The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 268: Rebuilding the Temple (2023)

Episode Date: September 25, 2023

Fr. Mike continues to take us through the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, and the importance of moving on from the past to see what God is doing in our lives right now. He also gives some context on the Samaritans and what was happening across Jerusalem, post return. Today's readings are Ezra 3-4, Zechariah 1-3, and Proverbs 20:4-7. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. We are on day two of the return, so that means day 268 total. We're reading Ezra chapters three and four, as well as a new book, Zechariah, the prophet Zechariah, chapters one,

two, and three, as well as Proverbs chapter 20, verses four through seven. As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast. Click on subscribe, and then what will happen is you will receive daily episodes and updates, and we will receive maybe some more ability to see on people's radars. I mean, people might find out here we are on day 268. Today might be their day one, which would be phenomenal, incredible if you subscribe or if you share and comment and say how much you like,

or maybe you dislike this podcast and still you've persisted with us for 268 days. That's pretty remarkable. And you deserve some kudos and some credits. As I said, it is Ezra chapter three and four today, a new book, the book of the prophet Zechariah, who is contemporary of Haggai. That was yesterday, chapters one, two, and three, as well as Proverbs chapter 20, verse four through 7. A little heads up. When it comes to Zechariah, he's going to have a bunch of dreams. Kind of a crazy night for the life of the prophet Zechariah.

When I say dreams, I mean God-inspired dreams, aka visions. And so there's going to be a little bit, read here a lot, of symbolic language and symbolic stuff going on in Zechariah's prophecy. But then again, he's a prophet, so we're getting after it again for the third time, day 268, Ezra 3 and 4, Zechariah 1, 2, and 3, Proverbs 20, verses 4 through 7. The book of Ezra, chapter 3. Worship restored at Jerusalem. When the seventh month came and the sons of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. Then arose Jeshua, the son of Josedach, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, with his kinsmen. And they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings upon it, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.

They set the altar in its place, for fear was upon them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings upon it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. And they kept the feast of booths as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the ordinance, as each day required. And after that, the continual burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon, and all the appointed feasts of the Lord and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the Lord. From the first day of the seventh month, they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid. So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa,

according to the grant which they had from Cyrus, king of Persia. Foundation of the Temple Laid Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel, the son of Sheltiel, and Jeshua, the son of Josedach, made a beginning. Together with the rest of their brethren, the priests and the Levites, and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of the Lord. And Jeshua with his sons and his kinsmen, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together took the oversight of the workmen in the house of God, along with the sons of Hennadad and the Levites, their sons and kinsmen. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord,

the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals to praise the Lord according to the directions of David, king of Israel. And they sang responsibly, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, for he is good, And they sang responsibly, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses,

old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, 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 with a great shout, and the sound was heard afar. Chapter 4. Resistance to Rebuilding the Temple Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of father's houses and said to them, let us build with you for we worship your God as you do. And we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought

us here. But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses in Israel said to them, You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God, but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us. Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus, king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius, king of Persia. Letters of protest against rebuilding. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithridath and Tabael and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes, Bishlam, and Mithridath, and Tabael, and the rest of their associates, wrote to Artaxerxes, king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.

Rahum, the commander, and Shemshai, the scribe, wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes, the king, as follows. Then wrote Rahum, the commander, Shemshai, the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Onsnapar departed and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province beyond the river. And now, this is a copy of the letter that they sent. To Artaxerxes, the king, your servants, the men of the province beyond the river, send greeting. And now be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem.

They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. Now, because we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to witness the king's dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records, and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was

laid waste. We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province beyond the river. Rebuilding of Jerusalem forced to halt. The king sent an answer to Rahum the commander and Shemshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province beyond the river greeting. And now the letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me. And I made a decree and search has been made. And it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the

whole province beyond the river, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid. Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt until a decree is made by me. And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king? Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rahum and Shemshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem, and by force and power made them cease. Then the work on the house of God which is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of God, which is in Jerusalem, stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.

