The Temple

Tonight I was at my computer and I suddenly just wanted to read something in the Bible.  But I didn't have any passage in mind, so I did the functional equivalent of placing a Bible on its spine, letting it fall open and then pointing at a verse: I brought up the Bible on my computer, closed my eyes and clicked on the web page. The first click selected a book, the second a chapter and the third a verse.  On my screen when I opened my eyes was II Chronicles 4, set in the middle of the description of the building of the Temple, were these verses describing some of the furnishings of the Temple.

6 He then made ten basins for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.  7 He made ten gold lampstands according to the specifications for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. 8 He made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls.  9 He made the courtyard of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze. 

As I read, I was struck by two thoughts:  First, by how much cost and work went into the building and furnishing of the Temple. The gold and silver alone were worth over $200 million in today's dollars!  The Temple and its furnishings were built of the finest materials and according to specific designs given by God.

Then I was reminded that, in the New Testament, the Church is compared to the Temple; but I couldn't remember exactly where, so I but "temple" into the word-search field and hit enter. The list of 627 verses containing the word "temple"in the Bible were listed from the earliest reference in the Old Testament to its last in the New Testament.  As I scrolled down to the New Testament, my eyes fell upon a passage in I Kings 6, which is the second telling of the building of the Temple.  We are told that it took seven years to build.  

I then continued on to the New Testament, where I found the passage (there are others) that I had had in mind:

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

God is preparing His Temple, you and me, with every bit of care and expense as Solomon built his Temple for God.  It is a long and costly process!  It takes skill and patience to craft the perfect temple.

The difference is that God hasn't waited for its completion to move in, as He did with Solomon's Temple!  He took up residence in you, His new Temple, before it was finished, to take charge of the building project!  That would be like the contractor moving into a house you were building as soon as the foundation was poured!  That's how excited God is to live in His new temple: YOU and ME!

As with Solomon's Temple, God has a design for His new temple. There is much expense and care in its building.  It takes time to complete.  And just as workman sawed lumber, hammered nails and heated and pounded gold in Solomon's Temple, the process of building God's temple in you is sometimes hard and messy work.  But the effort and the discomfort, even the pain of hitting your thumb with a hammer, will be worth it all.  You will become a complete and beautiful temple of God!


Do you know someone who is suffering physical or emotional pain who would be encouraged by this blog? Then please send them the link by clicking the envelope below, where you can also share it on Twitter and Facebook.