Temple Building
Then and Now
8 In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the
house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak
and the rest of the people (the priests and the Levites and all who had
returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work. They appointed Levites
twenty years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord. 9 Joshua
and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah)
and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all Levites—joined together
in supervising those working on the house of God.
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and
with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their
places to praise the Lord, as prescribed
by David king of Israel. 11 With praise and thanksgiving
they sang to the Lord:
“He is good;
his love toward Israel endures forever.”
his love toward Israel endures forever.”
And all the people gave a
great shout of praise to the Lord,
because the foundation of the house of the Lord
was laid. 12 But many of the older priests and Levites
and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the
foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. 13 No
one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping,
because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.
In
your opinion, who are Zerubbabel and Joshua (verse 8)?
Who supervised “those working on the house of God” (verse 9)?
Who gave the priests and Levites “their places to praise the Lord” (verse
10)?
What did they sing about the Lord (verse 11)?
Why did the people give “a great shout of praise” (verse 11)?
In your opinion, why did “many of the older priests and Levites and family heads” weep aloud
when they saw the foundation of the temple being laid (verse 12)?
What could not be destinguished (verse 13)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of
this passage?
1 Then the angel who talked
with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. 2 He
asked me, “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top
and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. 3 Also
there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on
its left.”
4 I asked the angel who
talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 He answered, “Do you not
know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I replied.
6 So he said to me, “This is
the word of the Lord to
Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
7 “What are you, mighty
mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring
out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “The
hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will
also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord
Almighty has sent me to you.
10 “Who dares despise the day
of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord
that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone
in the hand of Zerubbabel?”
11 Then I asked the angel,
“What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”
12 Again I asked him, “What
are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden
oil?”
13 He replied, “Do you not
know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I said.
14 So he said, “These are the
two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”
Who
woke Zechariah up (verse 1)?
How does Zechariah describe the lampstand he
sees (verse 2)?
What does Zechariah see on the the right and
the left of the lampstand (verse 3)?
What does Zechariah ask the angel (verse 4)?
What message does the angel have for
Zerubbabel (verse 6)?
In your opinion, why will there be shouts of “God bless it” when Zerubbabel brings
out the capstone (verse 7)?
How will Zechariah know that the Lord Almighty
sent the angel (verse 9)?
In your opinion, who does date “to despise the day of small things” (verse
10)?
Who do the two “olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand” represent (verses
11, 12, 13 and 14)?
In your opinion, who are the “two olive trees” (verse 11)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of
this passage?
In your opinion, why does something as wonderful
as building a temple to the Lord create weeping in Ezra 3:8-13 and cause some to
despise it in Zechariah 4:1-14?
John 2:13-25 – New International Version (NIV)
13 When it was almost time
for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In
the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others
sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip
out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he
scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To
those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s
house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that
it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 The Jews then responded to
him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
19 Jesus answered them,
“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
20 They replied, “It has
taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in
three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his
body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his
disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the
words that Jesus had spoken.
23 Now while he was in
Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing
and believed in his name. 24 But
Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He
did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.
When
did Jesus go to Jerusalem (verse 13)?
What did Jesus find in the temple (verse
14)?
How did Jesus react to what He found
in the temple (verse 15)?
What did Jesus say they were turning
His Father’s house into (verse 16)?
Who remembered that it was written “zeal for your house will consume me” (verse
17)?
In your opinion, why did the Jews ask “what sign can you show us to prove your
authority to do all this” (verse 18)?
How long did Jesus say it would take
Him to rainse the temple again (verse 19)?
How long had it taken to build the
temple (verse 20)?
What temple was Jesus speaking of (verse 21)?
When did the disciples recall what
Jesus had said (verse 22)?
Why did “many people” believe (verse 23)?
Who would Jesus not entrust himself to
(verse 24)?
What did Jesus not need (verse 25)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
In your opinion, what caused the
temple that was so important to people at its beginning that the sounds of joy
and weeping were heard “far away” in
Ezra 3:8-13 to become a place that was used for the sale of cattle, sheep and doves in John 2:13-25?
In your opinion, how are Zerubabbel from
Zechariah 4:1-14 and Jesus from John 2:13-25 related, by family and position,
and how are their positions different?
1 Corinthians 3:9-17 – New International Version (NIV)
9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s
building.
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise
builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with
care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than
the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If
anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay
or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is,
because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the
fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If
what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If
it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though
only as one escaping through the flames.
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s
Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s
temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you
together are that temple.
What are we (verse 9)?
What did Paul lay (verse 10)?
How should each on build (verse 10)?
In your opinion, why can no one “lay any foundation other than the one
already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (verse 11)?
What does Paul say people can build on the
foundation with (verse 12)?
How will their work “be shown for what it is” (verse 13)?
What will fire test (verse 14)?
Who will receive a reward (verse 15)?
How will the person whose work is burned up be
saved (verse 15)?
What are Christians (verse 16)?
Where does God’s Spirit dwell (verse 16)?
What is sacred (verse 17)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of
this passage?
In your opinion, how are the foundation of
Zerubbabel’s temple which was being laid in Ezra 3:8-13 and the foundation of “God’s building” which was described by
Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:9-17 similar?
In your opinion, what can God’s statement “not by might nor by power, but by my
Spirit” from Zechariah 4:1-14 teach us about building on the foundation of
Jesus Christ with “gold, silver, costly
stones, wood hay or straw” from 1 Corinthians 3:9-17?
In your opinion, how is the temple that Jesus
talks about in John 2:13-25 different from “God’s
building” that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 3:9-17?
In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezra,
Zechariah, John and 1 Corinthians teach us about the building of God’s temple,
from Zerubabbel’s time and our time?
In your opinion, how can we who build God’s
temple today build with gold, silver and costly stones instead of wood, hay or
straw?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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