They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and food, and drink, and oil, unto them of Sidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.
Read Chapter 3
Athanasius the Apostolic
AD 373
Or rather let them learn of you, who are so well instructed in such histories, how that Jeshua the son of Josedek the priest, and his brother, and Zerubbabel the wise, the son of Salathiel, and Ezra the priest and scribe of the law, as the temple was being built after the captivity, the feast of tabernacles being at hand (which was a great feast and time of assembly and prayer in Israel), gathered the people together with one accord in the great court within the first gate, which is toward the east, and prepared the altar to God, and there offered their gifts and kept the feast. And so afterwards they brought hither their sacrifices, on the sabbaths and the new moons, and the people offered up their prayers. And yet the Scripture says expressly that when these things were done, the temple of God was not yet built; but rather while they thus prayed, the building of the house was advancing. So neither were their prayers deferred in expectation of the dedication, nor was the dedication pr...
Typologically, in this passage, the founding of God’s temple holds a figure of those who, recently converted to the faith, prepare a place or abode in their heart and body for the Lord, as the apostle says: “Do you not know that your limbs are the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you”; and again, “That by faith Christ dwells in your hearts.” Accordingly, those who when freed from captivity had come up to Jerusalem had indeed arranged to build a temple, which, by their labor, they eventually achieved, but first they built an altar and commended themselves to the Lord with daily burnt offerings, so that in this way being made more pure they might deserve to start the work of building the temple. Likewise with respect to the spiritual edifice too it is necessary in every way that whoever has decided to teach others should first teach himself, and one who aims to instruct his neighbors to fear and love God should first make himself worthy for the office of teacher by serving God more...
