Emotions Begin with God's Heart

Scripture: But many of the older priests, Levites, and family leaders, who had seen the first temple, wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this house, but many others shouted joyfully. The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from that of the weeping, because the people were shouting so loudly. And the sound was heard far away. Ezra 3:12-13

Observation: The Israelites returning from exile have raised the foundation of the temple and begin celebrating this, but their celebration is mixed. For some, the fact they have reached a milestone of recovery is reason to shout and sing. For others, the fact that they are willing to enjoy such a meager thing as a foundation when the memory of the great temple is the true goal far outweighs that achievement ... this is cause to mourn and lament. The result is this great but mixed noise. It is a sound indistinguishable - no one can tell who is rejoicing and who is wailing - and it can be heard from far away.

There are two opposite ways of interpreting this divided and opposite response. One is to condemn those who celebrate, for they are celebrating their own accomplishment (the laying of stones), while those who cry recognize the fact that this is not the house of the Lord and cannot become so without his blessing. The other lesson is to condemn those to mourn, for they are allowing the past to prevent the advancement of God's work, while those to rejoice see that God is moving again among them and seek an opportunity to worship him.

However, what if all of those positions are wrong? What if all response to this work is flawed? It would seem this work is occurring in an uninspired way - there is no person consulting God to determine how best to restore the temple. Meanwhile, of course the temple won't be rebuilt suddenly and fully, and cannot look the same as it once did after only a few months of manual labor. It seems possible, therefore, that this mixed response may actually be a further example of the divided heart of Israel ... they again seek God, but have forgotten how, and remain outside of his favor as a chosen people. Therefore, until they restore their hearts - and seek God's heart - all emotions related to the rebuilding of the temple are problematic.

Application: When I seek God's "heart", I need to understand that also means I seek to avoid my own "heart." I must not assess situations and determine my emotional or logical response based on my own emotions. Instead, I must see the situation, seek to discover God's emotions associated with that situation, and desire my emotions to align to his through drawing close to him.

The returned exiles were not seeking God's heart. Therefore, they had no idea how to emotionally respond to the foundation of the temple. In turn, I cannot know how to emotionally respond to anything - national conflict, impending war, natural disasters, challenges at work - until I seek God's heart in the matter. When I seek his heart, and he reveals his attitude and emotions in the matter, then I can know how to proceed.

Prayer: Lord, I do seek your heart, your will, and an understanding of your love daily. I will strive to engage in prayer on matters more often, listening to your voice. I will listen not just for instructions, but for emotions as well. Amen.