From Fear to Faith Again: A Saint's Journey

These three chapters from Ezra tell a story all of us have lived: from fear to faith and back to faith again. It is a familiar story in Scripture:

• Aaron stands with Moses as God’s faithful mouthpiece, wielding the power of God through the ten plagues. But when Moses ascends the mountain, Aaron fears the people and fashions a golden calf. Later he returns to faith and serves the Lord.
• Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, yet only moments later denies him three times out of fear of the Jewish leaders. When Jesus rises from the dead, Peter believes again and affirms his love for the risen Lord.

In this story, Israel begins full of faith. They build the altar first, offer sacrifices, celebrate the Feast of Booths, and stand firm against the enemy’s first assault. But when opposition grows fierce, they give way. God restores them to faith through the word of his prophets, and they take up their God-appointed task once more.

Today we will not quite finish the story, which concludes in chapter 6 (spoiler alert: God defeats their enemies). By the end, God has once again chosen what is foolish, weak, lowly, and despised in the world, shamed the self-reliance of man, and ensured that no one may boast in his presence. In this portion of the story, we watch God’s people…

• Run to God in faith while they are afraid of their enemies (ch. 3)
• Fall from faith and lie low when the attack intensifies (ch. 4)
• Repent of their fear and return to faith in response to God’s word (ch. 5)

Perhaps fear has pulled you off the straight and narrow path. Fear of rejection or ridicule has convinced you to hunker down and stay out of God’s fight. Or fear of failure and the pull of comfort has kept you out of God’s construction zone. This morning is an opportunity to return to the fear of the Lord.

The point of this story—which also serves as our outline—is this: 1) Seek first the kingdom of God, 2) lest the fear of man and worldly desire choke out your faith, 3) and when you sin, repent and fear God rather than men. This week I have been asking God to reveal where we fear man so that we might repent together and return to him.

Seek First the Kingdom of God

The 42,000 returnees arrive in the land and settle in their towns (2:70). But the very next verse tells us they leave those settlements and gather as one man in the ruins of Jerusalem (3:1). They come together to launch their grand mission: re-establishing worship in the land of promise. They know that worship is the reason they have returned. They are here to rebuild the temple so that God may be worshiped again according to his statutes and rules. God had promised his people many blessings—safe cities, fruitful vineyards, a peaceful land, a just society. Yet they do not pursue those blessings first. “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you.” They build the altar first.

Establishing right worship is always step one for God’s people. Maintaining right worship is always their highest priority. They built an altar because in their day God commanded animal sacrifices. We learn to read music because in our day he commands us to sing psalms (most of which we do not yet know). The principle is the same: the highest priority of God’s people must be the establishment and maintenance of right worship.

Worship is a broad term that rightly includes everything we do in life. All of life is service to God, our spiritual act of worship. That was true for Israel as well. God has always demanded whole-life obedience from his people. Yet in addition to all-of-life service, God has also told us how he wants to be worshiped in space and time. To Israel he gave the Levitical system—Sabbaths, festivals, and temple sacrifices. Later in this chapter they begin constructing the temple. To us he has given the regular gathering of the saints; we are not to neglect it. When we gather, he has commanded us to preach the word, sing the word (especially the psalms), read the word, and proclaim it in baptism and the Lord’s Supper. That is what we have set out to establish. It is no accident that we have not begun with a host of other programs. Worship is what we must get right.

Yet “getting it right” is not something we set up once and then leave on autopilot. It is not a machine that runs by itself. It is a plant that needs constant watering and weeding. We must become a people who love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We could train a group of atheists to perform these motions—perhaps even with greater technical skill. But just as God was not pleased merely with the blood of bulls and goats, he is not pleased merely with singing and preaching.

It helps to pause and observe the heartfelt worship of Israel as they offer sacrifices and celebrate the Feast of Booths. Because we are far removed from the Mosaic system, and because generations of poor theology have taught us to view Old Testament worship as rote and unfeeling, we easily miss what is happening here.

Each sacrifice was an act of faith offered by a worshiper who longed to draw near to God. They brought an animal as a food offering because they wanted to eat with God, to sit at his table. Often the priest would burn a portion on the altar and eat another portion as mediator on the worshiper’s behalf. But in the case of the freewill offerings mentioned here, the people themselves also ate (Leviticus 7:16). They brought these sacrifices because they wanted fellowship with God. This is not rote or mechanical; it is rich, biblical faith. If you would like to learn more about these sacrifices, I recommend chapter 2 of Peter Leithart’s A House for My Name.

