The Foundation Was Laid

And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. 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.

Ezra 3:10-11

We are cultured by the way average people celebrate success. In the world we are living in, we don’t expect cheers until we see the final product. We would hear the glorious sounds of applause only after winning a championship game. People receive accolades only if they reach a certain goal. In the Scripture, however, the Lord seems to have a different way of celebrating success.

After the destruction of Solomon’s temple, its location had been a desolate place. Prompted by the Holy One of Israel, kings signed decrees and restored hope to the children of Israel in rebuilding the temple. The promise which they heard from the Prophet was finally coming to pass. Their long wait was over.

In the process of rebuilding the Second Temple, something remarkable happened. Immediately after laying the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the people set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD. . . and they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD.

Notice that the builders were not yet finished building the whole temple; what was laid on the site was only the foundation of what they were trying to construct. For them, however, it was not “only the foundation”; it was “the foundation.” They praised the Lord because, through faith, they began seeing what the foundation would eventually become. They saw the end from the beginning.

On the one hand, the world teaches us to rejoice after the victory. On the contrary, Heaven expects us to celebrate before we behold the victory. It doesn’t mean that we are overly confident of ourselves; it only means that we are living by our understanding that all things work together for good. We don’t rejoice because triumph is coming; we celebrate because we are already triumphant through Him who always causes us to triumph in His name.

The Great Creator Himself had the same attitude when He was in the process of creating the heaven and the earth.  God interrupted His project and celebrated on each day of the Creation Week. After the first day, for example, there was only “Day and Night.” Nevertheless, God said, “It is good.” Indeed, God knows the end from the beginning.

We may not see the whole thing yet, but we have to believe that God is at the end of it already. The progress might be too slow, but we still have to praise Him for the increase. We have to learn how to rejoice in every bit of success.

Success in the Kingdom of God is not a destination; it is a journey. Victory is not something we are trying to achieve; it is something we already have as children of God. We do not fight for victory; we fight from victory. So let’s rejoice over ever step we take. Let’s see the victory in the end from the beginning, from when the foundation was laid.

Further Reading: Ezra 3; II Corinthians 2:14; Isaiah 46:10