Reading for April 5th

 Read Ezra 3.8-13. In 3.8-13: Laying the foundation of the Temple. The author highlights the momentous beginning of the rebuilding the Temple, emphasizing the devotion of the community. In verse 8: In the second year after their arrival at the house of God at Jerusalem may relate to the third year Dairus, around 519 BCE if the earlier reference was to a time in the reign of Darius.the community arrived at Jerusalem to find the Temple in ruins, hence the need to begin rebuilding. But the author, wanting to connect the Jerusalem community witht he sanctified dwelling place of God, has the exiles arriving at the house of God. They appointed Levites: Most likely Zerubbabel and Jesuha appointed them. In verse 10: The priests in their vestments were stationed to praise the Lord with trumpets recalls the priesty trumpeters in 2 Chr 5.12 at the dedication of the first Temple in the days of Solomon. According to the directions of King David emphasizes the continuity between this Second Temple and the worship conducted in the First Temple. Despite the trauma of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and the Exile in Babylon, nothing has changed in the way the community worships God. In verse 11: The sang responsively: The leaders sang first, and the assembly responded. Another possible meaning is "antiphonally," with one part of the choir initiating a verse and the other part completing it. The hymn that is sung appears as  part of a number of Psalms (for example, Ps 106.1; 107.1; 136.1). In verse 12: Old people who had seen the first house; Sixty-eight years had elapsed since the destruction of the first Temple. Wept with a loud voice when they saw this house: presumably what was planned for the rebuilt Temple was less in size and/ or grandeur than that of the Temple of Solomon (as in Hag 2.3). The weeping over what had been lost was drowned out by those who shouted aloud for joy, shifting the focus to what could be anticipated for the future. Comments or Questions..