There was a very large company of Israelites who wanted to go back from their captivity in Babylon to the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem that God had given to them. We are told that all the people numbered 42,360, besides the servants, maids, men and women who sang, and many animals such as camels, donkeys and goats. As large as this company seemed to be, it was very small compared to the original group of Israelites who had come through the wilderness from captivity in the land of Egypt. But size does not matter to God. He was very interested in this company, and no doubt He had far greater joy in seeing them return than the joy they felt in doing so.
Once they returned to the city they immediately started to rebuild the temple. The first thing they did was to build “the altar of the God of Israel.” It is wonderful to see how God desires us to worship Him first before we do anything else. After the altar was built and the sacrifices and offerings could again be offered to God, they began to rebuild the house of God (the temple). The first thing that they did was to rebuild the foundation.
When the foundation was finished, those who had been born in captivity and had never seen the original temple were happy to see it rebuilt, and when it was done, they shouted and praised the Lord because they now had a place begun among them where God would dwell. But the older people who had seen the original temple and knew how beautiful and large it had been, cried when they saw the new foundation because it was so small. The noise they all made was heard by people a very long way off.
Let’s rest for a while in our journey while you find the following verses:
1. The Bible warns people not to harden their hearts against God as the Israelites did when they were in the ____________. They had to stay there for forty years because of their rebellion. Hebrews 3:___
Harden
2. The fruit of the Spirit of God in a Christian includes ____________. Galatians 5:___
But
3. God is so pleased with the Lord Jesus that He commanded that all the angels ____________ Him (Jesus, the first-begotten of the Father).
Hebrews 1:___
And
4. The Apostle Paul has said that there can be no other ____________ for our faith to rest upon than the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:___
For
5. The Bible teaches us that those who suffer for the sake of the Lord Jesus are ____________. 1 Peter 3:___
But