The Importance of Demonstrating You Are Jewish

There's a bittersweet moment at the end of Ezra chapter three that I think summarizes so much about everything that's happened up till this point in the Old Testament. The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands, the bronze see, they were the temple of the Lord. They even took their shovels, jerks, wick trimmers, dishes. And all the bronze articles used in the temple service. This might seem like it's really minuscule and unimportant, but it turns out to be very crucial to the story of how things unfold with this rebuilding effort.