Ignite Our Worship

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Opening Prayer

Father, like Your people of old, my worship often needs to be reignited. Show me how I can restore passion in my worship.

Read Ezra 2:68-3:13

^[68] When they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. ^[69] According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver and 100 priestly garments. ^[70] The priests, the Levites, the musicians, the gatekeepers and the temple servants settled in their own towns, along with some of the other people, and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns. ^[1] When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. ^[2] Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. ^[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. ^[4] Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. ^[5] After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the LORD, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the LORD. ^[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. ^[7] Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia. ^[8] In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak and the rest of the people (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work. They appointed Levites twenty years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the LORD. ^[9] Joshua and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers-all Levites-joined together in supervising those working on the house of God. ^[10] When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. ^[11] With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: “He is good; his love toward 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. ^[12] But 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. ^[13] No 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.

Meditate

“You never go away from us, yet we have difficulty in returning to You. Come, Lord, stir us up and call us back” (Augustine of Hippo, 354–430).

Think Further

God’s people were single-minded. After weeks of travel from Babylon to Judah, the people entered the city and went straight to the Temple site. Their first recorded act was to give offerings for the Temple reconstruction. We are told that the Temple personnel then went to their towns to settle in. The 5,400 silver and gold utensils that Nebuchadnezzar had taken to Babylon were now back in the city from which they came. The 70-year time of correction was over. They were home.

Six months later, the people regathered at the Temple site. To reinstitute the daily sacrifices that had ceased for 70 years, they rebuilt the toppled altar. They then celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, an event commemorating the departure from Egypt when the people lived in small shacks as they traveled to the Promised Land. In celebrating this festival, the people reflected on how they just relived this sacred Exodus event as they traveled from Babylon to Judah. History had repeated itself, as it often does. So, Judah reinstituted its entire calendar of sacrifices and feasts. All of the restructuring of Jewish life pointed to the most crucial aspect of Judah’s relationship with God: worship.

What about our worship? What is worship? A popular definition describes worship as taking God seriously. It is responding to God’s presence because he is really there. Worship is not just something we do in church; we can worship at all times and under all circumstances, when life is easy and when it is difficult. What is more, worship is not something we must do; it is something we should want to do in loving response to God’s love and blessing upon our lives. We are created to worship. As with Judah, our most sincere worship may come when we suffer.

Apply

What role does worship play in your life? Is it the focal point of all your other activity? Do you agree with this statement: our most sincere worship may come when we suffer? Why or why not?

Closing prayer

Lord, my worship is not what it should be. Please help me to take You seriously so that my worship will be acceptable to You and You will be glorified.

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