The Book of Zechariah, Chapter 1. Israel Urged to Repent In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Edo, the prophet, saying, The Lord was very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Be not like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, overtake your fathers. So they repented and said, As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us. First Vision, The Horseman On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is in the month of Shabbat,

in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, the prophet. And Zechariah said, I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding upon a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. Then I said, What are these, my lord? The angel who talked with me said to me, I will show you what they are. So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth. And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest. Then the angel of the Lord said, O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no

mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah against which you have had indignation these seventy years? And the Lord answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. So the angel who talked with me said to me, Cry out, thus says the Lord of hosts, I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. And I am very angry with the nations that are at ease, for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster. Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion. My house shall be built in it, says the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Cry again, thus says the Lord of hosts. My cities shall again

overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem. Second vision, four horns and four smiths. And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns. And I said to the angel who talked with me, what are these? And he answered me, these are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. Then the Lord showed me four smiths, and I said, What are these coming to do? He answered, These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against

the land of Judah to scatter it. Chapter 2, third vision, the man with a measuring line. And I lifted my eyes and saw and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then I said, where are you going? And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth and what is its length. And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him and said to him, Run, say to that young man, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle in it.

For I will be to her a wall of fire round about, says the Lord, and I will be the glory within her. Ho, ho, flee from the land of the north, says the Lord, And I will be my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion. For behold, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people.

And I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. Be silent all flesh before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. Chapter 3. Fourth Vision, Joshua and Satan. Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, The Lord rebuke you, O Satan, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?

Now Joshua was standing before the angel clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, remove the filthy garments from him. And to him, he said, behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you and I will clothe you with rich apparel. And I said, let them put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by. And the angel of the Lord enjoined Joshua. Thus says the Lord of hosts, If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts. And I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.

Hear now, O Joshua, the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men of good omen. Behold, I will bring my servant the branch. For behold, upon the stone which I have set before Joshua, upon a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day. In that day, says the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree. The book of Proverbs chapter 20 verses 4 through 7. The sluggard does not plow in the autumn. He will seek at harvest and have nothing. The purpose in a man's mind is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but a faithful man

who can find. A righteous man who walks in his integrity, blessed are his sons after him. Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory. Thank you so much. Thank you for your word, as always, Lord God. Thank you for your spirit that not only inspired your word, but also inspires us in reading. We ask that you please, Lord, clear from our minds anything that obstructs clear understanding, anything that makes it difficult for us to not only perceive and understand, but also to receive and to embrace your word, which is your gift to us. May we praise you this day and every day, and may everything we are and everything we do, everything

we have belong to you and give you glory. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. So we have a lot of stuff going on. We have not only an introduction to the book of the prophet Zechariah, but also let's look at Ezra a little bit. Now, some people say that Nehemiah is better than Ezra, but I had to work that back in two days in a row. Here we are in chapter three and chapter four. What we have is worship restored in Jerusalem in chapter three. And so this is so important. Here are the people, they've come back. And now what are they doing?

They are doing what they should be doing. Remember that the king had given them, King Cyrus of Persia, right? He had given them access to all the treasuries, like the treasury, not like he gave them access to the treasury that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken from the temple. And now they're back and they were given all those articles, all those vessels, so that they could restore temple worship. This is the whole point. I mean, yes, the promised land is theirs.

Jerusalem, Judah, the city, that land, that is theirs. But the main reason why this is so important is because of the temple in Jerusalem. And the reason the temple is important is because of the worship that's offered in Jerusalem. And so what do they do? They set it up and they get the altar ready and they begin doing what Moses had prescribed. They begin, I don't say immediately, but pretty quickly, they begin offering up the sacrifices that Moses had prescribed on a daily basis, daily in the morning and daily in the evening and all the feasts and festivals. And then we have this story of the foundation of the temple laid. And this is second year of

their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem. They begin laying the foundation stones. And this is a big, big day because people are saying, Hey, we're doing this. And we're not only are we offering up the sacrifice on the altar, but now we have this place that is God, the house of God, right? The member going all the way back to where David had said, Lord, I intend to do this. I want to build you a house here. I'm living in a nice house, but you're dwelling in a tent. I want to build this incredible house, this temple of God for you. And then God through Nathan, the prophet says, no, your son was going to do this. And then his son Solomon did do this, this incredible temple that was glorious and gave glory to the father. And what happens is they laid the foundation stones

and they're coming forward, the vestments of the priests, the trumpets of Levites, the sons of Asaph with symbols to praise the Lord. They're singing responsively, which basically means kind of a call and response. And all the people shouted a great shout and they praised the Lord. But the many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid. It was smaller. They had seen this incredible, incredible, glorious house.

