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. Ezra 3:11
The Story
After 70 years, Babylon fell to Cyrus, king of Persia, and the captive Judeans were allowed to return to Judah to rebuild the temple of God.
Construction of the temple began with laying the foundation, but they were soon met with opposition. The people of the land discouraged and threatened the people of Judah, making them afraid to build. They even wrote a letter to the king of Persia and succeeded in stopping the work for a time. [2]
Finally, the king of Persia restarted the temple’s construction and even paid for the work to be done. [3]
The Significance
In all, it took a little over 20 years to rebuild the temple of God.
When Jesus said that if the template were destroyed, he would raise it up in three days, the people were confused. But he was actually talking about himself dying on the cross and rising to life again three days later. [4]
Now, because of Jesus, we can be the temple, and God can make his dwelling within us. [5]
[1] Ezra 1:1-4; [2] Ezra 3:8-10, 4; [3] Ezra 6:13-15; [4] John 2:19; [5] 1 Corinthians 6:19, John 14:23