Ezra / Question
They built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings, even though they feared the peoples of the lands. Ezra presents the altar as the first restored worship structure before the temple foundation. See Ezra 3:2 and Ezra 3:3.
In Ezra 3:2–3, the returned community’s leaders act quickly and together: Jeshua (with priests) and Zerubbabel (with other family leaders) rebuild the altar so that offerings can begin again. Their stated reason is obedience to what is written in Moses’ law. These verses sit early in Ezra’s opening account of the return from exile and the first steps toward reestablishing communal life in Jerusalem. The narrative has been moving from listing those who returned and settling in towns to the community gathering in Jerusalem, and then to the first shared acts of worship.
Ezra 3:2–3 presents the first major, public act of the returned community in Jerusalem as rebuilding the altar (not yet the temple building). The text ties this action to recognized leadership: Jeshua with the priests and Zerubbabel with other heads of families “stood up” to lead, and their stated purpose is to restart burnt offerings.
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with Ezra 3:2, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
2Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, and built 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.