Neville Goddard on Ezra 3:1-13 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Ezra 3 in context

Scripture Focus

1And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.

2Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.

3And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.

4They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;

5And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD.

6From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.

7They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.

8Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD.

9Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites.

10And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.

11And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

12But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:

13So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

Ezra 3:1-13

Biblical Context

Ezra 3:1-13 describes the people gathering in Jerusalem, rebuilding the altar, and offering sacrifices as they begin the temple’s foundation. The narrative shows both tears for the old temple and shouts of joy at the new beginning.

Neville's Inner Vision

All outward ritual—the assembling in the seventh month, erecting the altar, daily offerings, the Feast, and the laying of the temple’s foundation—speaks to a state of awareness, not geography. The people’s fear mirrors the mind’s old alarms, yet obedience to the Law is a choice to align with a higher order. The foundation laid before the house rises is the awakening inside you: a new mental sanctuary begins even as the old is remembered. The praises and tears reveal the dual movement of gratitude and longing; the sound you hear is the one note of I AM praising I AM. The Presence rests not in bricks but in the worshipful posture of attention toward God in the heart. By offering thanks and maintaining daily discipline in consciousness, you are not merely performing rites but reconfiguring your inner landscape so the temple—the true home of your being—takes root in awareness.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes and assume you are gathered as one in your own Jerusalem of the heart. Visualize laying the foundation of the temple inside, then feel the I AM building a sacred altar there; let gratitude rise.