“The construction of the Temple of God began in midspring, during the second year after they arrived in Jerusalem. The work force was made up of everyone who had returned from exile, including Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jehozadak and his fellow priests, and all the Levites. The Levites who were twenty years old or older were put in charge of rebuilding the Lord’s Temple.”
Ezra 3:8 NLT
It took the returning exiles two years to actually begin the work of rebuilding the temple. They first put the hearts I. The right place by rebuilding the altar and making sacrifices and then they took to gathering money, supplies, resources, security and organizing these things in such a way that the work could be best suited. They built their temple with a purpose and agenda. Christian’s have a tendency to miss this note in establishing themselves, their relationships, their churches and their lives in general. Our entire world is setup to undo the established order in a sinful world. God gave Adam an edict to toil. This may seem like it was just a part of the curse of sin, but it seems it may have been a blessing to counteract the way sin effects the mind. A lazy heart, mind and body cultivates sinful fruit. A productive one cultivates godly fruit. In building our communities, we should not be so quick to create. We should take our time with foundations the heart and with a craftsmanship befitting our love for God and his people. If we speed this process up, or judge it’s success by finite standards, it might become an orchard for bad spiritual fruit to thrive in our communities.
JOSH McGARY. COM 