Patience in Prayer: Joy in God’s Faithfulness (Ezra 3:11)
…they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD,
“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
This prayer is an oft-cited prayer, found many times throughout the Bible, especially in the Psalms. Here, the context teaches us about patience in prayer and the joy of God’s answers.
Background
After King Cyrus of Persia proclaimed that the Jewish exiles could return to their land and rebuild their temple, preparations were made, and the people left. Ezra describes the number and tribes of people who went back: twelve leaders, lay families, priests, Levites, and other temple officials—almost 50,000 people!1
After they had made the trek, and settled into towns around Jerusalem, the High Priest Jeshua, other priests, and the governor Zerubbabel built a new altar upon the foundation of the old one and began offering sacrifices morning and celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths). They began to practice all the daily, weekly, seasonal,and yearly worship, celebrations, and sacrifices.
During the second year, they began to work on rebuilding the Temple. Once the foundation was finished, the priest the priests and Levites celebrated with trumpets and cymbals, singing responsive songs and praising God with the prayer above.
Meaning
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