Listening To The Word - 1 YearBeispiel

The Altar First

Ezra 3:1, 3
“When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem. . . . Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord. . . .”

Why was rebuilding the altar the first priority of the Jewish leaders upon their return to Israel from exile? These leaders understood that the presence of God was more important than a building. Without atonement for sin, God would not draw near to His people. The altar took priority over the temple.

How important is the altar in our lives?

Are we prioritizing service, worship, or the word before the altar of God’s cleansing and intercession in our lives?

These leaders in Ezra’s time restored the altar of sacrifice and began calling on the Lord. What place of intercession is God calling us to rebuild?

Lord God, you have invited me into your presence through the blood of Jesus, a Lamb without spot or blemish. I seek your face, O God. My heart says of you, "seek His face.”