Ezra 3:1-13 And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities… : — I. THEY BEGAN BY RE-ESTABLISHING THE WORSHIP AND SERVICE OF THE HOLY PLACE. They set up an altar, and offered the daily sacrifice. A wise beginning. Their task was hard, and they did well to begin with God. They made the right use of fear. It stirred them up to religious duty. II. BEFORE SETTING THEMSELVES TO THEIR TASKS THEY KEPT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. The full repression of our religious joy, even though it be prolonged, will not delay the performance of life's severer tasks. It is a suitable preparation for them. III. THEY USED THEIR TREASURES IN SECURING THE BEST MATERIALS AND THE MOST SKILLED LABOUR. IV. THE FOUNDATIONS WERE LAID AMIDST ACCLAMATIONS OF JOY. Many of the psalms which fill the Psalter with joyous strains were doubtless sung or composed on this occasion. V. IT WAS, HOWEVER, A JOY MINGLED WITH SORROW. (Willard G. Sperry.) Parallel Verses KJV: And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. |
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