No. 12 of Returning Home
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. – Ezra 3:11ESV
Doesn’t reading these words uplift you? God’s people are rejoicing over the first phase of the temple construction. They have just laid the foundation. It is a day of celebration.
“They sang responsively” is also translated, “they sang by course.” This way of singing is not new to us. The term ‘anah in the passage means to respond by answering back. This type of call and response method created a spirit of unity by having one group begin and the second group reply. As seen in the military cadence known as the “Sound Off,” the participants are attuned to each other and rely on the other party to do their part. Those who respond listen to those who call to them and return the message.
What was their message? It is found in Psalm 136:1:
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
This song of praise is part of a section of psalms that reflect on the mercies of God and His goodness. It was also sung when the temple of Solomon was first consecrated (2 Chronicles 7:1-3ESV). How fitting to sing of God’s mercies in their second year in front of the temple site! Their hope is alive. Their plans are being realized in the form of the foundation of the Lord’s house. They sing of His enduring love because it has brought them through their long wait in captivity.
There is a third expression of their excitement: all the people shouted with a great shout. Over forty thousand people shouted in unison. Not many shouts, but one great, deafening sound. A unified burst of jubilation. It would have been a poignant moment that God through Ezra allows us to view.
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, 13 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 3:12-13ESV
The emotion displayed in these verses is real. This incredibly touching moment brings tears to the eyes of those who remembered the temple as it was before it was destroyed. The weeping and the joy mingle together, and the sounds of this moment are heard from afar. What were those living around Jerusalem thinking as they stood outside and listened?
When I was a teenager, I remember the church singing “A New Song” right before the lesson every Sunday. We sang with all our hearts. The song begins,
“It thrills my soul to hear the songs of praise we mortals sing below.”
And it did thrill my soul. So much so that I remember wondering if the neighbors beside the building might hear us and join us. I wanted them to know the thrill of singing to God, too. I wanted them to take up the cross of Christ as I had done and know the hope that I knew. We are the children of the Most High God, and we have every reason to worship Him in unity and in the depth of our being with gratitude. For He is good; for His mercy endures forever!