Ezra Day 3 - The Altar of our Hearts
They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. Ezra 3:3
As a young mom, naptime was precious. Between 1 and 3 in the afternoon, I had a block of quiet time that didn’t occur again until bedtime. With so many things to accomplish and so few hours, I would run myself dry while my sons napped, packing in as many chores as possible before one of my children woke up.
Inevitably, I would not get nearly as much completed as I had hoped. Besides, rushing to accomplish things during that time left me worn out and cranky. Something needed to change.
One Thursday morning at my weekly bible study meeting, someone mentioned that they completed their daily homework as soon as they put their children down to nap. Not only did she complete her bible study work each week, but she also managed to accomplish her other responsibilities.
“I have found,” she shared, “that when I put my bible study first, the rest of my day goes much more smoothly.”
As I looked down at the half-finished pages of my bible study homework, I figured I had nothing to lose by trying her method and seeing what happened. With fresh enthusiasm, I began a new routine. After I put my boys down for their nap, I would head downstairs and make myself a cup of coffee (thank you, Jesus, for coffee). Then, I’d open my bible study and soak in the pages, allowing God’s word to penetrate my heart. Like my friend said, the days I prioritized my bible study went more smoothly. I filled my heart with God’s word and was a more pleasant human.
My boys are taller than me these days, and my naptime bible study season has passed, but the lesson I learned in that season is forever etched in my heart.
When the Israelites returned to Jerusalem, their first task was building an altar. It’s easy to read past this part of scripture, looking for a more significant part of the story. After all, they have a Temple to build, a city to restore, and a wall surrounding the city waiting in ruins. Aren’t there more important things to do than building the altar?
Here’s what the Israelites understood that we often miss — our time at the altar impacts everything else.
Rebuilding the altar IS the most significant part of the story. The Israelite’s desire to rebuild the altar displays the posture of their hearts. Before they focused on the other essential tasks they needed to complete, they took the time to nurture their relationship with God — to repent, to observe the holy traditions & feasts, and to give offerings.
They prioritized their relationship with God, acknowledging their dependence on Him.
I do not particularly enjoy the sections of scripture detailing the large quantities of animals sacrificed in the Old Testament. It’s difficult to wrap my head around the amount of blood, bones, and mess animal sacrifices created.
As we sit in our shiny church buildings, with our comfortable seating, climate control, and high-tech audio equipment, we lose touch with where “church” started. We forget that generations of God’s children met together to worship God through the shedding of blood. Long before priests could sacrifice the animal, the Israelites had to work to raise it, then herd it to the appropriate location. Priests had the job of preparing and sacrificing the animal and using all the parts accordingly. It was arduous work.
Day after day, week after week, this process repeated as thousands of animals were sacrificed. In this way, the Israelites stayed in a right relationship with God.
As I consider all the hard work, time, energy, and discipline it took the Israelites to maintain their relationship with God, I’m humbled and challenged. How often do we prioritize the “important” tasks in our life over our relationship with God? Spending time in God’s word only happens if we have extra time at the end of the day or as a quick notification by an app every morning. Instead of praying without ceasing, we squeeze our prayers into the moments between other priorities that “have to get done.” We use the best of our time, energy, finances, talents, and gifts to build our earthly kingdom while God’s kingdom fades into the background.
We have lost our understanding of sacrifice.
Through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, our sins are forgiven. We are no longer bound to the practice of sacrificing animals to atone for our sins. Once we place our faith in Jesus, our relationship with God is secure.
We are, however, called to live a life of sacrifice.
Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Instead of offering bulls, rams, and sheep to God in sacrifice, we offer ourselves. We offer our lives as a living sacrifice. We offer the best of our time, energy, talents, and possessions. When we do, God uses all of it to reveal Himself to a world that needs Him desperately.
Our living sacrifice is unnecessary to remove our sins; Jesus’s blood accomplished that. God uses our living sacrifice to display His glory. When we partner with God as a living sacrifice, He takes our surrendered life and uses it to build His kingdom.
Our altar is our heart, the place where the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Just like the Israelite’s altar, our heart is where a right relationship with God begins.
Friend, the most important thing we can do is take care of our hearts, protect our altar, and keep it holy. We need to prioritize the condition of our hearts over everything else.
Build your altar first. When you do, you will find that God’s plan for you is worth the sacrifice.
What does that look like for you and me, living in 2022? How do we build the altar of our hearts?
We consistently spend time in God’s word - Make a plan and stick to it. Decide on a time that works best for you, and follow through. Maybe that means getting up 30 minutes early or using your lunch break. The time of day isn’t important. Your discipline is what matters. If you aren’t sure where to start in God’s word, I recommend reading through the bible chronologically. You can find many plans for free or purchase a one-year chronological bible that has it all laid out for you.
We ask God for His direction - A simple, daily prayer from a humble heart, “Lord, help me see the places in my heart that do not honor you. Give me the strength and courage to change them so you can use my life for your kingdom.” God guides and directs His children, and our humility holds power.
We eliminate distractions – It’s tough to admit, but often we have placed things in our life that draw us away from God. Television shows, podcasts, music, media, Youtube channels — the list goes on. These things aren’t necessarily evil or directly opposed to God, but if they take our time and attention away from God, they hinder us. Many of these things do encourage mindsets and attitudes that oppose God. Be diligent!
I know sacrifice isn’t popular or easy. As humans, we value our comfort and the things that feel safe.
I can picture God standing in front of you or me. He’s looking at us with his serious parent face on, the face that shows us He needs to say something we don’t want to hear, but He wants us to be sure He loves us.
He places His hands on our shoulders and looks us square in the eye, and says,
“I know this is hard, but you can do hard things. The hard things grow you and change you into the person you desire to be. You’ve got this. We will do this together. I’m not going anywhere.”