Morning

August 27

Ezra 3:11-13 ¹¹With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: "He is good; his love to Israel endures forever." And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. ¹²But 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. ¹³No 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.

The altar was built first, and then the foundations for the temple were laid. The priests dressed in their priestly robes, with the instruments prescribed for the singing of praise, began to sing the chorus that had been sung 500 years earlier when the first temple was dedicated. I think we'll be singing the same song when the last temple, New Jerusalem, is completed. It is the song of endless ages, for the goodness of God never changes.

Surely the elderly were crying with mixed emotions, remembering the sins that brought the temple down, the grace that kept them through the conquest and captivity, and the miracle of returning to their land. God kept His word, but who could have imagined during the destruction that it would ever be possible to build the temple again. The cry that went up was included the joyous praise of the younger people who had only heard of a temple. They had been taught about the sacrifices and the service of the temple. They had heard descriptions, and now they were the ones who would tell their children of seeing the foundations laid.

We have foundations too. The names of the Apostles are on our foundation. When we sing that song in the completed final temple, some will remember when the foundations were laid. They'll remember hearing the teaching of the life and sayings of Jesus from the Apostles. I imagine there will be a great shout then.

Consider: Stranger and pilgrim in the earth, are you looking for the city that has foundations whose builder and maker is God? You don't have to wait to sing the song. You can start now singing, "He is good and his love endures forever".