The Old and the New

The Old and the New

 

Ezra 3:11-13

 

^"11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:

“He is good;
    his love toward Israel endures forever.”

And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. ¹² But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. ¹³ No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away."

 

After seventy years of exile, King Cyrus of Persia allowed the people of Judah to return to their land to rebuild the temple of God.  All whose hearts were moved to return, settled in their towns and began the work of restoring their lives as covenant people according to the Law of Moses.  Led by the priests, the first thing that was rebuilt was the altar since the sacrifices were such an important part of the worship of the Lord.  The sacrifices, offerings and worship to the Lord was what distinguished them from all the other people of the world who served foreign gods that were not gods at all.  With the altar built, the sacrifices that were commanded and necessary according to the law, began.

 

The following year, materials for the temple began to be collected.  instructions as to the size of this temple were given by king Cyrus as well as for materials.  Articles that had been removed from the original temple by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon when he destroyed it were also returned.  All the people who had returned from captivity began the work of building the house of the Lord.  They say that the first step is the most important step of a task.  To begin something brings you well on your way to completion.  This is so with a building, but not only this, the foundation of a building is the most important part.  If the foundation is strong, the building will stand if built right.  If the foundation is bad or weak however, no matter how well the building above it is constructed it will collapse under the right circumstances (see Matthew 7:24-27).  So when the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, a major milestone was met and a celebration was in order.

 

The priests were dressed in their vestments and positioned in their places.  The musicians played and with praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord, "He is good; His love endures to Israel forever".  The people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.  It was a great day for Israel.  Covenant life and worship had been restored.  It was a new beginning for the people who had been held in exile.  They had never ceased to be God's people but they were held captive and had gone many years without the freedom to worship and live in Jerusalem.  It was the beginning of a new day and was cause for joy and celebration.  But many of the older people who had seen the former temple wept aloud as they compared this foundation with the one they remembered.  To them it didn't compare, they could not find the joy of this new beginning because their focus remained on the old temple which was long gone.  Together the shouts of joy and praise along with the cries of weeping filled the air so much so that the sound could be heard far away.

 

As always, I am pointed to Jesus and the New Covenant through old testament history that also serves a types or pictures of the new.  The destruction of Solomon's temple represents the end of an era.  As great as it was this temple built by human hands would not be the house that the lord would reside in, it is a house of living stones, a royal priesthood that He would reside in forever.  While this change did not ultimately take place until the New Covenant was put into place, we see a change taking place as the exiles returned and laid the foundation of the new temple.  To so many, the new represented hope, joy and freedom.  Others however, were stuck in the past thinking that because this looked different to them, it could not possibly be as good as what had before.  The reality was though that they had been in captivity, in exile.  This temple, while different was now and that made it much better than where they had been held captive for so long.  Their natural eyes saw something much smaller while the spirit of the younger people felt the reality of what was happening in their lives (see Zechariah 4).

 

In the New Covenant, the covenant of GRACE, we have a change of eras.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."  The book of Hebrews is full of the Apostle Paul's teaching on the difference between the old covenant and the New Superior Covenant that is in Christ Jesus.  The old covenant, like Solomon's temple is held in such high regard by many of God's people that they are unable to experience the joy, hope and FREEDOM that is in the new.  They can't seem to get over the fact that though the new covenant looks different, it is the now covenant and experience of worship, fellowship and life that is ours.  

 

Much of the Church of Christ is in exile today.  They are certainly still God's people but they are being held captive by the law and by religion.  They are entrenched in the ways of the old covenant so much that they can't see the beauty of the new.  Solomon's temple took much more work but did that really make it any more real for the exiles who returned?  No, that old temple was gone and the reality was that the new temple which was now was much better for them.  The old covenant was full of work, effort and sweat but is not for now.  The New Covenant is built on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ, not the law.  This foundation of the New Covenant which is built on the chief cornerstone of Jesus is the true house of God, built with living stones.  This same stone, the finished work of Jesus on the cross is a stumbling block for those who do not believe.  Those who have not yet come to believe the truth of the message of GRACE, still stumble over the truth.  They lament over what they see and wail loudly over the New Covenant while those of us who can see the New Covenant for what it truly is sing and shout for joy praising God.  The voices of the new are mixed with the voices who can't move beyond the old to appreciate fully what is theirs.  Both voices are being heard among the body and sometimes it makes it hard for those listening to know what the message is. 

 

The true message of GRACE must be proclaimed with rejoicing and celebration.  The Church must come fully out of exile, remaining captive and in bondage to the law and enter into the hope, joy and FREEDOM that is in the New Covenant.  This day of GRACE and Favor is a glorious day.  The Lord is good; His love endures forever!  Celebrate and share the Good News of GRACE and FREEDOM with someone today.

 

 

 

Grace to you,

 

Pastor Tony

Freedom Church, USA