A new beginning - building

We're continuing our focus on the third chapter of Ezra this week. New beginnings are exciting, and no doubt there was a lot of excitement and rejoicing as the Jewish people gathered in Jerusalem around the new altar.

Let's look again at verse 6:

On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid. (v 6)

When we read verse six, we realize that while their new beginning of rebuilding the altar was good, something important was still missing! They'd not yet laid the foundation for the temple. Here in chapter three of Ezra, there are three references to the "temple" and five where it is called "the Lord's house."
That was significant because the temple or house of the Lord was the place where He dwelled among His people and allowed His glory to be shown. The temple was vitally important in the life of the individuals and the life of the people as a whole, too.
His people went there to offer sacrifices - for forgiveness of sins and for thanksgiving for His goodness and blessings.  It was a place of celebration, where all of Israel gathered three times a year for the important feasts of Passover (our March or April), Pentecost (our May or June), and Tabernacles (our September or October). The people could not properly worship YAHWEH until they rebuilt His house.
Living in God's new covenant, we as God's church are His temple or house. He dwells in us and walks among us:

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? (I Corinthians 3:16)

What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:“I will live with them    and walk among them,and I will be their God,    and they will be my people.” (II Corinthians 6:16)

(That is a quote from several places in the Word....Leviticus, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah.)

 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

The building that a congregation meets in is not God's house; it's only the place where God's house gathers for worship.... we can meet in private homes, in a park, or in a barn; or we can meet in a cathedral. It's not the PLACE that is sacred; it's the people! When even two or three of God's children gather in the name of Jesus, He is there in their midst.

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20)

Even though a new beginning with God starts out intensely private, we shouldn't try to go it alone. Let me explain.....
We must go to the Lord in private and confess our sins to Him. We must accept the gift of Christ's shed blood and then personally get into His Word. We need to begin to obey it daily in our lives, both on the level of our thought patterns and our outward behavior. If we don't start with the personal relationship, we can go to church every time the doors are open, but we will be putting on a good front to others while our private life is in shambles.....hmmmm, I think that's called hypocrisy!

So, once we have begun anew in private, we very much need to be "built together" with others who also have a commitment to know Him. If we don't have that, the world and the devil can overwhelm us. Let's look back at Ezra to see how we can build God's house . . .

The first thing we see is that they built together because it requires courage to stand against this hostile world -- and it's great if we can stand together.
Look at verse 3:

Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices. (v 3)

Another translation says, "they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands." This tiny remnant of the Hebrew nation was surrounded by hostile people groups. Not just people who were curious about what they were doing. Not just people who wondered about their return. People who were openly and loudly hostile -- they didn't want the Jewish people there, and they were pretty vehement about it. They made threats and they meant to follow through on them!
There may have been some in the group that returned that clamored to build a strong and well-armed militia, and that is indeed important. But the folks who we read about in Ezra knew that help from men is in vain, if God is not in His rightful place.
If they put God first, by rebuilding the altar and making sacrifices, He would protect them from the enemies who were fussing about their return. If we will seek first His kingdom and righteousness, He will take care of our basic needs.

Here's the important thing: courage doesn't mean a lack of fear. Courage means having the "gumption" as grandma used to say, to stand firm in threatening circumstances. How do we do that? We trust in the Lord.
A courageous believer will admit that they could lose their friends, their job, or perhaps even their life, and that it's scary to think about that. But they will also tell you that they won't compromise their commitment to Christ to keep any of those things. All of those things are going away after a while. Then we will stand before God -- so we fear (reverence) God more than we fear (scared) anything else in this world!

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." (Luke 4:5-7)

We may have to have that kind of courage alone. But it's easier to take a stand with other believers who are building the church of God; building with courage, encouragement, and prayer.