Ezra 3:1-3
When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 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.
In the context of this passage, we see that some of the Israelites were allowed by God, through the king of Persia, Darius, to come back into Jerusalem to build the temple. They have just gotten there and as we will see further down in the chapter they have not even built the foundation yet. Now the passage comes into stark light with the feeling of the people that are there. We understand here that the people are not having a fear of the Lord as in other places in the Bible. Instead, it is a fear of the people around them that brings them to cling to God. They realize even before the foundation of the temple is laid that this endeavor is impossible without God which brings them to establish a right relationship with Him. This is not something they knew naturally but we find out later in the passage there were the old men in the group who had seen the old temple and knew what a mistake it would be to not put God first from past experience.
Stepping out to build a van to live in and be a vessel to proclaim Jesus to a lost world makes me relate to this passage because it helps me see others who were once terrified of the place God had them in. This caused them to make sure that their sin was covered which brought them into a right relationship with God and made sure they kept under His protection and provision. This reminds me that He is there for me as I strive for Him, but I still need to never forsake a right relationship with Him through my own prayers.
Now, it is important to be careful when applying the Old Testament to our lives now, but with this consideration in mind we can see what this can mean for us today. We will have fear and can be terrified of what is going on around us but this needs to bring us to place where we cling to God. Burnt sacrifices are no longer necessary for us, but as it says in Hebrews chapter three, we still do have a high priest, the ultimate high priest whose name is Jesus! He is who we bring our confessions of sin to so that they might be burned away just like the process of the burnt offerings they were constantly making to ensure they kept in right relationship to God. When the fear of life, people around us, and situations out of our control terrify us, it is important to know that we need to cling to God, constantly confessing our sins to Him, and have confidence He hears us and will continue to work in us despite these fears. Never forget we are not alone in the world. He forgave the Israelites and brought them back into a right relationship with Him and He does the same for us.
The Traveling Mountains 
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