What made some people celebrate and others weep at the same moment?
- Thad DeBuhr
- Sep 16
- 10 min read
Our nation is grappling with a profound mix of emotions. Recent events, from the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk and other violent crimes to the joyous outpouring of revival and renewed interest in faith, have left many Christians in a state of internal conflict. We feel heartbroken by the violence and hatred, yet we're also filled with hope and even excitement about a new spiritual awakening. This isn't a simple "good vs. evil" or "joy vs. sadness" situation. It's a complex, human experience, and our faith has something profound to say about it.
In the midst of all this, we can turn to a pivotal moment in the history of God's people in Ezra 3:7-13. Here, we see a powerful scene where some people are weeping, and others are shouting for joy at the exact same event. This text teaches us that it's okay for our spiritual journey to include a mix of joy for what God is doing and mourning for what was lost. We can learn to celebrate God's faithfulness in the moment without being weighed down by nostalgia for the past or brokenness for our present circumstances.
Before you dig into the story, I would encourage you to read through the passage in two different bible translations from this list: NIV, NLT, NASB, ESV, NKJV
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A Tapestry of Emotions: Setting the Scene FROM Ezra 3
After seventy years of exile in Babylon, the Jewish people have finally returned to their homeland. The temple, the heart of their worship and identity, is in ruins. Ezra 3 describes the foundational step of rebuilding this sacred place. The people gathered to lay the foundation with priests in their full regalia and Levites playing cymbals. The air was filled with a chorus of praise to God, shouting and singing. On the surface, it seems like a moment of unadulterated triumph and celebration.
However, the passage reveals a poignant and complex reality. While the younger generation, who had never seen the original temple, shouted with unbridled joy, the elders who remembered Solomon's magnificent temple wept. The elders' tears weren't tears of sadness but of profound grief. Solomon’s temple was a marvel of the ancient world. It was a structure of immense beauty, opulence, and a symbol of God's dwelling place in their nation's glory days. The new temple, built with limited resources and under the authority of a foreign king, was a humble beginning, a pale imitation of its former self. Their weeping wasn't a rejection of God's new work; it was the raw, human response to the stark contrast between what was and what is.
This rebuilding project also highlights a difference in circumstances. To build the first temple, King Solomon, a powerful and wealthy monarch, had a mutual trade agreement with King Hiram of Tyre. Solomon provided food in exchange for the coveted Lebanon cedar. This was a trade between equals. For the second temple, the returning exiles had no such power. They had to pay the Tyrians and Sidonians for the cedar with a grant from King Cyrus of Persia. This difference in how they obtained the wood underscores their humility and dependent status as a nation, which further explains the mixed emotions of the people.
This passage teaches us that while the people of God were all working toward the same goal, their personal histories and perspectives led to very different emotional responses.
Rabbit Trail:
Reclaiming Our Response
This passage got me thinking about how Christians have been responding to things in our current world. The same event is hitting people very differently. The responses are so varied from Christians, I thought it might be helpful to flesh it all out in light of a Biblical perspective.
In a world filled with tragedy, political division, and media battles, Christians are often tempted to jump into the fray, either to defend or tear down public figures and ideas. This leads to a spiritual crisis where our focus shifts from God’s truth to our own opinions. This "rabbit trail" is a call to pause and evaluate our hearts, minds, and actions. The murder of Charlie Kirk, or any other tragic and polarizing event, presents a profound challenge to our faith. How do we respond biblically when we are pulled to take a side, to shout down our opponents, and to believe that our opinion is the most important thing?
The devil’s strategy is simple: divide and conquer. When Christians use the same tactics as the world—slander, gossip, and hatred—we compromise our witness and, more importantly, our character. It's easy to mistake a strong opinion for a strong faith, but a life rooted in Christ is defined by love, not by being right.
Your Opinion vs. God's Word
The world teaches us that our voice matters and our feelings are valid above all else. This "you first" mentality has crept into the church, causing us to prioritize our feelings and opinions over God's commands. But Scripture repeatedly calls us to check our thoughts against a higher authority: God's Word.
Proverbs 14:12 states, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." This is a stark warning that our personal convictions, if not aligned with God's truth, can lead us astray.
Philippians 2:3-4 commands us to "do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." This is a radical, counter-cultural call to put others—even those with whom we disagree—first.
When we prioritize our opinions, we risk destroying our own spiritual integrity. We may know what God's Word says about loving our neighbor and enemy, but our actions reveal who we truly serve. This is a character issue. When we compromise our character to be heard or to be right, we abandon the transformative work of the Holy Spirit.
A Biblical Response: Jesus' Example
Jesus' life provides the perfect model for how to respond to opposition and tragedy.