In this passage they also celebrate the Feast of Booths, or Feast of Ingathering. It followed the harvest, when they had seen God’s visible, tangible provision. The feast also layered rich historical symbolism. For eight days the people offered sacrifices—eating with God all week long—and lived in tents to remind themselves of the forty years of wilderness wandering. To us, living in a tent sounds like poverty. But in Scripture the tent is an image of divine provision and protection, as in Psalm 27:5: “He will conceal me under the cover of his tent.” They were remembering how God had protected and provided for them in the wilderness, feeding and watering them for forty years without crops or game.

Think how meaningful this celebration must have been at this moment. They had returned to the land, celebrating how God had preserved and protected his people despite their sin, failure, and faithlessness. They knew they and their fathers had sinned—that was why they had gone into exile. Yet now God had graciously called them back after keeping them alive for seventy years.

We need to imitate the faith of Israel. They longed to meet with God, to sit at his table, to celebrate what he had already done and to take hope that he was still with them. Brothers and sisters, we must learn to come hungry to meet with God. That is what is happening here. As we gather, we ascend with our voices into the heavenly places where we are seated with Christ. We must learn to live lives of faith filled with longing and anticipation to be with God—not only when we die, but now. As we gather each week to meet him in his word and at his table.

When we come together, God is with us and speaking to us. Establishing right worship first meant shaping a service according to God’s commands. But that is only the beginning. Now we must learn to come to God and worship him as he asks. We have focused on singing because it feels most unfamiliar. Generations of neglecting the psalms mean it takes work to learn new tunes and sing our parts. Obedience has required much learning. But remember why you are doing it. God has invited you into his presence to sing psalms because you are filled with the joy of being his child.

Consider some of the other lifestyle changes that right worship requires:

• We read the Bible together because we want to receive God’s words. We do not read a verse here or there; we read a chapter or two or three. This is not merely a time to listen or follow along. It is time to make a home in your heart for God’s word, to receive it with thanksgiving that the living God is still speaking to you. In a culture that is rapidly losing the ability to focus beyond a TikTok video, it will take disciplined effort to come to worship with your attention under control so that you can hear God’s word.
• We kneel and confess our sins. Though we do not spend only a few seconds on our knees, that moment will not produce a contrite heart if you have not walked humbly confessing sin to God all week. We must cultivate a pattern of confession and a humble, contrite heart rather than surrendering to the therapeutic spirit of our age.
• We sit down together at the Lord’s Table every week. It is the climax of our service. But you will not come to the table reverently and joyfully if you have not meditated on Christ’s death throughout the previous week.

Right now our first priority must be learning to worship God rightly together. That means learning to master our attention so we can receive his word, learning to sing so we can sing the psalms, learning to confess sin with a contrite heart, and learning to meditate on the wonders of the cross. Parents, this is how we teach our children to come to church. It is about far more than sitting quietly during the sermon. God designed the Sabbath and the feasts to orient the whole life of Israel around a hunger to be his people and to have him as their God. In the same way, he has designed the Lord’s Day to orient our lives and root us in our identity as his people.

Making right worship our first priority does not mean we neglect the rest of life. In fact, all of life will wither if worship is not first. Without the gravity of weekly worship to hold us together, our lives fly into chaos. This service fills our hearts so we can go out singing in a dismal world. It fills our minds with truth to combat the spirit of the age. Here we find rest for our souls so that we stand steady while the world crumbles around us. One thing is necessary. Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you.

It would be reasonable to think that Israel’s gathering was filled with joy at having returned to the land. Yet our text tells us that a key part of their motivation for re-establishing worship so quickly was that they feared the peoples of the land (3:3). They gathered in tents, remembering God’s provision and protection, and begged him to continue protecting them because they were afraid.

Coming to God out of fear and a desire for protection does not make their acts of faith any less genuine. They were doing exactly what they should have done. Instead of sending envoys to Egypt, crying out to the gods of the land, or making treaties with the surrounding peoples, they gathered to ask for God’s help. God wants us to wait on him when we are afraid. He does not dismiss it as counterfeit faith.

Church, when you are afraid, put your trust in him. Do not run from your fears. Do not drown them out with noise or try to amuse them away. Pray about them. Bring them to church so that you may be encouraged that in every trial and hardship God is with you. Come with the faith of the psalmist in Psalm 123:2:

“Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till he has mercy on us.”

