A Journey to Easter - Day 15

When the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the Lord’s temple, and because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

(1 Kings 8:10-11 CSB)

After the priests of God brought the ark of the covenant from the City of David and placed it in King Solomon’s newly completed temple, the shekinah glory of God descended upon it.

It was not the first time God displayed His glory. He did so in imposing the 10 plagues before Pharaoh. And in parting the Red Sea. He did so at Mt. Sinai, to test the people (Exodus 20:20). He did so to Moses, to reveal His goodness (Exodus 34:6-7). And His glory filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:35).

However, the glory of God departed the temple, as revealed in Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 10-11). And Solomon’s temple was destroyed by Nebuzaradan, an official of Babylon, when he burned it down (2 Kings 25:8-9). It was rebuilt, more than once, but never to the same glory. The final version built by King Herod was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans—as foretold by Jesus when He declared that “not one stone would remain upon another” (Matthew 24:2). It's never been rebuilt—for the purpose it served was made obsolete.

Jesus referred to His own body as the temple (John 2:18-22). Borrowing Athanasius’ brilliant phrase regarding the Incarnation, he wrote that it was “the Word’s fashioning for Himself the body from a virgin as a temple in which to dwell.” Now that Temple was full of glory indeed! It was a temple God raised to even further glory.

Now, at yet another level, when believers in Jesus Christ receive the Holy Spirt, they become temples.

When Paul addressed the church and its leaders in Corinth for their worldliness, he wrote, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). Sounds preposterous! But that doesn’t mean it’s not true. We dare not destroy that temple either for, as he went on to say, “God’s temple is sacred.”

In 1 Peter 2:4, we read that as we come to Jesus we are being built into a spiritual house. The people of God are the temple of God. And the church is His spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5). There, too, as His Body, the Head is present. There is Jesus, the Lord of glory. It’s as we sing, “God is in this place.” And our unity is a glorious thing!

When the Spirit-filled people of the Lord assemble to worship before the presence of God, the glory of God is in His spiritual house. Is that not a beautiful and awesome thing? It’s like an embassy, if you will. An outpost for the Kingdom of Heaven. Since the kingdom of the Christ is altogether glorious, then so is the temple.

May we ”incline our hearts to Him” (1 Kings 8:58).

#AJourneytoEaster

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