I always look back on my college days as perpetually fall – just the beauty of the leaves changing colors, the temperatures cool, the hope and excitement of the fall season, as well as the season of life that college was for me. I remember the midnight giggles with my roommate and all of the girls on the floor of our dorm.
I remember lazy weekends on campus, sleeping in, then seeing what others were doing that might be fun and joining in. And everything was fun. Everything. Even eating dinner in the cafeteria was fun. Walking a mile to the nearest grocery store with close friends was fun. I remember feeling like I could do anything, that life was a wide open road, the world was a place full of opportunity and promise.
But what I choose to push aside when I recall those good old days is the fact that I shared a bathroom with 30 other girls. That I had to wear flip flops in the shower. That the shower curtain blew open every time someone breezed through the swinging bathroom doors.
Not only that, it made the shower curtain (used by multiple other girls) rub up against me, which freaked me out every time it touched me. Not to mention that it was really cold when someone glided by on their way to the sink, which gave me goosebumps, which are not pleasant when one is attempting to shave.
And the thing I really choose to forget is that every time someone flushed one of the toilets, the water in the showers turned burning hot and scalded those of us who were showering at the time. We were supposed to yell “flush!” before we flushed, in order to alert those in the showers, but not everyone remembered to yell “flush.”
I imagine you, too, have your own “good old days” stories, as well as the parts that weren’t so good that you manage to push aside when you reminisce. And we see that a little bit here in Ezra 3:11-13 as well. Some of the Jews who had been exiled in Babylon have returned to Jerusalem, and they have laid the foundation of the new temple.
We read: And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love 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 the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundations 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 far away.
We understand from Scripture that Solomon’s temple was just unrivaled. And those who had been able to see that in person would understandably be a little bit underwhelmed by this new temple. Can those of us who have been fighting our way through 2020 relate here, just a bit?
As we have celebrated birthdays and graduations and anniversaries and other milestones in quarantine, we have had to work hard not to look back at our former celebrations where we were able to meet in large groups and go out and shop freely and eat in restaurants and go to the movies, etc. We have had to learn to be content with less fanfare, less socialization, and less options for what to eat and where to go.
We likely have felt that same idea of laughing with joy but also crying with sadness as our lives have looked so different lately. But you know, those “good old days” of Solomon weren’t all good either. The sins of that generation were a part of what had led to their captivity in the first place. Had they listened to Jeremiah and obeyed God, Solomon’s temple would have still been standing.
Perhaps that, too, could have been why they wept. They may have missed the beauty of Solomon’s temple, they may have been mourning the “good old days,” but some of them may have also been crying because they realized the sins of their generation.
So our collective mourning – even in small ways – in the past few months has been a mixture as well: sadness for those who have struggled with Covid physically or have lost jobs due to the shutdown, the big end-of-school events our kids have missed, vacations that have been cancelled, everyone working from home, the lack of mobility and socialization. But we also mourn for the sins of past generations and sins that are still lingering in hearts today, those feelings that one race is better than another in any way, shape or form.
So these loud noises we read about in Ezra really make sense to me because we so often carry loud joy along with deep sadness. It’s all a part of the human experience. They were grateful for the hope of the new temple being built, their way to sacrifice to God and connect with Him. But those who were old enough to remember the old temple cried because it was nothing like what they remembered from years back.
What do we do with these conflicting emotions? We need look no farther than verse 11: And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love 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.
God is good. He was good then. He is good now. Even though their new temple didn’t match up to the grandeur of the old one built by Solomon, God was still good. And even though our celebrations and daily life this spring and summer may not look like they have in the past, one thing remains: God is good.
You and I may naturally default to comparing these days to the “good old” ones, but we do have a choice. Romans 12:1-2 offers us a different way: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will.
And we can cling to the promise found in 2 Corinthians 9:8: And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
As we delight in God’s goodness – even when all around us we see pain and brokenness – we can ask God what good things He wants to do in and through us. Even in the shadows of change and uncertainty, God is good. And He can do good things in and through us. That’s a great reason to hope.
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer (Romans 12:11-12).
Beautiful!☺️
Thank you!❤️