Celebrating Foundations

"Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to supervise the work of the house of the Lord. And Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together supervised the workmen in the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad and the Levites, their sons and brothers. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with 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, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel." And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.  But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, so that 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." (Ezra 3:8-13 ESV)

 This little excerpt out of the book of Ezra gives me chill bumps. This is during the beginning of the rule of the new king in Israel and this chapter starts with several priests and leaders rising up to call for the building of the second temple in Jerusalem. 

 This part of the passage starts with telling us that they gathered the young men, as young as 20, to supervise the building of the temple. In the building of anything, you must always start with the foundation.  Once the workers had laid the foundation, the priests and leaders came and celebrated with horns and cymbals. They came to worship T the sight of the foundation being laid.  The people of Jerusalem see that the foundation is laid and they begin to shout for joy.

They Rejoice in ways that we could never understand. They scream so loud that it can be heard far away. People are seeing that the foundation is laid and they are having a party! They are celebrating that the foundation of the house of the Lord is laid. Nothing has even happened besides the foundation being laid. The older people of Jerusalem see the foundation and are reminded of the first temple and begin to weep in conjunction with the people shouting with joy.

This has turned into a worship experience.....the spiritual leaders of worship bringing in the horns and cymbals and the rest of the people rejoicing through shouts and tears at the fact that THE FOUNDATION is laid. There isn't a building there. There isn't an altar for sacrifices. There's only a foundation. 

 This makes me look very intensely at my own life.

Where in my life is the foundation being laid and am I celebrating that?   Where do I see God using experiences to prepare me for the work I will do later?

 Where am I leading, and in those places am I celebrating the laying of the foundation by the people I am leading? Am I bringing in horns and cymbals to rejoice with them?

 At the end of a week of camp, am I celebrating so loud that God has laid the foundation in that community through us for them to reach out in a greater capacity that the community next door hears me? What about you?

Where is God laying foundations in your life and are you rejoicing in them? Are you screaming for joy? Does it bring you to tears because you've seen God use this before?