There are many computer games where if you fail you just start over. You get a fresh and new attempt. In some computer games, you the player are not given the information you need to succeed. The idea is that you fail multiple times and start over. But each time you fail you learn something that you can apply in the future, and hopefully succeed.
I lack the eye-hand coordination for action games on computers. And in general I don’t find computer games to be all that fulfilling. But years ago there was a popular computer game I actually liked. It was called Civilization. I know it is still available but I haven’t played it in years.
The game starts off with the computer creating a world with land, oceans, rivers, mountains, forests, swamps and the like. The player is the leader of a civilization. The computer plops you somewhere in this world. It is your job to develop the civilization by building cities and infrastructure, by making scientific discoveries, and by managing resources. As you do this there are also several other civilizations that are forming. All the civilizations are competing. There are wars and conquests, trade, scientific advancement, and the economy to manage. Resources may fail or be captured. The ultimate goal is to rule the world. The competitors were usually pretty ruthless. If at the beginning you find that the computer has located you on a tiny island, or in a swamp, or someplace too inhospitable, you’re going to have a rough time of it. You just won’t develop fast enough and some other civilization with conquer you. If you realize it’s a hopeless case, or you can tell that your demise is immanent, you can just quit. You erase the game and start over.
I never got very good at the game. I never managed to win at the difficult levels. To the extent that the game is realistic I guess that means I’d make a poor leader of a civilization! My point though, is that you could just quit and start over with a clean slate. All the old mistakes were wiped away and you could start fresh and new.
It would be nice if real life were the same way. It would be nice if life gave you a number of “do-overs”. Perhaps you made a mistake, or you tried something that failed, and you wish you could just easily erase it and begin again; this time hopefully wiser.
But life isn’t often that way. Most of the time you’re stuck with dealing with your own messes. Actions have consequences after all. It may take a long time to recover from some things.
But sometimes life does give you a chance at a fresh start. Many people emigrating to America feel that way. America itself felt that way in its early decades. It was a new country in a new land with a new form of government. Its leaders wanted to learn from the mistakes of Europe and keep the place good and pure. It was a wonderful desire. But humans being humans, we did what we always do. We make a mess of things.
I believe the Jewish people that we read about in Ezra 3 felt like they had a clean slate to make a new beginning. You’ll remember from last week that early in the 6th century B.C. the Babylonians had conquered Jerusalem and destroyed it. They had taken many of the leading Jewish citizens to live in exile in Babylon. Many of the Jews enculturated to Babylon. But many held fast to their faith and distinct identity. When the Babylonian empire collapsed quite quickly about 50 years later, the new rulers, the Persians, allowed Jews to return and rebuild if they wanted. So last week we read about the first wave packing up and heading back to their homeland.
This week the story picks up with their arrival and initial resettlement. It must be said that the book of Ezra gives an idealized view of how things went. Other biblical books, like Haggai, say that there were actually a lot of major problems. So, let’s remember that while Ezra is a fairly reliable historical source, it isn’t giving the whole picture of the problems. It’s just telling the successes.
One of the first things they do is to reestablish the religious rituals at the altar. When the Babylonians burnt Jerusalem and knocked over its walls and buildings, they didn’t absolutely destroy everything. Quite likely the massive altar outside the temple sustained little damage. It probably didn’t take a whole lot of work to get it operating again. So we learn that the daily sacrifices and holiday rituals are quickly resumed. The fresh start is happening! They have learned from their mistakes. This time they will be a more faithful people in both heart and action.
Ezra does tell us that there were threats to what they were doing. The neighboring peoples were not pleased, but the Jews felt that God would protect them if they quickly returned to doing the right things.
Then with the altar functioning it was time to turn to the temple. Who knows what shape the remnant of the temple was in. The foundation was probably still there, but it needed to be cleared and repaired. As we read, Ezra 3 tells us there was both loud cheering and loud lamentation from the people as the work on the temple began again.
That’s where we leave the story for this week. Next week we’re going to find that the construction of the temple runs into serious problems, but that’s for next week. We’re just sticking with what we learn from Ezra 3.
Ezra 3 really is a story of hope and opportunity. God was giving them a chance to start again. They were committed to being good and living the right way.
If you’ve had opportunities to start something over in life, at the moment you start over you may be telling yourself that you’re not going to repeat the mistakes of the past. You tell yourself that you’ve learned. Or you tell yourself that you have improved. Perhaps you have committed to being morally better.
I have worked with any number of people over the years who have made a mistake and they are now promising to do better. It’s happened enough that I’ve started telling people that I fully believe that right now they are committed to being better. But time will tell. As time goes by with they truly stay better, or will they slip back into old habits?
Anyone who’s worked through an addiction recovery program knows that recovery is often very very hard. It takes more than just a lot of will power. It’ll probably require separating from old friends and old habits. Old friends and old habits will surely drag you back. It may require a change of job, change of community, and different dynamics with family and friends.
And anyone who has gone through that will probably also talk about setbacks, and many failed attempts. Once in a while I’m here on a Wednesday evening when there are AA meetings. I overhear the conversations and presentations sometimes. Failure is more common than not.
Actions have consequences. Life does not often give us a clean slate to start again. And when we do get to have a new try, we all too easily make mistakes.
Fortunately for us, our God knows how prone to failure we are. We start every worship service with a confession of sins. There’s a good reason for that. It’s about the only dependable uniting thing that we have among us! And so we start worship not by saying, “God, look how good we’ve been. Look how clean and pure we are. We have a right to worship you and have your love.” Instead, we say, “Well God, you forgave us. You gave us a clean slate, but we managed to make a mess of it. Please forgive us and accept our worship.”
If we thought we were sin-free we’d come to God with arrogance and a sense of entitlement. When we come to God knowing that our fears, our self-centered desires, and our tendency to not fully trust God, have bested us again; then we come with honesty and humility.
At this point in Ezra everything seems to be going well. I said earlier that Ezra tends to gloss over the messy bits. But it doesn’t gloss over all of them. Late in the book we’ll meet Ezra himself feeling ashamed before God for the failings of his leadership. Despite a clean slate, it had become messy fast.
Rejoice when life gives you a chance to start again fresh with something. Do your best with it. With wisdom from the past your chances of success have improved significantly.
And also know that as life goes on, the newness gets tarnished, new mistakes are made, and things get complicated. But we repeatedly turn to God for forgiveness, fresh beginnings, and new hope. Those who approach God with humility receive what they seek. God’s forgiveness is abundant. And God’s support is with us always.
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