The Big Story: God Brings His People Home


One of the most remarkable stories in history is the return of the Israelites to Judea after their exile in Babylonia.  The two main heroes of that time were Nehemiah and Ezra, and the books named after them are our primary sources of information about what happened during that time.

The book of Nehemiah tells the story of how an Israelite official in the court of the Persian King Artaxerxes became concerned about the desperate situation of his people in Jerusalem.  The king granted him permission to go to Jerusalem and assist in rebuilding the city.  Despite meagre resources and opposition from non-Israelites in the region of Jerusalem, Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of the city.

The book of Ezra focuses on the story of the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.  Ezra 1:1ff tells how the Persian King Cyrus, who had conquered the Babylonians, ordered that the Israelites be allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its temple.  The slow, difficult work began, with the Israelites rebuilding the altar of sacrifice first.  With that completed, they worked on the foundation.  

Ezra 3:1ff says that when they completed the foundation, they had a celebration.  The priests put on their vestments, blew their trumpets, and clanged their cymbals.  The congregation sang, "He is good!  His love for Israel endures forever!"  

But some of the older priests and leaders remembered the glory of the former temple.  They began to weep loudly over what had been.  So on that day, you could hear the strange sound of joyous shouts and mournful wails all mixed together! 

As we take part in God's Big Story, we can find ourselves in the same place.  We can weep over what was.  Sometimes it can be about church.  We remember the days of the 1950s and '60s when churches were full and EVERYBODY went to church!  Our culture supported evangelical values.  But now the church community as a whole in America is shrinking.  

It's okay to grieve.  But we should also be shouting for what can be!  Though churches are smaller, maybe they're more engaged in mission and serving their communities than serving themselves.  New and exciting forms of church are cropping up as well.

If you need to, grieve for what was.  But God is still working, so rejoice in what can be!

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