Ezra 3:12-13, “But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.”
I've
been listening to Alexander Scourby read the King James Bible on DVD a lot
lately. What a blessing! The entire Old Testament on just one disk! Anyway,
I heard this passage of Scripture today from Ezra 3:12-13 and wanted to cry
myself, knowing exactly how those men of God felt.
The elderly men of God were crying as they saw the foundation for the new temple. The young people thought it was so great and were rejoicing; but the old men who remembered the glory of Solomon's temple wept bitterly. There was no comparison. It was like going from driving a Rolls Royce to a Yugo. Instead of staying at the Hotel Ritz in Paris for $13,900 per night, it was like staying at Motel 6 for $39 a night. It was like relocating from Beverly Hills, California to Gary, Indiana. Solomon's temple drew worldwide tourism and attention from kings and royalty. Everything was pure gold and no expense was spared on anything.
The grandest temple ever built in Jerusalem (and probably the world) was Solomon's temple. Everything was plated with pure gold! It would likely have been worth over $40 billion in today's wealth. David left his son about $25 billion worth of gold to be used in the temple (1st Chronicles 22:14). But because of Israel's rebellion and continuous sins, God gave the Jews into the hands of the cruel king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. In 586 BC the fabulous temple (which the Jews had waited centuries to have) was totally destroyed and ransacked. Anything of value was stolen. The Jews were taken into captivity for 70 years (1 year for each 7 years that Israel had failed to keep the Sabbath Day. So 490 years divided by 7 equals 70 years of captivity. You can confirm this truth in 2nd Chronicles 36:21).
There
were 300 shields hanging in Solomon's temple, each one plated with 3 lbs of
pure gold (1st Kings 10:17). I checked the price of gold today and it's at
$1,670.18 an ounce. Using my handy-dandy calculator, that comes out to
$80,168 of pure gold per shield. There were 300 shields, so that comes out
to $25,050,592 in gold just for the shields in the temple. Wow! Solomon
spared no expense on God's temple. The Bible is so fascinating if you really
get into it and study.
The Jews eventually rebuilt the second temple under Ezra. Nehemiah oversaw rebuilding the wall, but they neglected it and it started to fall through. That's what the book of Malachi talks about when it says they have robbed God in tithes and offerings. For 19 years they had spared no expense on their own private homes, while the temple of God was rotting from not being kept up and maintained. The heathen nations mocked Israel, because the condition of the temple expressed the attitude of the Jews toward their God Who's presence dwelt in the temple. Today, the temple of every believer is the temple of God (1st Corinthians 3:16-17). The way we take care of our body (or fail to do so) reflects our attitude toward the God we worship. Boy this is good stuff! When Christians smoke, dress immodestly, get tattoos, become gluttons and abuse their bodies, they are defiling the temple of God where He lives. This is 100% Biblical doctrine. May we all care for our bodies and glorify the temple of the Holy Spirit.
1st Samuel 2:3, “Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.”
During the 70 years of captivity, Babylon has been conquered by the Medo-Persians. So now the Medo-Persians have risen to world power in the book of Ezra. The children of Jews (and the elderly still alive) returned to Jerusalem and saw the ruins of their once glorious temple. After Babylon in 586 BC annihilated the first temple built by king Solomon, the second temple was built by Zerubbabel in 515 BC. When the old men saw the new inferior foundation, they wept loudly, competing with the rejoicing of the young people. It was confusing and no one could tell whether they were hearing crying or rejoicing...
Ezra 3:12-13, “But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.”
This reminds me so much of today's apostate churches. I was a member of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana between 1985-1993 under the preaching of Pastor Jack Hyles, which was comparable to Solomon's temple spiritually. Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) even called Dr. Hyles, Solomon for his wisdom. Today's apostate churches make me want to cry.
When Israel sinned, the Philistines captured the Ark of the Lord and took it away. The prophet Eli's two sons were killed in the battle, and then Eli died in a tragic accident. When Eli's daughter-in-law heard that her husband and father-in-law were dead, she was hopelessly grieved. She had just given birth to a baby and named it, I-chabod (which means the glory has departed). The Ark of the Covenant where God's presence abode before the Jews had a temple was gone from Israel. The presence of the Lord was gone from Israel!
My friend, is the presence of God gone from your church today? The King James Bible is equivalent to the Ark of the Lord (where the Word of God was kept safe inside). If your church has forsaken the King James Bible and instead adopted a corrupt new version of the Bible, I-chabod is written over the door of the church. Is I-chabod written upon your dead church? Is the presence of the Lord gone because the Word of God is gone?
Read this incredible Scripture...
1st Samuel 3:1, “And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.”
Amen! The Word of the LORD was precious in those days because there were no visions. In the Old Testament, God often spoke to the people through judges and prophets to whom he sent dreams and visions. Hebrews 1:1-2 says that God speaks to us in these Last Days through His Son, the living Word of God (John 1:1-3,14). The Bible is the written Word of God, the truth (John 17:17). Is the Word of the Lord, the Bible, precious to you in these Last Days?
The Bible is precious to me. It is the inspired Words of God, every single Word!!! I must have the Bible! Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Oh, how we need the Words of God to guide us in these dark times. His Word is precious to me!!!
