by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?
1 Corinthians 3:16
If I ever met Harrison Ford, face-to-face, I doubt I would say “Hi, Harry. How’s it going?” I would probably stammer like an idiot, tell him that he was Harrison Ford, like he didn’t know that already, and after he had politely disengaged and moved on I would bang my head against the wall for having missed the opportunity to talk to Harrison Ford.
Meeting a movie star would be awesome, and fearsome. Meeting God would be even more so, don’t you think?
There was a time when God walked the earth, first in the Garden of Eden, then with Enoch, later He appeared as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, leading Israel across the desert to the promised land. When Moses went up mount Sinai to get the Ten Commandments the mountain was covered in cloud and when the glory of the Lord settled on the Mount it looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." Exodus 20:18-19
God is powerful and glorious and looking at the full glory of God is like looking at the sun, touching God is like touching the reactor core of a nuclear power plant. Looking at the sun or touching the core of a nuclear power plant is not something the human body can withstand. And God knows the frailty of his children.
So God designed a place where He could come among the people and the people would be safe in His presence.
"Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. Exodus 25:8-9
This was the first temple, it was a tent, a big tent. There was an outer court where the people gathered, an inner court where the priest sacrificed the offerings, and an inner Most Holy place, where the Ark of the Covenant stayed. Only the High Priest was allowed into the Most Holy place and he had to take extra precautions, he put on a special suit, like a hazmat suit, before he entered the presence of God.
Solomon built a stone Temple in Jerusalem, patterned after the tent tabernacle. It lasted about 380 years. It was destroyed by Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar and partially rebuilt after the exiles returned to Jerusalem. It reconstructed by King Herod in Jesus’ day. This is the temple of Matthew 21:12-15 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “’My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of robbers”
When Jesus died on the cross the curtain to the Most Holy place split from top to bottom. There is no longer a veil between the people of God and God. We have direct access to the power of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus is our hazmat suit, his blood covers us and keeps us safe in the very presence of God Almighty.
The temple is the house of God. The house of God is a house of prayer. You are God’s temple. The Spirit of God lives in you. Be a house of prayer.
Simple – Ain’t – Easy
But it sure is worth the effort
- Wendy
If I ever met Harrison Ford, face-to-face, I doubt I would say “Hi, Harry. How’s it going?” I would probably stammer like an idiot, tell him that he was Harrison Ford, like he didn’t know that already, and after he had politely disengaged and moved on I would bang my head against the wall for having missed the opportunity to talk to Harrison Ford.
Meeting a movie star would be awesome, and fearsome. Meeting God would be even more so, don’t you think?
There was a time when God walked the earth, first in the Garden of Eden, then with Enoch, later He appeared as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, leading Israel across the desert to the promised land. When Moses went up mount Sinai to get the Ten Commandments the mountain was covered in cloud and when the glory of the Lord settled on the Mount it looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." Exodus 20:18-19
God is powerful and glorious and looking at the full glory of God is like looking at the sun, touching God is like touching the reactor core of a nuclear power plant. Looking at the sun or touching the core of a nuclear power plant is not something the human body can withstand. And God knows the frailty of his children.
So God designed a place where He could come among the people and the people would be safe in His presence.
"Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. Exodus 25:8-9
This was the first temple, it was a tent, a big tent. There was an outer court where the people gathered, an inner court where the priest sacrificed the offerings, and an inner Most Holy place, where the Ark of the Covenant stayed. Only the High Priest was allowed into the Most Holy place and he had to take extra precautions, he put on a special suit, like a hazmat suit, before he entered the presence of God.
Solomon built a stone Temple in Jerusalem, patterned after the tent tabernacle. It lasted about 380 years. It was destroyed by Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar and partially rebuilt after the exiles returned to Jerusalem. It reconstructed by King Herod in Jesus’ day. This is the temple of Matthew 21:12-15 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “’My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of robbers”
When Jesus died on the cross the curtain to the Most Holy place split from top to bottom. There is no longer a veil between the people of God and God. We have direct access to the power of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus is our hazmat suit, his blood covers us and keeps us safe in the very presence of God Almighty.
The temple is the house of God. The house of God is a house of prayer. You are God’s temple. The Spirit of God lives in you. Be a house of prayer.
Simple – Ain’t – Easy
But it sure is worth the effort
- Wendy
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