After building the altar and celebrating the feast, they make arrangements to begin constructing the temple. They give sacrificially even though they know they may need those resources to defend themselves, because they are confident that God will provide.

As they build, we see them reading their story as the next chapter in a familiar cycle. They begin construction in the same month Solomon began the first temple. When the foundation is finished, they sing the very same song:

“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”

Yet in the midst of this joyful celebration, a sorrowful wail breaks out. Verse 12 tells us that those who had seen the first temple wept aloud, presumably because they could not imagine how the glory of the former house could ever be restored.

Into that hopelessness God speaks a word of hope through Haggai and Zechariah. Ezra 5:1 places their ministry at exactly this time, and their messages shed helpful light on the story.

In Zechariah 4:8–10 the Lord says,

“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it…For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”

God is not rebuking them for their tears. He is promising to turn their sorrow into joy. “Do not worry,” he says. “You will see this temple with your own eyes and you will rejoice.”

From Haggai 2:5–9 the Lord adds,

“My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all the nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.”

We do not know exactly when Zechariah gave his prophecy, but Haggai delivered this word on the last day of the Feast of Booths while all Israel was gathered. This was God’s message of hope: “I am with you, so you do not have to be afraid. Soon I will shake the heavens and the earth and the nations, and I will take their treasures to adorn my temple so that its glory will exceed anything it has ever known.”

If only those old men could see the temple now. It is not yet finished, but God’s new temple, built of living stones, is simply stunning. It stretches across the earth. Century after century it has advanced, nation after nation, carrying the news of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice that cleanses us so we can feast at God’s table each week. From every nation, tribe, and tongue, people worship our God, the architect of our salvation.

If you are tempted to despise these days of small things—if you expected more people, or a grander feel, or if the task of seeing God’s will done in the Stillwater area as it is in heaven seems impossible—look at all God has already done. We have every reason to hope. Listen again to God’s word through Haggai: “My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.”

Lest Fear of Man Choke Your Faith

Now we come to the part of the story where opposition arises. Israel will allow the fear of man and worldly desire to choke their faith. Let us learn from their example so we do not repeat their mistake. Seek first the kingdom of God lest the fear of man and worldly desire choke your faith.

The enemy tries two tactics. First, they offer to join the work: “Let us build with you.” These were syncretistic worshipers. They may have honored Yahweh, but only alongside their own gods. Israel’s leaders give a clear and united answer: “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God.” At first their faith holds firm. That is exactly the right response.

We may face the same challenge: opposition disguised as help. We must beware wolves in sheep’s clothing. They will sound and look like Christians, yet they have no part in what we are building. As a young church we must especially guard against malcontents—those who drift from church to church because they are angry with every previous congregation. They do not want to worship; they want a fight.

The safeguard against this tactic is Paul’s command to be of one mind (Philippians 2:2). Notice that all the leaders—Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses—speak with one voice. Imagine the chaos if Zerubbabel had said, “We will take all the help we can get,” while the heads of the fathers’ houses told them to leave. Their unity protected Israel.

Your pastors regularly thank God for the unity he has given us. We should all be grateful for this strong defense against the enemy.

When that attempt fails, the enemies turn to lawfare. They bribe officials, involve lawyers, and through political pressure steal Israel’s courage. When a new king arises, they send a letter designed to halt the work. The letter is recorded in chapter 4.

They portray Israel as politically dangerous, claiming that if the city is rebuilt the people will rebel against the king. They offer half-truths: “Check the records; you will find they were a rebellious city.” It is true they did not submit easily to Nebuchadnezzar, but that is hardly proof of a present coup. They close with flattery: “Because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to see the king dishonored, we send this information.”

Does this sound familiar? Lawfare, slander, flattery, political pressure—these are still the tactics of God’s enemies. They label faithful Christian engagement in culture as “fascism.” They paint us as extremists. They deploy armies of lawyers and volumes of regulations.

This strategy works on two levels, both in their day and in ours:

1. It stops the work. Temple and city construction grind to a halt. Cakes stop being baked. Wedding photos stop being taken. Christian businesses are stalled.
2. It leaves the people vulnerable to the temptation to stop building and simply wait it out. Idle hands become the devil’s workshop, and soon the people grow comfortable and decide that temple-building was too hard anyway.

The second effect proves to be Israel’s downfall. We get God’s own commentary in Haggai 1:

“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD.”

