Waiting for the promises of God (Ezra 3:8-13)

As a young Christian, I shared my struggles about singleness with a godly Christian woman who felt the Lord give her a verse for me, Ps 107:28-30. Like the psalmist, I felt storm-tossed at times and while I could not be sure that ‘the desired haven’ in v.30 meant marriage, I lived in hope. It was almost twenty years later that I met my husband and felt that sense of being settled that this passage seemed to talk to me about. So often, God’s promises take a while to be fulfilled and we wait with a mixture of hope and despair, wondering if He really meant what He said, if we understood it right, if it would ever come about. How do we live in the interim as we wait for God’s promises to be fulfilled? The Jews knew what it meant to live like that. The prophets have spoken of restoration in glorious terms (e.g. Isa 60:10-14; Jer 33:14-18), but the reality must have seemed a lot more mundane for the exiles. Yes, a remnant has returned and made a start, but they were still ‘enslaved’ (Ezra 9:9) as a Persian province under foreign rule rather than under their Davidic king. What then can we learn from this passage as we, like they, are waiting for God’s promises?

Putting God first

Notice first how the exiles focused on the temple building. Settling in their home, reclaiming their land, and creating a livelihood would have been important if they wanted to survive, yet they put God first and prioritised the restoration of relationship with Him before anything else. Earlier in the chapter they looked to God’s Word to ensure that the sacrifices were done according to what was required by the Lord (Ezra 3:2, 4). While we no longer need a specific building to meet with Him, the principle of putting God first rather than the fulfilment of our desires remains key. As Jesus taught, the Lord will honour those who seek God’s kingdom first by providing for their needs (Matt 6:33).   

Working towards God’s promises

Further, the exiles all work towards the fulfilment of God’s promises. They have heard the call and returned to the land, now they start building the temple as the spring months approach (Ezra 3:8; the second month in Israel’s lunar calendar would have been around April-May). Everyone is involved and once again, we read that they were united (Ezra 3:9, lit. ‘as one’), organised under their priests and Levites. They could not have orchestrated their return without God prompting Cyrus to give them permission, but they did what was in their power to do. When Abraham was promised that he would have a child by Sarah (Gen 18:10), his participation was necessary for Isaac to be conceived. In the same way, God invites us to work together with Him. This requires discernment, however, because not all initiatives are right (think of Sarah’s suggestion of ‘surrogate’ motherhood via her maid, Hagar, which did not turn out well; Gen 16:2). Yet, when we listen to God’s guidance, He can prompt us to act.  

Thankfulness for His faithfulness

Thirdly, when the temple foundations are laid, the people stop to praise God and remember His faithfulness for them (Ezra 3:10-11). Like the exiles, we need to pause and acknowledge God’s mercies even when there is much left unfinished. Seeking to recognise God’s hand in our life helps us to cultivate a thankful heart even for the small steps that move us on towards the fulfilment of God’s promises. The Lord is good, and His faithful love (the sense of ‘lovingkindness’ in v.11) endures forever.

Permission to weep

Finally, it is reassuring to see how there was room for the exiles to grieve. Our passage does not tell us why the older generation wept (Ezra 3:12) though many commentators assume that it was because the first temple was more glorious and the new one looked small and inferior in comparison (Hag 2:3). While this is possible, the fact that we are not told, invites us to ponder the reasons. It could have been because the new beginnings evoked all that was lost, a lifetime of exile and suffering, the wasted years. It may have also included their recognition that they were still so far off from the glorious fulfilment promised. When we struggle with the gap between what is already here and what we are still waiting for, we can be encouraged that the Lord knows our tears and understands.

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