And here they are weeping because they realized this is going to be a pale comparison to the original temple of God built by Solomon. Now there's a pro and a con here. I think this is pretty impressive. The pro is these people who are weeping, they remember. They remember the way that yeah, here not only is God glorified, but here we are as a people have this a place to gather, have this place to give God worship, have a place to offer sacrifice. And so they remember this and they realize, man, this is nothing in comparison to what once was. And that is a real thing. That's a real grief for those who remember, not just back in the day. I remember things being simpler back in the day. I remember things being better because

that's not always the case, but this is actually accurate. They do remember there was a time when God was glorified in that old temple. And now here is this new temple that is again, a shadow of the previous one. There's also a con here. There's also a negative to their weeping. And that negative weeping can be that they're stuck. You know, sometimes this happens to us where we get so stuck in looking back at the past that we are not seeing what's actually happening right now. And it could be that these elders with their memories, which is so important to remember, were so stuck, they were unable to see what God was doing now. Remember the whole theme of Ezra is return and rebuild. There's also repent in there, but these first moments of return, yes,

and rebuild. And in the process of rebuilding, but these first moments of return, yes, and rebuild. And in the process of rebuilding, it's not going to be immediate. Remember, I think in the New Testament, it talks about how the temple, the temple of Herod was 47 years to build. And we have to understand that when we become unable to see what God is doing now, then we miss out on what God is doing now. And so this is just very important for us to, yeah, there's a pro in remembering, but there's also a con that we might be stuck in the past and unable to see what God is doing in our lives right now. Now in chapter four of Ezra, we have this interesting scenario where there's this resistance to building the temple and who is it resisted by? Well, it's resisted by the Samaritans. And then in response, it's free. So here's the deal. There's people who

were back in the Holy land and they are now what they were, what is now known as the Samaritans. And they said, Hey, you're going to build the town. I mean, we, this is our home. You guys are just moving back, right? All those thousands of people that King Cyrus of Persia said, yeah, you can leave the area of Babylon and you can go back to your original land. Now there've been people living there for 70 years. And so here are the people living there, a lot of them being Samaritans, saying, okay, you're coming back and claiming what was my land for the last 40, 50, 60, 70 years. And so there's some tension there.

But they offer, let us help you build this temple because we're your cousins, we're your brothers, we're your sisters, we're family, essentially. And they say no, the Jews say no. Why? Well, it's very important because second Kings chapter 17, remember the story, the history story tells us that these Samaritans had offered to rebuild the temple, but they weren't worshiping the God of Israel. They were worshiping their own gods. In fact, this is why in John chapter four, Jesus later on has this conversation with the woman of Samaria, the Samaritan woman at the well.

And she says, you know, you Jews say that the place to worship God is in Jerusalem and yet we worship here over, you know, kind of thing. And she highlights the fact that there is division here. Why? Because the Samaritans might even say the Lord God, but they mean something

else. And this is sometimes one of those points of division that is just so painful to experience when churches splinter, when churches split, and when even doctrines change between groups, that here is the people of Samaria basically saying, here are the people of Samaria saying, let us build the temple with you to the Lord God. And the Jewish people saying rightly, no, because you would be building this temple to your false God. And we can't do that. So this is very important. Now, of course, they do some conniving with bureaucracy and some conniving with politics. And so they write a letter to Ahasuerus. We're going to see him in a couple of days in the book of Esther.

He's also known as Xerxes, I believe. And they also write another letter to Artaxerxes, the next one in line here. And what are they going to say? They're going to have a mixture of truth and lies because that's the best way to tell a lie, you guys, is to have a mixture of truth and lies. We all know that. Sometimes the evil one gets into our hearts because he speaks a little bit of truth and then twists it, makes it a lie. And here's what the Samaritans were doing as well, writing to Asuerus and to Artaxerxes saying, listen, these are people, they rebelled against the previous folks.

