What Noises do YOU Make?

Oct. 16

Read: Ezra 3:8-13

What Noises Do YOU Make?

“…for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.” (v.13)

I can remember a time when my son asked me, “why do you make those noises Dad?” I answered, “What noises?” His reply: “Like when you sit down, or bend over, or pick something up, you grunt and make noises.” I had to laugh at the question! I told him, “I guess I am just getting old. That is what old people do. It is not really a conscious thing, it sort of just happens… it comes out of you… you can’t help it.” It almost seems automatic.

After two years of preparing, the people of God began the rebuilding of the actual Temple. (v.8) They started by laying the foundation. (v.10) I can’t help but think it was a little underwhelming at first… right? I mean a plane foundation without any of the rest of the building seems pretty boring to me. All of the “good stuff” -the gems, the gold, the ornate tapestries and woodwork- that was all yet to come. This…well this was just a plain ‘ol foundation.

And yet, the response of the people is actually quite the opposite of what you would expect. When the work was finished the priests came with horns and cymbals “to praise the LORD, according to the directions of David king of Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, (singing) 'For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.’” (v.10,11) The rest of the people- the “regular” people of God- they came celebrating as well: “all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.” (v.10) This was a powerful response in joy and celebration for the work that the Lord was doing. almost like a spontaneous automatic response to the work of the Lord… even if it was simply the beginning… a plain foundation.

Not everyone was excited though. Verse 12 says that, “…old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid…” I wonder what it was that made those men weep? Were these tears of joy? Of sadness? Of anger and frustration? Did the new foundation just remind them of the wounds of the past and how tragic the destruction of the first temple was? Maybe they were mourning the death of one era and the beginning of a new era? (Sometimes WE look back at how things were and bemoan how things have changed. We are not exempt from “weeping” over the past in the face of the new present… even if God is working in said “new present”.)

The last section shows us that there truly was something distinct between the weeping and shouts of joy: “…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.” (v.13) The resultant sound was purely a “joyful” sound… these were not tears of joy for the old men. It was “bitter sweet” for these elders to see this new foundation. In a unified cry, the joy and the sorrow came together as one. What a picture of the people of God and of our worship… the ability to come together in both joy and sorrow and have each outpouring absorb the other. The forthcoming “sound was heard far away”. Wow. How loud it must have been to have thousands cheering and weeping together. What a disruption to the hum-drum daily life around them… to all of a sudden have people hearing some noise. I wonder if people came out of their homes to see what all the fuss was about? I wonder if people started walking towards Israel to investigate? An outpouring of genuine emotion in response to the Lord that was so loud it echoed into the surrounding area is pretty wild.

What sort of noise are WE making today as the people of God? How we respond to HIS work, even if it is just a boring foundation? Is what we are saying traveling loudly into the world around us? Are we crying out in unity? Is the message that we are bringing encouraging or discouraging? It is the truth or a watered down lie? Is our joy able to console those who weep? Is the call for help that is “weeping” being met with encouragement and help from within the body of Christ? These are all challenging questions… questions about how respond to each other and the work of the Lord.

Why do you make the “noises” you make? As instinctual as my “old man grunt” is when lifting up something, so should our praise and worship be to the work of the Lord! When we call out together it will be heard all around us… it will be heard far and near. For those of us who mourn the loss of the days gone by - take heart! God is laying a new foundation. He is rebuilding his temple yet again in US! (cf. Eph. 2, John 14:23) It is a work in progress… the beginning phases may not be as glamorous and exciting (like a plain foundation) but they are worthy of praise and worship. The signal God’s continual work in the expansion of HIS Kingdom. So our tears and our praises flow together - one giving way to the other. We declare the “steadfast love of the Lord” towards his people as we realize that the most beautiful and magnificent buildings have the most humble beginnings. Love you guys. - JDP