The exiles are back in the land, but there is no temple, only ruins and the memory of what once stood there. Before anyone lays a single stone of the new building, they do something else first.
When the foundation finally goes down, the crowd makes a sound no one can sort out. Many shouted for joy, and many old men wept, and the text says the people could not tell the two apart.
The Story of Zerubbabel Lays the Foundation
When the seventh month was come, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.
They did it while they were afraid. They set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries, and they offered burnt offerings morning and evening. They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and from the first day of the seventh month the offerings went on – but the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.
Preparation followed worship. They gave money to the masons and to the carpenters, and food, drink and oil to the men of Zidon and Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.
In the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel and Jeshua began the work with the priests, the Levites, and all that were come out of the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD.
When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. They sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout.
Not everyone was shouting. Many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy.
The two sounds ran together. The people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.
Key Verses
“Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel” Ezra 3:2
“Because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel” Ezra 3:11
“Who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy” Ezra 3:12
“The people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people” Ezra 3:13
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), a public-domain translation.
What the Story of Zerubbabel Lays the Foundation Teaches Us
The altar came before the walls and before the foundation. Even with fear upon them because of the people around them, the returned exiles started with burnt offerings, as it is written in the law of Moses. Worship was not something they waited to do once the building was finished.
Their song was about God’s character, not their accomplishment: because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. A people just back from exile, standing on a site that had been destroyed, praised the LORD for mercy that had lasted through all of it.
The chapter does not tell the old men to stop crying or the young to quiet down. Both are recorded side by side – men who had seen the first house weeping with a loud voice, and many others shouting aloud for joy. Ezra lets grief over what was lost and joy over what God was doing stand together in the same moment.
Bring the stories home. Explore Bible Stick Figures coloring books and printables that pair simple art with Scripture. Visit the shop →
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Zerubbabel?
Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel was one of the leaders of the returned exiles. With Jeshua the son of Jozadak, he rebuilt the altar and began the work on the temple foundation in Jerusalem (Ezra 3:2, 3:8).
Why did they build the altar before the temple?
Ezra 3:2-3 says they built it to offer burnt offerings as it is written in the law of Moses, and set it up even though fear was upon them because of the people of those countries. Verse 6 notes that the foundation of the temple was not yet laid.
When was the temple foundation laid?
In the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month (Ezra 3:8). The foundation was laid with priests sounding trumpets and Levites playing cymbals (Ezra 3:10).
Why did the old men weep when the foundation was laid?
Ezra 3:12 says they were ancient men that had seen the first house. The verse records that they wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes; it does not say more about their reasons.
What song did they sing at the temple foundation?
They sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel (Ezra 3:11).