Journey Of The Seed - Catch The Bible's Big Picture In 60 Daysنموونە

REBUILDING WORSHIP

[Scheduled Reading: Ezra 9-10, Nehemiah 1-6]

While Ezra and Nehemiah are rebuilding temples and walls, they’re also rebuilding something else. 

Worship.

Upon their return from 70-year exile in Babylon, among the first orders of business is to build the altar (Ezra 3). 

Why the altar? 

Sacrifices!

Eventually the Israelites hold the first Passover celebration in over a few centuries.

They gather and organize the Levites to restore Jerusalem to working order. 

Rebuilding Jerusalem means reigniting worship. And igniting worship means preparing hearts. 

That’s right. Worship is not just something we do to go through the motions. Worship involves our hearts. 

Both Ezra and Nehemiah work to bring about heart healing by dealing with various sins among the Israelite community. 

Intermarriage is a problem (Ezra 9 & 10, Nehemiah 13). Nehemiah reminds them that the very downfall of Israel was triggered by Solomon’s intermarriage and infiltration of foreign gods. 

Another problem is the oppression against the poor among them (Nehemiah 5).

Both men lead the people through a healthy process of confessing sins (Ezra 10, Nehemiah 9). 

We’re talking prayer-fasted, bitter-weeping, sack-cloth-wearing children throwing themselves down on their knees before God. 

It’s a total clean out – from the heart.  

There’s one more critical reform that both Ezra and Nehemiah institute. 

I’ll save that for tomorrow.