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57. Miserable Times.
So now there were
again so many Jews, as it were a new approach, in the desolate homeland.
But it required a great love for their native soil and a great trust in
God that they did not perish with sorrow and despondency when they
reached the goal of their journey and their long yearning. The dwellings
of their fathers, Jerusalem, the beautiful city, and its famous temple
still lay in ruins from the destruction. What the fury of the enemy
could not smash at that time had crumbled through the length of time
itself; in addition, the fields still lay desolate and overgrown from so
many years. There was much to be cleared away and rebuilt, and although
there was a lack of work everywhere, the good people did everything they
could and are an example of what man can do with good will and trust in
God, even in evil times, and how God's power is mighty even in the weak.
At first they only erected an altar and celebrated the Feast of
Tabernacles because it was the season, even though they had not yet
brought blessing to the land. A pious mind praises God even in poor
times.
For the favour of the Lord endures forever to those who fear him.
Normally you build the town or village first, then the church. But the
Jews first thought about how they wanted to rebuild the temple. But the
old people among them, who had seen the grandeur and splendour of the
first temple, wept with sorrow when they saw the poor beginning of the
new one. The lamentations of the old and the songs of joy of the young
could not be distinguished in the great crowd. Tears and joy are often
side by side. When the Samaritans, who lived in the land of the ten
tribes, saw that the Jews were building a temple, they also wanted to
join them in praying and sacrificing there. But the Jews did not accept
it. They wanted something special for themselves. So the Samaritans
built an altar for themselves on a mountain near Samaria and slandered
the Jews to the Persian kings, as if they wanted to fortify Jerusalem
again and be unfaithful to the king, so that the building had to be
stopped again and all new misfortune befell the Jews for many years
until King Darius came to the throne in Persia. God guided the king's
heart so that, like Cyrus, he was merciful to the Jews and they were
able to complete the building and celebrate their feasts. But they
remained enemies with the Samaritans for irreconcilable times.
The king also sent Ezra out of Persia to his homeland, who
re-established worship and the priesthood and civil order in the manner
of his ancestors as best he could. But even more remarkable than him is
his later assistant Nehemiah.
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