Life Marks: SIGNIFICANT (Part 2)
As we saw last week, God has a plan for each one of us. It is a good plan, a plan to bring abundant blessings to us and to those around us. In order for us to adequately tackle what I have in mind for this section on significance, we need to first take a look at some history. If you despised history in high school, please don’t despair. Maybe this blog will help to change your mind. History is important for us to understand our spiritual heritage as well as for understanding our significance in Christ. So, let’s begin by looking at temples.
Temples! You will find them all over the world. When Peggy and I travel to Thailand each year, we see a myriad of temples or shrines along highways, in parks, and even in backyards of residences. They say there are over 40,000 temples in Thailand. They are literally everywhere you travel. When we spent some time in Cambodia last year, our tour guide showed us dozens of ancient temples, dating back hundreds of years. Although Angkor Watt is quite impressive due to its size, the smaller temples were even more impressive due to the intricacy of craftsmanship displayed on the floors, walls, and ceilings of each structure.
So, just what is a “temple?” In short, a temple is a “Palace for one or more gods.” In most cases, the governor of the land would call on his engineers and craftsmen to build a temple for a particular god, or gods, and then they would go to work building a temple worthy of the “god’s” particular station in the pantheon. Of course, other craftsmen would be working on crafting an image out of stone or wood for the “god” itself. The final ceremony came when the priests and leaders of the land would actually install the “god” in its special place in the temple, whether it be on a pedestal or in a special niche. With the work completed, the “god” (or “gods”) is “seated on His throne” inside the temple, and from this location, the “god” was expected to oversee the affairs of the people and provide protection for the land. We found it very interesting as our tour guide shared that when invading armies of another dominant religion invaded the land and overran it, they would proceed to destroy all of the “gods” in the temple and replace it with the “god” or “gods” of their own religion. Sometimes, the entire temple would be destroyed, and the builders would start building again from scratch.
When the Israelites left Egypt after 430 years of slavery (remember the Exodus), they ended up at Mt. Sinai where God would not only give Moses the Ten Commandments, but also the instructions and plans for building the “Tabernacle,” or the “Tent of Meeting.” In actuality, it was a “portable Temple,” a symbol of God dwelling among His people. As the priests ministered daily in the “Holy Place,” there was another room separated from the “Holy Place” by a heavy curtain, which was called the “Most Holy Place.” It was here where the “Ark of the Covenant” with its golden cover called the “Mercy Seat” was placed. Only the high priest could enter this room, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement, where he would sprinkle the blood of a lamb on the “Mercy Seat” asking God to have mercy and forgive the sins of His people. It was in the Holy of Holies where God would dwell among His people (at least metaphorically), responding to their prayers and providing deliverance and mercy in time of need.
The Tabernacle was carried through the wilderness for 40 years, and then into the Promised Land where it resided in various locations for the next 300 years or so. And then, when David became King of Israel, God called for the building of a permanent Temple in Jerusalem to replace the portable Tabernacle. Although David raised the funds for the building of the Temple, it was his son, Solomon, who would actually build the temple modelled after the Tabernacle. Solomon completed the Temple in around 960BC, and it was so adorned with gold, silver, and other precious metals that it has been considered as one of the magnificent wonders of the ancient world. It was a palace built for Yahweh, the invisible God of the Israelites.
The Temple stood for the next 370 years at which time it was destroyed by the invading army from Babylon. As the Israelites were released from captivity some 70 years later, they returned to the land and eventually rebuilt the Temple. And then, over 500 years later, King Herod took it upon himself to make this “Second Temple” even more impressive than Solomon’s Temple. This was the Temple that was standing in Jesus’ day. It was at this Temple where He sat among the elders and teachers of the law at the age of twelve, and later He would heal dozens in Temple courtyards and preach on the Temple steps.
After Jesus entered Jerusalem just prior to His crucifixion, from their vantage point on the Mount of Olives looking across the Kidron Valley to the Temple Mount, the disciples commented on how magnificent and beautiful the Temple was. However, Jesus gave a dire prediction saying that within a generation, the city and Temple would be destroyed. And indeed it was. Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled when the Roman army destroyed the city and burned the Temple in AD 70, just forty years after Jesus’ warning. With the Temple leveled to the ground as the Roman troops sought to retrieve the gold that had flowed into the cracks between the stones, and with the priesthood no longer functioning, all sacrifices and manner of worship ceased. The entire sacrificial system that had been in effect for 1,500 years since the time of Moses was now gone!
This destruction sent shock waves throughout the Roman Empire. But this was all part of God’s plan. The writer of the Book of Hebrews tells us that the Old Covenant sacrificial system was just a “shadow” of the good things to come (Heb. 10:1). From the very beginning, God had had a different plan in mind for His Temple and His people. And that plan was not only different, but also better, immeasurably better. And when God carried out His plan as the Old Covenant gave way to the New, he had you and me in mind. So what was it that He had in mind? Well, you guessed it. That will have to wait until next week.
Hope to see you then.
