God will rebuild your ruins: “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” —George Eliot
So the four-year project (c. 520–516 BC) was finished, although the elapsed time since their return was 20 years. One can only imagine how “the descendants of the captivity… celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy” (Ezra 6:16). Let the psalmist describe it. “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad” (Ps 126:2-3). But the reason for the reconstruction project was not just to have a fine building. It was there to be used for God’s glory—to reveal His character. So first the house of the Lord was rededicated with the following offerings: “one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel” (Ezra 6:17). Here was the situation. The temple wasn’t as glorious as the previous one. No king presently sat on Israel’s throne. They were under Persian rule. Only a small remnant, representing just a few of the tribes, had returned. The offerings were small compared to those at the first dedication. BUT God was the same! And instead of one male goat for sin, as on the Day of Atonement, they offered 12, each representing a different tribe. Whatever else was not up to par, evidently they took their sin seriously, and took their God seriously, and had taken His Word seriously, and that was all that mattered. Following the dedication (Heb, hănukâ), and the assignment of “the priests to their divisions and the Levites to their divisions, over the service of God” (v 18), it was time to prepare for the Passover. They, like we, must focus on the Lamb. We will do that forever (Rev 5:12).