Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and
the priests and Levites -- everyone whose heart God had moved -- prepared to go
up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. 1:5
Footnote: Many Jews chose to go to Jerusalem, but many
more chose to remain in Babylon rather than return to their homeland. The
journey back to Jerusalem was difficult, dangerous, and expensive, lasting over
four months. Travel conditions were poor; Jerusalem and the surrounding
countryside were in ruins; and the people living in the area were hostile.
Persian records indicate that many Jews in captivity had accumulated great
wealth. Returning to Jerusalem would have meant giving up everything they had
and starting over. Many people couldn't bring themselves to do that; they
preferred wealth and security to the sacrifice that God's work would require.
Their priorities were upside down. We must not let our comfort,
security, or material possessions prevent us from doing what God
wants.
In the second month of the second year after their
arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua
son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers began the work, appointing Levites
twenty years of age and older to supervise the building of the house of the
Lord. 3:8
Footnote: Why was the Lord's temple begun first, even
before the city wall? The temple was used for spiritual purposes; the wall, for
military and political purposes. God had always been the nation's protector, and
the Jews knew that the strongest stone wall would not protect them if God was
not with them. They knew that putting their spiritual lives in order was a far
higher priority than assuring the national defense.
Keep reading -- 89 days left!
All footnotes taken from the Life Application Study Bible, NIV
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