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The Book of Ezra
is named after the main character in this volume, a man who was a scribe and a
priest. Overall, the book argues for national purity and exclusiveness, with a
denunciation of marriages between Israelites and other tribes, a perspective
that is at odds with the more inclusive message of the Book of Ruth. Ezra says
that “the Lord stirred
up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia” so that he declared: “The Lord, the God of
heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to
build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of those among you who are of
his people — may their God be with them! — are now permitted to go up to
Jerusalem in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel” (Ezra 1:1-3).
When the people returned from exile, a priest named Jeshua and a governor named Zerubbabel “set out to build the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as prescribed in the law of Moses the man of God. They set up the altar on its foundation, because they were in dread of the neighboring peoples, and they offered burnt offerings upon it to the Lord, morning and evening” (Ezra 3:2-3). The setting up of the altar was an act of restoration, an act that showed that Israel’s religious rituals and sacrifices would be resumed in the life of the community “as prescribed in the law of Moses” (Ezra 3:2).
“Worship is the center of any thriving community of believers,” writes Old Testament professor Ralph W. Klein. “The community set up the altar on its old foundations, and in the foundation deposit ceremony they probably brought a stone from the old Temple and deposited it in the new one. Worship must be a blend of innovation and tradition.” At Fairfax Presbyterian Church, the congregation’s mission statement includes the lines, “By the power of the Holy Spirit, we at FPC worship God with honesty, joy, and imagination; nourish our lives of faith in Christ; extend hospitality and grace to all people; serve a world in need; and work for reconciliation among people of diverse perspectives.”
Notice that worship comes first. This priority is based on the fact that worship is what the church does most often, gathering to praise God, pray, and hear God’s word every Sunday throughout the year. But it also comes first because worship is the source of every other aspect of the church’s life. It is only after encountering God in a service of worship that the members of the church can nourish their lives of faith in Christ, extend hospitality and grace to all people, serve a world in need, and work for reconciliation in a diverse community. This priority reflects the view of the Protestant Reformer John Calvin. For him, worship was the key meeting place for God and God’s people. “Let us know and be fully persuaded,” he wrote, “that wherever the faithful, who worship him purely and in due form, according to the appointment of his word, are assembled together to engage in the solemn acts of religious worship, he is graciously present, and presides in the midst of them.” Worship is where we experience God’s presence most frequently and powerfully, whether we are in ancient Jerusalem or in modern America.
After the establishment of the altar came the laying of the temple foundation (Ezra 3:8-13), which was followed by responsive singing: “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel” (Ezra 3:11). This was the same song sung at the dedication of Solomon’s temple (2 Chronicles 5:13). The laying of the temple foundation was a time to restore traditional worship practices, and Ezra says that when the builders laid the foundation of the temple, the priests and the Levites sang responsively, “giving thanks to the Lord, ‘For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.’ And all the people responded with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid” (Ezra 3:10-11).
But here, unlike the scene at the dedication of Solomon’s temple, the sounds of praise were mixed with weeping from those who had seen the temple in its former glory. At this point in Israelite history, a moment of joy was also a moment of grief. Ezra says that “old people who had seen the first house on its foundations, wept with a loud voice when they saw this house, though many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted so loudly that the sound was heard far away” (Ezra 3:12-13).
This passage from Ezra is one of the Bible’s greatest hits because it reminds us that worship is central to the life of the community of faith, in ancient times and today. Worship is where we experience God’s presence most frequently and powerfully, and it deserves to be a regular part of our life together. But our prayers, our praises, and our hearing of God’s word does not bring a guarantee of joy. In fact, shouts of joy can be mixed with cries of grief, and a service of worship can be a complicated event. Worshipers may become upset in the course of a service, but fortunately the words from Ezra’s day remain true: God “is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (Ezra 3:11).
Questions:
1. Where is there tension between exclusiveness and inclusiveness in the church?
2. Should worship come first in the life of the church? Why or why not?
3. Where do you see joy and grief, tradition and innovation, in a service of worship?
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