The Jews had begun their return to the land of Israel, and once there they began to rebuild the temple that the Babylonians had destroyed. When they laid the foundation, two classes of people responded in different ways,

But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, so 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 sound was heard afar off (Ezra 3:12–13).

The old men remembered the former temple, and seeing the new foundation, it brought back memories, perhaps of their sin, the war with the Babylonians, and the old men may have wept for joy.

Others shouted out of seeing something that they had not seen before, the foundation of the temple.

We all come to life’s events from different backgrounds, but the Lord brings us together to build His wonderful spiritual temple, the church.