They've rebelled against Babylon. That's true. They did. And if they rebuild their walls and rebuild their temple, then they will not pay taxes and they will not give you what you need. And they'll become this rebellious land over here in, in Judah and Jerusalem. And that's not true because they had always paid their taxes. They'd always done exactly what was asked of them. And yet here's this accusation. And so temple building is halted until King Darius. And that's so great because it ceased until, in the last verse of chapter four, it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius, the king of Persia. Now, why is that important for us? Well, one of the reasons it's important for us is because the second year of the reign of King Darius was where we heard the book of Haggai yesterday. It opens up in the

second year of the reign of King Darius, and also is where we opened up the book of Zechariah today. You might not have caught this, but Haggai, the prophet, and Zechariah, the prophet, the prophet from yesterday and the prophet from today and the next few days, are writing at essentially the exact same time. Zechariah writes the beginning of his book of the prophecy here, two months, I believe, two months after Haggai wrote his first installment of, or spoke his first installment of this prophecy. And so we realized that all of these events are kind of converging around the same time. And Haggai, like Haggai yesterday, yesterday, Zechariah is a book of encouragement.

Here are these people. They've gone back to Israel. They've gone back to the land of Judah and Benjamin. They're in Jerusalem. And here is Zechariah who's saying, yes, don't stop. Return from your evil ways and I'll return to you. You've come into my presence. I will come into your presence. That this is such a good, I mean, honestly, what an incredible word of comfort and of encouragement. Then in chapter

one, verse 17, cry again. Thus says the Lord of hosts, my cities shall again overflow with prosperity and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem. And then we have, you know, these first four, I think we heard today, four of eight visions that Zechariah had. One of those visions I just want to highlight before we close today is in chapter three, the fourth vision, Joshua and Satan. Now, remember that while Satan has come to mean the evil one of principalities

and powers, in the ancient world or in the Old Testament, Satan or Hasatan means the accuser. So that could mean the devil himself, or it could mean any kind of accuser, I guess, for lack of a better term. And here is the accuser, Satan, standing next to Joshua, the high priest. And Joshua, the high priest is dressed in filthy clothes. He is not fit to offer the sacrifice in the temple. And this is so important because the recognition for all of us is that in so many ways, we are unfit to enter the presence of the Lord. In so many ways that, I mean, think about me as a priest and other priests. We're in so many ways where we are just like Joshua, the high priest, unfit to stand in the Lord, the Lord's presence and offer him sacrifice with a pure heart,

with a good intention as he wants it. And yet that doesn't disqualify him. In fact, what happens is the angel says, we'll remove the filthy garments from him. And I've taken away your iniquity from you and I will clothe you in rich apparel. And, and he says, okay, now basically you've been clothed this way. Now live this way. And this is so important. This is what every one of us who has been forgiven by Jesus Christ are invited to do. Just like Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, he says, neither do I condemn you go and sin no more. And this is almost, uh, that's an encapsulation of what is said to Joshua, the high priest. Okay,

your sin, your iniquity has been removed from you. Essentially, now go and sin no more. Now worship the Lord God in this way of truth and of goodness. And it's just, that's what all of us are called to do, to receive the Lord's mercy, to receive his forgiveness, to be made new, and to walk forward away from our sins toward the Lord. And I just, there is this line. It's the last line in Zechariah chapter three. God says, I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day. In that day, says the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree, this place of rest. I love this. I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day.

Question, my friends, when was that day? I submit that that day was Good Friday, the original Good Friday. In a single day, when God himself paid the price for our sins, that God himself made it possible for us to be washed in the blood of the lamb, that on that Good Friday, that single day, that God removed the iniquity not only of the land, but he removed the iniquity from my life and from your lives. And here we are now, made new. So just like Joshua, just like the woman caught in adultery, so just like just like joshua just like the woman caught in adultery the lord god says to us i don't condemn you essentially i've forgiven you now go and sin no more we can only do this with god's

grace and so as you know what i'm going to say i am praying for you because we need god's mercy we need his grace we need his strength to keep on moving forward please pray for me because i need the same for the same my name is father. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.