NKJV 365 / Joy

NKJV 365 Day Reading Plan

Day 321 of 365 Joy Solomon's temple had been destroyed 66 years before the foundation of the new temple was laid, so the "old men" in the crowd would have been in the minority. Haggai 2:1-5 tells us that the prophet encouraged the people not to be disappointed in the outward appearance of the building, but to be strong and work, for the Lord Almighty was with them, and His Spirit remained among them. The shouts of the new generation, who were just delighted to have any sort of a temple, drowned out the sobs of those who remembered the glory days. Worship was once more at the center of the life of God's people and, after all, that was what really mattered. Some of the most meaningful experiences of my spiritual life have been in churches with no walls, no ceilings, no seats, and no sound systems, overheads, or musical instruments. In a limited access country where Christians meet in secret at enormous risk to their lives, property, or freedom, I will never forget meeting clandestinely with the persecuted church, and when it was time to "worship" in song, they sang in whispers lest they be heard. This is not to say facilities do not facilitate ministry, but the church, as my husband loves to say, is something you are, not somewhere you go. Peter reminds us we are "living stones" (1 Pet. 2:5). Another thing to note: If we do have the blessings of buildings to worship in freely, the service does not need to be dull or boring. There was no dull formality here! Joy is all over this account as God's redeemed people celebrated God and reveled in Him in their "worship." God was glorified as the "sound was heard afar off" (Ezra 3:13), and the blessing spilled over into the vicinity. On what does our worship depend? Do we worship Him in "spirit and truth"? The Father, Jesus tells us, seeks such to worship Him (John 4:24). Jill P. Briscoe Taken from Women of Faith Devotional Bible Ezra 3:8-13 NASB 8 Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites from twenty years and older to oversee the work of the house of the L ord . 9 Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God. 10 Now when the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the L ord , the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the L ord according to the directions of King David of Israel. 11 They sang, praising and giving thanks to the L ord , saying, "For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever." And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the L ord because the foundation of the house of the L ord was laid. 12 Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.