He Loved His Enemies. When Jesus was betrayed, mocked, and crucified, He didn't engage in a shouting match or slander His enemies. Instead, from the cross, He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). This is the ultimate example of loving our enemies. Our biblical response is to pray for those who hate us and those who oppose us. This act of prayer shifts our focus from winning an argument to seeking God's will for all people.
He Spoke Truth with Grace. Jesus was the embodiment of truth, but He never used it as a weapon to tear people down. He spoke the truth in love and with a deep understanding of the human heart. Consider His response to the woman caught in adultery. While others were ready to stone her, Jesus showed compassion and said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more" (John 8:11). This reminds us that our goal is not to condemn others but to show them the path to repentance and new life.
He Focused on the Eternal. Jesus was not consumed by the political debates of His day. He constantly pointed people toward the Kingdom of God. When people tried to trap Him with questions about taxes and political allegiance, He answered, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:21). He knew that His mission was to transform hearts, not to win political battles. Our focus should be on pointing people to Jesus, not on winning the argument on social media.
This is a time for self-reflection and a "check yourself with God" tune-up. Before we type that comment, share that post, or get into that debate, we need to ask ourselves:
Is this from God's Word?
Does this align with the character of Jesus?
Is this loving my neighbor and my enemy?
Let us be known not by our loud opinions, but by our radical love and unwavering commitment to the heart of Christ.
Questions to Chew on and Discuss
How do you see the mixture of "joy and sorrow" playing out in your own life? What is a recent example in your life of a new beginning that was also accompanied by a sense of loss?
What does the elders' weeping teach us about honoring our past without letting it hinder our celebration of God's present work?
The younger people had no frame of reference for the past. They only knew the future. How can we learn from them to celebrate a new thing without the weight of past baggage or unmet expectations?
Journey Group Discussion Starter
Think of a time you were part of a team or a group where different people had very different responses to the same event. Perhaps some were excited and others were disappointed or even angry. Share with your group what you learned about God and people in that situation.
Applying It Today
The story of the temple's rebuilding offers powerful lessons for us today. When faced with national tragedies and spiritual awakenings, we don’t have to pick a single emotion. It's okay to feel the pain of the world's brokenness while simultaneously rejoicing in God's redemptive work. This is a sign of a mature, faith-filled heart.
We can learn to live this out by:
Naming our emotions before God. In our private prayer time, we can be honest about our sadness, anger, confusion, and joy. Just as the elders wept, we can bring our grief to God without fear that it will diminish our gratitude.
Celebrating the new thing. We can intentionally choose to celebrate the new spiritual awakenings and renewed interest in God. Just as the younger people shouted for joy, we can rejoice in what God is doing now, without worrying that it doesn't look like past revivals.
This passage also has a more personal application. As you seek to put God first, you may face opposition from people in your life—your "locals" who may oppose your faith. These aren’t necessarily enemies but could be friends, family, or coworkers who oppose your prioritizing God. For the Israelites, it was the Samaritans and other local peoples who opposed their rebuilding efforts. Today, our "locals" might be those who celebrate the death of a man of God, or those who mock your spiritual journey.
It is wise to be aware of who these people are, not to hate them but to have healthy boundaries. If someone consistently speaks against your faith or tries to pull you away from your convictions, it is wise to limit the influence they have in your life. We can still love them, but we don't have to give them a platform to speak negatively into our walk with God. This act of wisdom protects our spiritual foundation and allows God to continue His work in our lives, just as the returning exiles persevered despite the opposition.
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In a world of shocking tragedies, how do Christians grieve? In times of shocking tragedy like the murder of Charlie Kirk, it's natural to feel overwhelmed with questions, anger, and grief. Many of us are looking for a way to process this pain, and the public impulse is often to immediately share our thoughts and frustrations on social media. But there's a different, and I believe more biblically grounded, first step: lament.
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Lament is not just crying; it’s a powerful, honest form of prayer where we bring our pain, questions, and confusion directly to God. It’s a spiritual discipline we see throughout the Bible, and it’s a path to true comfort and healing.
In this special episode, we're diving into the biblical practice of lament. We'll explore:
❓ What biblical lament really is.
🙏🏻 How believers in both the Old and New Testaments used it to process immense grief and injustice.
👉🏻 How we can put on a "modern sackcloth and ashes" by pausing, praying through our pain, and grieving for others.
This conversation offers a different kind of comfort—one that acknowledges the pain without providing easy answers and encourages us all to bring our broken hearts directly to God. Lament is the path to true comfort and healing. It is the spiritual discipline that prevents our grief from turning into bitterness and our anger from turning into despair. It allows us to be honest about the terrible things in our world while holding fast to the hope we have in Christ. In this tragic moment, the most faithful response may be to step away from the noise and simply lament with God.
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