The seventh month, Ezra 3:1, was an important month for the Jews, because of the feast of trumpets, Numbers 29:1-6, the day of atonement, Numbers 29:7 / Leviticus 16:29, and the feast of tabernacles, Leviticus 23:34-36 / Leviticus 23:39-44 / Numbers 29:12-38, all fell within this month. When everyone had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem, Ezra 3:1.
The building of the altar was the main reason why they returned to their homeland in the first place, Ezra 3:2 / Exodus 25:10-22. This was a real effort to turn back to God and live and worship according to God’s laws, Deuteronomy 6:4.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following concerning Joshua, the son of Jozadak, Ezra 3:2.
‘He was the grandson of Seraiah the high priest, who was put to death by Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings 25:18 / 2 Kings 25:21. This Jeshua or Joshua was the first high priest after the captivity.’
The Jews still feared those around them, Ezra 3:3, which is a natural feeling, especially since they had been in captivity for seventy years. But the fear they felt wasn’t because of any foreign nations around them, but from the locals.
Remember, Jerusalem was taken over by the Babylonians, so, understandably, the Jews would feel like strangers in a strange land seventy years later, Jeremiah 25:1-12.
After the building of the altar, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles, Leviticus 23:34-36 / Leviticus 23:39-44 / Numbers 29:12-38, and made their offerings, the first being a burnt offering, Ezra 3:4 / Leviticus 23:34-42.
Sacrifices were made for the New Moon and for all the appointed sacred festivals, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to God, Ezra 3:5. On the first day of the seventh month, they began to offer burnt offerings to God, though the foundation of the temple had not yet been laid, Ezra 3:6.
The Interpreter’s Bible says the following.
‘This altar was hastily constructed in less than a day, Ezra 3:6, of field stones in accordance with the earliest prescriptions for altars in the law of Moses, Exodus 2:25.’
All of these celebrations would have created a real sense of belonging, community, and fellowship. They haven’t worshipped together for years in Jerusalem, but now that the altar has been built, people can make their journeys from different parts of the world to Jerusalem to make their offerings, animal sacrifices, and worship God, Acts 2:9-11.
Workers were hired, materials were sought, and cedar was brought from Lebanon, Ezra 3:7 / 1 Kings 5:11 / 2 Chronicles 2:8-9. Work began on the temple in the spring of the second year after the Jews returned from captivity, Ezra 3:8.
It appears that Cyrus, Ezra 3:7, also donated some funding from his country’s own treasury, Ezra 6:3-5, and the Jews were happy to accept this, even though he was a Gentile king.
They appointed Levites twenty years old and older to supervise the building work, Ezra 3:8. There appear to be different ages given throughout the Scriptures concerning when a Levite was old enough to work in the temple. Those ages vary from the age of twenty, as here, up to twenty-five, thirty, or thirty-five.
Simmons, in his commentary, gives the following reason for the varied ages.
‘There were 24,000 Levites to see after the work of Solomon’s temple, 1 Chronicles 29:4, and only 341 Levites returned from Babylon. It hardly takes a genius to figure out why they lowered the required age; they needed more men!’
Joshua, 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, Ezra 3:9.
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 God as prescribed by David king of Israel, Ezra 3:10.
Notice they praise God and, with thanksgiving, they sang to the Lord, ‘He is good, his love toward Israel endures forever,’ Ezra 3:11. The Psalm they sang together here is Psalm 136, which tells us they were thinking of Jeremiah’s great prophecy, Jeremiah 33:11.
While some shouted for joy when the foundation of the temple was being laid, Ezra 3:11, many of the older priests, Levites and family heads began to weep loudly, Ezra 3:12.
These were the men who had seen Solomon’s temple in all its glory, they wept because this new temple as grand as it will be, will never be as magnificent as Solomon’s original temple, Haggai 2:1-9.
No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping because the people made so much noise that the sound was heard far away, Ezra 3:13.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The relative insignificance and poverty of that projected New Temple was in no way comparable to that magnificent and glorious Wonder of the World that was the Temple of Solomon. There is no wonder that the old men who could remember the former Temple in its glory could find only tears as they saw the projection of the structure that would take its place. And yet, the glory of the Second Temple would far surpass that of Solomon, because Christ himself would appear in the Second Temple!’