Evening star., 1922-08-05

| OK. |
Temple building was the dominant
purpose of the returning exiles. 1t
inspired them during the long march
to the homeland, when they were
called upon to sacrifice and suffer so
that the expedition should be sue
cess. The former temple. which had
been erected by King Solomon, had
unified all the political, social ana
religious institutions of their fathers.
The one that they planned to build
would be erected by the voluntary
contributions Of the people. 1t would
provide for the restoration OF the
worship of Jehovah. proclaim their
loyalty to Him and be a pleGge tnat
they would never forget His deliver
ance of their fathers from the bond
age of Egyptian slavery and HIS
liberating them from their Babyionian
captivity. 1t would demonstrate that
they had learned through the bitter
experiences of the exile the dangers
Of idolatry and be a promise that they
would never serve gods OF other ma
tionS.
They may have been discouraged as
they saw the ruins OF Jerusalem ana
travelled over the desolate fields OF
Judah. The dark picture Of the land
and city probably would be used by
their political leader, Zerubbab bel.
who was a prince of the house OF the
line of David, to stir up their devo-
tion to the cause which had been SO
dear to both David and Solomon:
Joshua, who was the grandson Of
Seraiah. the high priest whose eyes
Nebuchadnezzar put out after the
fall of Jerusalem, had succeeded his
father. Jozadak, as high priest ana
religious leader. He would point TO
the restoration task as an evidence OF
restoration under which the world is
staggering today is due to the ma
tions of the earth forgetting God.
The returning exiles were encouraged
to believe that the first essential OF
success in the needed restoration OF
Palestine to a state of prosperity ana
power was the erection of the temple.
The church occupies the strategic
place in the unrest of the moment,
and it is only by our placing first the
glory of the Lord and trying to do
His will that America and the other
nations Of the world will be brought
back to 'normalcy." Let US emulate
by restoring the family altar and re-
consecrating ourselves to the Master.
The exiles had hardly much more
than taken possession OF their an
cestral estates before they were sum-
moned to leave them unguarded and
to hasten to Jerusalem to restore the
worship Of Jehovah by rebuilding the
altar upon the crest of Mount Moriah.
which was its ancient site. The
altar was to Judaism what the cross
is to Christianity. Both to us and
for the Jews what is most vital and
precious in religion Is the dark mys-
terry of a sacrifice" which, through
wait for the completion of the temple
to restore the essential institutions
of their faith. They observed the old
ways of their fathers when, recogniz-
ing the covenant relation to Jehovah
and his law, they renewed the daily
burnt offerings and reinstituted the
great festivals commanded by Moses.
the man of God. By commencing.
upon their return to the homeland. a
life of obedience. they proved that
they had learned the lesson OF the
exile. Their fathers started their
life in Palestine by disobeying Je-
hovah, but upon their return they as
scmbled virtually every one to re-
new the sacrificial services.
The gifts. which they made in sill
YER and gold, according to Ferrar
Fenton, taking the value of the
bullion at weights alone, the gold
EQUALS 100000 pounds sterling Eng
lish and the silver 10000 pounds. But
at the period of Ezra the purchasing
power would be many times more"
It reveals the prestige and power
which they had attained under the
Babylonfan rule and els a witness to
tho high intellectual capacity and
civilization Of the Hebrew race, COM
pared with all the nations around them
he HScodvo n q nf he.
ing a conquered and enslaved peo-
pie" These gifts provided funds
needed to import the wood from
Lebanon and secure masons from
Fhocnicia. The ruins had to be
cleared and plans prepared for the
erection of the temple, which was
to be democracy's tribute to the Lord
who had given them freedom. 1t re-
uuired time to complete the prepara-
tion for the rebuilding of the temple.
1t was not until the second year
Of Cyrus that they were able to start
building operations. A great public
convocation was appointed. when the
people supplemented their former Rits
with the offerings of the first fruits
of the field toward the new temple,
which would express In stone their
love. LOYALTY and labor fer Jehovah.
The work of overseeing the building
operations was irtrusted to the
Levites, whose relfSJ0uS sympathy
with the purpose of the temple In
eured that the plans approved by the
civil and ecclesiastical authorities
would be faithfully carried out by the
workmen. It was a great day when
the high priest laid the corner stone:
Jorusaiem was throngcd with crowd
of worshipers who came to witness
the ceremony. which was opened by
q great antiphonal chorus that hlled
the people with a spirit Of devotion
The priests proclaimed the ever
lasting mercy Of God. which .,,s was : :. a a
prophecy. Old men wept when they
recalled the glory of the former
temple, Just as they can be seen weep
ing today at the wailing place where
devout Jews from all nations as.
semble to praise God and pray that
the glory of the temple may be re-
stored. The united desire of both
singers and weepers for the success
of the new building enterprise was
Indicated by the fact that from the
distance their voices appeared to har-
monize SO that it was not possible