MONDAY, 10 MARCH 2025
TEXT:
Ezra 3:7-13
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.
(New
International Version Holy Bible)
TOPIC:
SHOUTS OF JOY FROM SOUNDS OF WEEPING
Today, we see mixed
feelings from those who witnessed the new temple and those who knew the old one
Solomon built. What stands out is the replacement of the place of worship for
Yahweh.
Everyone seemed to have
contributed to the realization of this project. Young and old Levites in their
robes supervised the project.
The sons of Asaph were
there to entertain the workers with songs of praise. After the foundation was
laid, there was a split.
The younger generation
was enchanted by the new temple but the older ones who had seen Solomon's own
were bitter. But the summery of it all is that it was difficult to distinguish
the atmosphere.
QUESTION:
What stands out for you in today's passage?
PRAYER:
Oh Lord, help me to accept what comes my way in my efforts to please You, in
Jesus' name. Amen.
Remain
Blessed
ECWA Food For The Day,
2025.
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