I found it interesting that depending where I was reading, there were a few different takes on the Israelites and their return to Jerusalem.
In his sermon, The Return to the Promised Land, Bob Deffinbaugh goes through numerous prophecies that are fulfilled by the exile and return of the Israelites and then he says....
In Ezra 2, we are provided with a list of those “whose spirits God stirred” (Ezra 1:5), prompting them to go back to their homeland. We should not minimize the courage and faith of those who chose to return. We know that some of those who made this trek were elderly (see 3:12). The trip was approximately 800 miles, taking several months (see 7:8-9). There were grave dangers involved in such a journey, especially for a group carrying many valuable objects with them (1:66-69; compare 8:21-23, 31). Life was not so bad in Persia, and many of the Jews seem to have been content to remain there, as did Esther and Mordecai (the Book of Esther).
When the people arrived they assembled in Jerusalem, where they promptly constructed an altar and began to offer sacrifices. Their motivation includes fear of their enemies...
They established the altar on its foundations, for they were in terror of the local peoples, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and the evening offering. Ezra 3:3 (emphasis mine)
The exiles’ concerns regarding the “local peoples” were not unfounded. When the Assyrians defeated the northern kingdom of Israel, they transplanted these Israelites far from their homeland. The Assyrians then brought in other subjected peoples. We know that these people began to worship the God of Israel, in addition to their own gods (see 2 Kings 17:24-33). When the Babylonians defeated the people of Judah and sacked Jerusalem, the land was left to only a few of the poor. As we might expect, surrounding peoples began to “possess” the vacated land. They were not at all happy to learn that the Jews had returned to repossess their land and to permanently settle there. These Samaritan-like peoples were not willing to give up the land they had occupied without opposition. The decree of Cyrus made any opposition illegal, but then the Persian king was a long way away.
In the second year of the exiles’ return, they began to rebuild the temple. This began with the laying of the foundation of the temple (3:9). When the builders completed laying the foundation of the temple, there was a great celebration. There was the music of trumpets and cymbals, along with joyful singing. There was something strange about this “celebration,” however:
With antiphonal response they sang, praising and glorifying the Lord: “For he is good; his loving kindness toward Israel is forever.” All the people gave a loud shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established. Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders—older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established—were weeping loudly, and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout. 13 People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly that the sound was heard a long way off. Ezra 3:11-13
It was the older generation who was weeping loudly, while the younger generation was jubilant. Why? Because the older generation was living in the past; they were re-living “the good old days.” These folks could remember the temple in Jerusalem. How much more beautiful it was than what the reconstructed temple would look like. This living in the past and weeping was wrong. It is at the prompting of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, that the temple will be completed. When the temple is completed and the people celebrate, there are no tears. Why? I believe it is because the prophets corrected the error of their thinking.
Think about it for a moment. These older men could only have seen the temple in its last days, just before its destruction. These older men would have been quite young when they last saw the temple. No doubt they were overly impressed with its appearance....
We know that in its last days, temple worship had been greatly corrupted. Images of other gods were there (see 2 Chronicles 33:1-9, 22; 36:14-21). What, then, was so “good” about the “good old days”? I think the only thing one can say was “good” was that it was a beautiful building.
The fears of all (3:3) and the tears of some (3:12-13) were the first evidences of failure among those exiles who returned to their land.
So, not such a great opinion.
But then my Life Application Bible says....
As the temple reconstruction progressed, everyone contributed freewill offerings according to his or her ability. Some were able to give huge gifts and did so generously. Everyone's effort and cooperation were required, and the people gave as much as they could. Often we limit our giving to ten percent of our income. The Bible, however, emphasizes that we should give from teh heart all that we are able....
The Jews built the altar as one of their first official acts. It symbolized God's presence and protection. It also demonstrated their purpose as a nation and their commitment to serve God alone. Zerubbabel sacrificed burnt offerings as the Law of Moses instructed. The sacrifices were essential because they demonstrated that the people were seeking God's guidance, rededicating themselves to living as he commanded, and daily asking him to forgive their sins....
Almost immediately after arriving in the new land, the returning exiles built an altar. The people began worshiping God through sacrifices even before the temple foundations were laid. After many years in captivity, they had learned their lesson - they knew that God does not offer special protection to people who ignore him. They had been carried off by the Babylonians when they were relatively strong; here they were few, weak, and surrounded by enemies. If ever they needed to rely on God's power, it was at this time. They realized the importance of obeying God from the heart, and not merely out of habit....
Why was the Lord's temple begun first, even before the city wall? The temple was used for spiritual purposes; the wall, for military and political purposes. God had always been teh nation's protector, and the Jews knew that the strongest stone wall would not protect them if God was not with them. They knew that putting their spiritual lives in order was a far higher priority than assuring the national defense....
The celebration after laying the temple foundation was marked by contrasts of emotion - shouts of joy and sounds of weeping. Both were appropriate. The Holy Spirit can stimulate us both to rejoice over the goodness of his grace and to grieve over the sins that required him to correct us.
That's a different take for sure!
I guess part of it is, we don't knew the motivation behind the weeping. If the tears were evidence of remorse, then it was a good thing! If it was just longing for riches, or even worse - longing for how things were right before the exile, then it was not a good thing.
Tomorrow's passage: Daniel 10-12, Ezra 4:24-5:1, Haggai 1
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