Return to the Temple

God dealt with the sin of Israel by sending them into exile. Sometimes God has to send believers into exile. He had to deal harshly with them. Hebrews 12:6 says "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth."

If you are not punished when you sin, you are probably not his.

The Jewish exile lasted 70 years. Eventually the exile ended. There was restoration. The book of Ezra describes that return.

What do those who have been restored to God do?

The temple is rebuilt. It is important to rebuild the temple. One should desire to restore that relationship with God. God wants to see that relationship restored.

We see in Ezra 3:12 that many of the older priests wept because the new temple was not as good as the old temple. It may seem that the post-exilic relationship with God will never be as good as the old one.

It may take work to get everything back.

After the temple has been built, the next step is to reinstate the reading of God's word. Nehemiah 8 depicts an assembling of the people having heard the Bible read. "So they read from the book of the law distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading." This is an intense reading. This is not a casual reading. It is a reading that seeks to get all there is out of the text.

Revival brings a hunger for God's word.

The Bible brought them to tears (Nehemiah 8:10). For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. When a person repents, God wants to take the weeping away.

Weeping is important but does not have to last forever. God commands them to eat the fat of the land. Usually the fat was forbidden. There is a new kind of celebration when this revival occurs.

Then the people held the feast of atonement. When you come back to fellowship with God, you return to the old ways. This is not empty liturgy. People will start going to church again and to other church functions.

So, have you returned to the temple?

Is it possible? It is a difficult road. It might not seem quite as good. There will be a renewed interest in the word of God. It will lead to a time of celebration. Then it will lead to a return to the old ways. Have you rebuilt the temple.