Today’s message is a reflection on God’s goodness and His worthiness of praise for His greatness.

Bible Reading of the Day

AM – Ezra 3-5

PM – John 20

𝕿𝖎𝖙𝖑𝖊: 𝕷𝖊𝖙 𝕲𝖔𝖉 𝖇𝖊 𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖓𝖎𝖋𝖎𝖊𝖉

𝐄𝐳𝐫𝐚 𝟑:𝟏𝟏 𝐊𝐉𝐕

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫; 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 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.

When the first group of exiles returned, Zerubbabel led the builders in rebuilding the Temple. Once the foundation was laid, priests in their ceremonial robes blew silver trumpets to signal the commencement of rebuilding God’s house. These trumpets, traditionally crafted from beaten silver, were sounded during joyful events such as kings’ coronations, the dedication of Jerusalem’s wall, and the celebration noted in this Scripture verse, all marking key moments in the temple’s renewal.

Despite the captivity faced by God’s people, He continues to care for them and offers a chance to restore their lives. Clearly, some remain faithful to the True and Living God. This faithful remnant has diligently strived to follow the letter of the Law. The Law prescribed several feasts in the seventh month, such as the “𝕱𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝕿𝖗𝖚𝖒𝖕𝖊𝖙𝖘,” the “𝕯𝖆𝖞 𝖔𝖋 𝕬𝖙𝖔𝖓𝖊𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙,” and the “𝕱𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝕿𝖆𝖇𝖊𝖗𝖓𝖆𝖈𝖑𝖊𝖘” (𝕷𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖚𝖘 𝟐𝟑:𝟐𝟑-𝟒𝟒). Soon, the Levitical priests resumed sacrificing all worship offerings at the altar. Monthly offerings, as well as those for special feast days—including the Sabbath—were once again brought. The people could freely present their voluntary offerings to the Lord.

The scene of laying the foundation for rebuilding the Temple sparked contrasting emotions among the elderly and the younger generation. For the younger men, the joy of returning home and seeing the early construction of God’s house was overwhelming, prompting them to shout with happiness. Having only known exile, this moment offered them a new and thrilling experience.

The older men remembered Solomon’s Temple and ancient Jerusalem, mourning what once was. Their tears reflected the glory before Babylonian captivity. With this in mind, let’s focus on this devotion. Regardless of circumstances, we have every reason to praise Him because He is consistently good. Though the future is uncertain, we trust that God’s sovereignty governs all and that everything He does is perfect.

Let me share this with you, brethren: God is mighty and rightly deserves profound praise. So why do many Christians offer so shallow and insignificant praise? Could it be that they perceive God as less than great? If they see nothing grand about Him, their praise also lacks greatness. Their worship may seem dull, their prayers weak, their thankfulness minimal, and their service casual. Truly great Christians serve a grand God! He fills their hearts and inspires reverence. A magnificent view of God leads to immense praise, while a limited understanding results in stunted worship. In true praise, worries diminish, but when praise is small, cares appear amplified.

David, in his distress, declared, “𝕷𝖊𝖙 𝕲𝖔𝖉 𝖇𝖊 𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖓𝖎𝖋𝖎𝖊𝖉” (𝕻𝖘𝖆𝖑𝖒 𝟕𝟎:𝟒). When God is magnified, our enemies weaken and our challenges seem smaller. Take a moment to reflect on the greatness of your God, and then give Him the praise He deserves! “𝕲𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖙 𝖎𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉, 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕲𝕽𝕰𝕬𝕿𝕷𝖄 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖕𝖗𝖆𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖉!” (𝕻𝖘𝖆𝖑𝖒 𝟒𝟖:𝟏).