Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. – Ezra 5:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 18, 2020): Ezra 5

Author J. K. Rowling in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" argues that "We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." Things often go better when we can all get on the same page, and it doesn't matter that the "thing" might be. It is one of the reasons that, as a society, I think we need to get a better understanding of our priorities. Often it seems that everything is essential to our agendas. But the adage holds. When everything is important, nothing is important.

So, it strikes me as significant that when the first Temple was built, Solomon's Temple, there was a singular unity between the secular and religious branches of government. The priests and the Levites were intimately involved in the project, but so was the King. Solomon drove the construction of the Temple that would bear his name, building the Temple according to the plans that had been handed down to him from his Father. We might remember the first Temple as Solomon's Temple, but before it was Solomon's, the dream belonged to David.

And as Israel rebuilds the Temple, again, we see a unity between the secular and the sacred. The second Temple would bear the name of Zerubbabel, the governor. But we shouldn't miss that this governor was a descendant of David, and if Israel still had a king in the days of Ezra, his name would have been Zerubbabel. And Zerubbabel is standing shoulder to shoulder with Joshua, the High Priest. The two were unified in purpose. The Temple was important enough to cause these two leaders to lay everything else aside for its cause.

The question that arises in my mind is, what are those issues for us today? So much of the governing of our nations seems to be spent on doing the things that the other side won't do while we are in power and have a chance. Or, on the flipside, fighting the lunacy that seems to take hold of those who govern. Too often, I wish that leaders would sit down around a table and examine the things that they hold in common, together, and concentrate on completing or strengthening those things.

There will always be things about which we disagree. But sometimes, all of that needs to take the back seat so that we can do what is important to all of us. Sometimes, the Temple simply needs to be built.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezra 6