“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 weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.” Ezra 3:12-13
The Israelites had endured 70 years of captivity. They gathered in Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. As the foundation was laid, the priests and Levites brought instruments to lead the people in praise to God. But many of those gathered could still remember the way things used to be and they wept among the praising.
Boy, can I relate. Let me provide the background story.
Our family has struggled with my husband’s unemployment for 2 years. In February of 2017, one of our cars began having troubles. We patched it up in small and big ways since that time. We also listed our camper for sale that month hoping to generate income.
Our Struggle
Fast forward to February 2019 – that car died, right in front of our house. My husband had to push it in the driveway with the tractor. It was a true hillbilly moment. I shared our camper post on Facebook & explained our need for a car. Within 10 days, some very close friends in Christ who know all of our struggles, bought our camper.
The evening that they bought our camper was bittersweet for me. Our family loved to go camping. We had planned to keep the camper until our boys left home. I was lamenting over what we had lost & what we did not have to look forward to.
Now, I am able to enjoy the new (to us) car. I can sync my phone in order to make phone calls, listen to podcasts or an audio book. It gets good gas mileage and I am looking forward to being able to visit my son and his family in Virginia as well as my daughter and her family in Indiana knowing that I have a dependable vehicle.
A Valuable Lesson
There have been so many lessons for me over the past two years and I suspect that my learning isn’t over. More than anything, I am learning what it means to trust and surrender.
After the Israelites were captured and spread all over Babylon, I suspect that their future seemed hopeless. After returning to Jerusalem, perhaps they began to realize that they could trust God as they praised Him for the laying of the foundation of the temple.
Whether it is weeping or joyful shouting, God wants to hear it all from us.
