“The Temple Restored”
Lesson: Ezra 3:8-13
Golden Text: Ezra 3:11 “All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid”
When the people came out of captivity, they realized that in order for God to be in the mist of them, they were going to have to rebuild the temple that was destroyed. As they begin to start building the foundation of the temple, the people begin to realize how important this temple was going to be with having God’s presence back with them, that they begin to get excited, rejoicing and praising God with loud shouts of cheer. They begin to sing songs of praise that the Lord is merciful and his goodness endures forever. Some of the wiser priests begin to remember how the first original temple was and they became sadden and begin to cry. The people was so overjoyed at the thought of being so close and connect back with God that they could not contain themselves, because they were returning back to their first love.
In order for us to restore our temple, we must turn back to our true love (God) by repenting of our sins and giving God our total hearts and lives. God said that he will never leave or forsake us. When we leave and forsake God, we are destroying our temple, however, we can restore our temple, by obeying God, being revived through revivals, praying, worshipping and praising God.