After decades of captivity for the Jews in Babylon, God stirred up the Persian ruler Cyrus to proclaim their liberty. More than 40,000 returned to Judah. After settling in their towns, they gathered in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices on the rebuilt altar and to observe the Feast of Tabernacles (Ezra 3:1–5). However, “the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid” (v. 6). Workers were hired and supplies were ordered (v. 7), but another seven months passed. Finally, as verse 8 explains, Zerubbabel and Jeshua began the project.

Sometimes the hardest thing to make is a beginning. We may have spiritual, God-ordained desires in view, but then comes the moment when we must stretch out our hands and actually begin. It can be daunting. For the Jews at Jerusalem, the temple they were building was going to be far less glorious than they would have liked. When the foundation was laid, those who remembered Solomon’s temple wept as they realized how insignificant their construction appeared. This was followed by a period of distressing opposition from their adversaries. Due to discouragement, fear, and frustration, the work ceased and the project remained dormant for almost twenty years.

Did the weakness of the project or the interruption of the work mean that Zerubbabel and Jeshua were wrong to begin? Certainly not! Their beginning honored the Lord. Ultimately, just as God stirred the people to make a beginning, so He stirred them up years later to complete the task. We too may sense the weakness of our efforts or become discouraged in our progress, but let us not allow God’s work to remain dormant. As He spoke then, so He speaks today: “Work, for I am with you” (Hag. 1:14; 2:4).