Imagine a tumultuous crowd where people are simultaneously shouting with joy and weeping for grief. That's what took place at the laying of the foundation of the second Temple, sometimes called Zerubbabel's Temple.
Some of the Jews present shouted for joy at the momentous occasion of rebuilding the structure central to their religion and worship. They had emerged from exile and were still a nation of God's people. It was a time for celebration!
Those who remembered the first Temple, Solomon's Temple, however, wept with sadness because the grandeur and majesty of that building was gone forever. The new Temple was a poor imitation of what had gone before, and especially lacking was the glory of God's presence.
The Bible says, "And all the people responded with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of families, old people who had seen the first house on its foundations, wept with a loud voice when they saw this house, though many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted so loudly that the sound was heard far away" (vs. 11-13).
It was certainly a day of mixed emotions for the nation of Judah!
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