The Altar Built - Ezra 3:2

In the book of Ezra, Ezra said, “And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem”, and in chapter three and verse two of Ezra, Ezra shared how the priest built, “the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon” where we read,

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.

The verse reads, “Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, ...” Ezra began with the words, “then stood up Jeshua” which means “at that time arose Jeshua whose name means he is saved and was the head of a Levitical house which returned from captivity in Babylon”“the son of Jozadak” which means “the male offspring belonging to Jozadak whose name means Jehovah is righteous and was the grandson of the high priest Hilkiah; son of the high priest Seraiah; and father of the high priest Joshua; he never attained the office of high priest himself because he was carried captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar”, “and his brethren the priests” or “and his, Jeshua's, relatives, kinship or ones of the same tribe”, “and Zerubbabel” which means “and Zerubbabel whose name means sown in Babylon and was the grandson of king Jehoiachin and leader of the first group of returning exiles from Babylon” “the son of Shealtiel” or “the male offspring belonging to Shealtiel whose name means I have asked of God and was son of king Jehoiachin or Jeconiah or Coniah of Judah and uncle of Zerubbabel”,“and his brethren” which means “and his, Zerubbabel's, relatives, kinship or ones of the same tribe”. Ezra shared how “Jeshua” who was the head over the priests of Israel and “Zerrubabel” who was the political leader of Israel arose with their kinship and associates to do the following. 

The verse goes on to say, “... 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.” Ezra continued with the words, “and builded the altar” which means “and established, rebuilt and began to build the place of slaughter” “of the God of Israel” or “belonging to the Supreme Deity of Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “to offer burnt offerings thereon” which means “to extend and cause to ascend whole sacrifices that have been burned as if going up in smoke upon the altar”, “as it is written in the law of Moses” or “similar and in likeness to the manner in which it is inscribed, recorded and registered within the priestly direction and instruction belonging to Moses whose name means drawn out and was the prophet and lawgiver who lead the exodus of Israel out of Egypt” “the man of God” which means “the male human being belonging to the Supreme Deity”. (See Exodus 20:24-25) Ezra shared how “Jeshua and Zerubbabel” oversaw the rebuilding of God's sacrificial offering place belonging to “Israel” so they could present their burning sacrifices to Jehovah God in the manner that “Moses” instructed them to do in the “law”.

When we meditate upon Ezra's words in this verse, we discover that the first act “Jeshua and Zerubbabel” carried out in Jerusalem when they arrived was to rebuild the sacrificial place for “burnt offerings” to be made. Their act shows us the order in which we should conduct our lives. God wants to be first in everything we do, and when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, He gave us access to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and given the opportunity to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto us”. (See Matthew 6:33) 

Next time Ezra shares how the priest, “set the altar upon his bases”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".