Israel was using the political climate as an excuse to abandon the work. “Let’s wait until things calm down.” They may even have called it “waiting on God’s timing.” They wanted to build without danger and fight without risk. But that is not how the kingdom comes. “In this world you will have tribulation.” “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

God forbid that we lay down our tools because there are risks. Count the cost. Take up your cross. Put your hand to the plow and do not look back.

Satan does not need to convince us never to build again. He only needs to keep persuading us that now is not the right time. Do not fall for it. Do not wait forever to speak the gospel because you fear how it will be received. Do not stay silent because you fear losing respect. Do not keep quiet because you fear making a scene. If you wait for fear of consequences, you will wait forever. And while you wait, you become a hearer only, not a doer—just as Israel did here.

Repent and Fear God Rather Than Men

When Haggai declares their sin, Israel repents. They begin building again. They obey. And the reason is given in Haggai 1:12: “The people feared the LORD.” Seek first the kingdom of God lest the fear of man and worldly desire choke your faith. When you sin, repent and fear God rather than men.

Israel had strong reason to fear the Lord. In Haggai 1 God reveals that because of their sin he had sent drought and cursed their labors. That is why they were hungry, thirsty, and clothed in rags. He says,

“You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes…You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away.”

Do you see what God is doing? He is showing them that they are in far greater danger while they try to keep their enemies happy by not building—because God himself is angry with them.

The first step in the fear of God is to believe, deep in your bones, that the only safe place in the universe is under the smile of God. Therefore, no matter how perilous obedience may seem, it is always worth it. Jesus taught us, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Our fear of God should mature into reverence, but it must begin here.

If you have given in to the fear of man—so that you stay mostly silent when God’s word or the gospel would offend someone, or when it would contradict their lifestyle; if you accommodate the darkness of the world rather than exposing it; if you know what God is calling you to do but keep making excuses that now is not the right time—stop. Listen to God’s warning: “The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the blameless, but destruction to evildoers” (Proverbs 10:29). You are not safe while you stubbornly refuse to walk in the path God has shown you. Your greatest danger is the discipline of God, not the risks or inconveniences you perceive in obedience. Turn back today. This is the day of repentance.

Here are some questions to help you reflect and confess:

• Do you have an extended family member you have avoided sharing the gospel with for years?
• Do you have a coworker who openly supports wickedness, yet you have never confronted them?
• Have you resisted disciplining your children as God commands because you fear their reaction?
• Have you settled for mediocrity at work instead of pursuing godly ambition to provide for your family and love your neighbor, because you fear failure or hard work?
• Are you aware of bad habits or habitual sins but have not fought them because you doubt that the way of righteousness is truly satisfying?
• Do you know your entertainment choices need to change, yet you have grown comfortable and do not want to?
• Do you know you need to bring your family’s spending under control but have not made a budget because you fear how your spouse will respond?
• Have you fallen into a pattern of spending most evenings alone after the children are in bed, damaging your marriage, because neither of you will give up your “alone time”?

There is no danger so great and no comfort so precious that it is worth keeping if it keeps you from following God. “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Turn from your sin. God has promised to forgive you in Christ Jesus and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Thanks be to God.

When we repent, we receive the great joy of walking in the fear of the Lord. And he gives us the greatest gift we could ask for—the promise that put wind in Israel’s sails so they kept building despite opposition. It is found in Haggai 1:13: “I am with you, declares the LORD.”

When they resume building, the local officials return to investigate. This intervention had stopped them before. This time the officials even record names so they can hold individuals accountable later. Yet Israel stands firm in faith, and the eye of God is upon them, so they do not stop while the second letter is sent.

Would you rather be safe in your paneled house—outwardly comfortable but with a gnawing conscience and without God’s approval—or sweaty, laboring on the temple, glancing over your shoulder at the enemy, yet with the sure word that God is with you?

Friends, God has promised to be our God and that we would be his people. There is no danger, no loss, no risk that is not worth enduring in order to have him. If God is for us, who can be against us? The deepest desire of our hearts—so strong that they are restless until they find it—is to know our God, to return to his garden and walk in his pleasure. And he has offered that to us. He has opened the way into his favor through the cross, so that all who believe in his Son are permanently forgiven and receive his Spirit to help them walk in his ways. That is what your soul is truly hungry for. So turn from your sin and come to the table now. Eat and drink of his goodness. Receive his tangible grace. Renew covenant with the God who has promised never to leave us or forsake us.