ladder, but a pyramid built for the purpose of encouraging the people of Israel in the work to be done.

Also, let us not overlook the little details in the narrative. While the end goal of this project was the re-establishment of the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, the Hebrew people gave glory to God at every step along the way. But, verse ten tells us that when the foundation was laid that “the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets…to praise the LORD” (NASB). Here, the word “apparel” demonstrates the attitude of the Israelites in this project. No more than our equivalent of a 12 inch perimeter of concrete was poured and the priests come forth in their ceremonial robes and a formal liturgy of worship rang through ALL of the people. Their focus through and through was the worship of God, so at each step they wanted to give all the glory, honor, and praise to God for what He had done and was going to do for them and through them in Jerusalem. “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” (Ezra 3.11b, NASB). It was indeed a focused time of jubilee for the nation of Israel so much that the old men wept at the remembrance of the former temple. This was not sad weeping, rather it was weeping with great joy at the future for their children symbolized by the presence of a new temple.

So, what does this all mean for Hopewell? The blessing of God came upon these people and blessed their new beginning in Israel as they purified themselves in His sight and remained focused on His plan. We want God to use our church in this area at this time. But, we must first remain focused on God’s vision for us and His vision alone. We are not searching for the vision of the pastor, of the deacons, or of the Sunday school teachers, but the vision of God. Once we catch that vision, we must focus on it and trust Him to complete it through us.

Prayer:

God, I cannot be focused on what I cannot see. Give me Your vision for our church. Please use me, in spite of myself, to complete what You want for Hopewell. Help me to focus on You.