Ezra 3:12, commentary and pictures

When the foundation of the rebuilt house was laid before their eyes, the aged priests and Levites and fathers who had seen Solomon's temple wept aloud while many others shouted aloud for joy, so that grief and gladness rose together and could not be told apart. They wept because the new work seemed inferior to the former in outward glory and magnificence. Their weeping was unbelief and dissatisfaction rather than praise, a failure to rejoice in what God had enabled. Such sorrow over the past should have given way to gratitude, for God had mercifully spared them and restored them to Jerusalem, whereas the loss of the first house had come through long disobedience and disloyalty that made the captivity necessary. Their comparisons and complaints did harm beyond what they knew, discouraging the builders, weakening the people, and delaying the completion of the Lord's house.

Historical Setting and Scene

The verse belongs to the return from exile, when about fifty thousand Israelites came back to Canaan under Zerubbabel and Joshua to restore the temple and its services. They were only a remnant, for many chose to remain in Medo-Persia rather than take part in the work of restoration. They came from lifelong captivity to a wasted, nearly deserted country.

When the foundation of the new house was laid before their eyes, many of the ancient men wept with a loud voice. They were the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers who had seen the first house, Solomon's temple.

At that same laying of the foundation many others shouted aloud for joy. They were of larger faith and broader vision and were not dissatisfied with the new work. Thus grief among those who remembered the first temple and joy over the new foundation rose together.

The sound of joy and the sound of weeping mingled so loudly that one could not be distinguished from the other or told apart. The mingled loud crying and loud shouting for joy stood as one triumphant outpouring of praise with a loud voice. And the joyful shouting was heard afar off.

Reason and Rebuke of Weeping

The aged priests and Levites and chief fathers who had seen Solomon's house wept loudly when the foundation of the new house was laid before their eyes because the coming building seemed inferior to the former in magnificence and outward glory. They viewed its lesser glory and the seeming inferiority of its plans with sadness and unfavorable comparison to the first temple.

Their loud weeping was a failure to rejoice springing from lack of faith and lack of confidence in the enterprise. It expressed disapproval, disappointment, dissatisfaction, discontent, and mourning rather than praise for what God had enabled.

Their sadness also held grief over the loss of the former house and over the consequences of Israel's disobedience that had brought that loss. Sadness filled their hearts as they thought of the results of long-continued impenitence, ingratitude, and disloyalty that led to the destruction of the temple built by Solomon, the captivity, the exile, and the scattering among the heathen. Had they and their generation obeyed God and carried out His purpose for Israel, Solomon's temple would not have been destroyed and the captivity would not have been necessary.

Since God had mercifully spared them, brought them back to Jerusalem, restored them, and enabled the rebuilding as a mark of favor toward Zion, their grief over the past should have given way to gratitude and joy rather than discontent.

Harmful Influence and Application

The mourning and unfavorable comparisons of the older leaders carried a weight they did not realize, and their expressions of discouragement weakened those who were building. Their complaints and lament over seeming inferiority expressed dissatisfaction rather than praise and lack of confidence in the enterprise, and they discouraged the workers and the people and lessened their willingness to continue. Under that influence some lost heart and became disheartened and discouraged, questioning whether to continue the work and whether the time had come to rebuild. Many therefore turned back to their homes and ordinary pursuits instead of pressing forward with the temple.

Their expressed disapproval, disappointment, and dissatisfaction with the lesser glory sprang from failure to rejoice through lack of faith. That dissatisfaction delayed the completion of the Lord's house. Had they foreseen that result on the day the foundation was laid, they would have been appalled.

The record of laying the foundation calls God's people to honor God at once by rising up without delay to prepare, build, and dedicate a place of worship. There they are to worship in humbleness of mind, to kneel down, and to serve Him becomingly and in order. Such a house stands as a witness to the truth where the Lord directs, and the work requires faith of the right quality.

The celebration when the foundation was laid, with loud crying mingled with loud shouting for joy so that one sound could not be distinguished from the other, is a fitting picture of powerful, triumphant worship gatherings. There the people praise God with a loud voice in deep emotion and joy. Such an outpouring strengthens and refreshes all who share in it, as when divine power falls like a mighty rushing wind.