Ezra 3:7

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezra 3:1-7

Here is, I. A general assembly of the returned Israelites at Jerusalem, in the seventh month, Ezra 3:1. We may suppose that they came from Babylon in the spring, and must allow at least four months for the journey, for so long Ezra and his company were in coming, Ezra 7:9. The seventh month therefore soon came, in which many of the feasts of the Lord were to be solemnized; and then they gathered themselves together by agreement among themselves, rather than by the command of authority, to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezra 3:7

They gave money also to the masons, and to the carpenters ,.... To buy stone and timber with for the building of the temple: and meat and drink and oil unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre ; which were more agreeable to them than money, because there was not plenty of such things in their country, as in the land of Israel: to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa ; as they did at the first building of the temple by Solomon; they cut down cedars at Lebanon, which... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 3:7

They gave money also - They copied the conduct of Solomon while he was building his temple; see 1 Kings 5:11 . He employed the Tyrians, gave them meat and drink, etc.; and this permission they now had from Cyrus. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezra 3:1-7

§ 2. RESTORATION OF THE ALTAR OF BURNT SACRIFICE , AND CELEBRATION OF THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezra 3:1-7

Acceptable service. When the 42,000 Israelites arrived in the land whither they went forth, they took peaceable and glad possession of their old homes; many, if not most, of them returning to the very fields and homesteads from which their fathers had been led away. They then showed a piety which was partly the fruit of the long discipline they had passed through in Persia. Their service of Jehovah, on this their return, was characterised by— I. SPONTANEITY ( Ezra 3:1 , Ezra 3:5 ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezra 3:1-7

Aspects of worship. I. The HUMAN in WORSHIP . "Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak," etc. ( Ezra 3:2 ). These men were the leaders in this movement of worship; they gathered the people thereto. There is a human side to Divine worship; the altar looks toward earth as well as toward heaven; man builds, if God consecrates it; man appoints the time of worship, arranges its method, gathers the people, stimulates the conscience by faithful words, and enforces the law. A few good men... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezra 3:4-7

The first feast. "Also," Ezra 3:4 ; "afterward," Ezra 3:5 ; "but," Ezra 3:6 ; these are the three stepping-stones of this passage. After making a good beginning in restoring the daily sacrifices, the people "also" kept their first feast. "Afterward" they did what they could in restoring the observance of all the other ordinances and feasts of Jehovah. "But," it being impossible to do this satisfactorily as they were then situated with regard to the temple, they further proceeded to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezra 3:7

PREPARATION OF MATERIALS FOR THE REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE ( Ezra 3:7 ). When the restoration of religion had pro-greased thus far, the civil and ecclesiastical rulers turned their attention to that object which had been specially mentioned in the "decree of Cyrus" ( Ezra 1:2 , Ezra 1:3 ), the rebuilding of the temple. And, first of all, it was necessary to collect building materials, wood and stone, which were the chief materials of the first temple, and which Cyrus had... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezra 3:7-13

Thought, work, and feeling. We have in this passage— I. A TRUE THOUGHT ( Ezra 3:8 ). "Now in the second year of their coming," etc. We can easily imagine any orator among the company of the returned Jews making out a strong case for leaving the building of the temple till better days should dawn. The sufficiency of the altar already reared for the practical purposes of devotion; the readiness of God to accept any offering that came from the heart, however mean the outward... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezra 3:7-13

The founding of the temple. The worship of Israel during the first year of the restoration from Babylon was such as could be conducted around an altar in the open. The people naturally felt how imperfectly they could fulfil the law of Moses without a temple, with its courts, its veil, and its sacred furniture. They did not let discouragement paralyse them, but taxed their energies and resources. These words bring under our notice I. THE PREPARATORY WORK . 1. What was... read more

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