The House of Worth
2 Chronicles 3:1 (ESV) Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
The main event has come to Solomon's life. This is what God called him to do - build the Temple. And as he builds the temple as a place for God to dwell among the people, there are images we are given in the details to help us understand what the presence of God is all about.
What's clear is that Solomon invests heavily in the beauty of the Temple.
2 Chronicles 3:6–7 (ESV) He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold of Parvaim. 7 So he lined the house with gold—its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors—and he carved cherubim on the walls.
Gold and precious stones covered the Temple. The presence of God is a place of value.
But something else is as well:
2 Chronicles 3:10–13 (ESV) In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of wood and overlaid them with gold. 11 The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits: one wing of the one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub; 12 and of this cherub, one wing, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also of five cubits, was joined to the wing of the first cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. The cherubim stood on their feet, facing the nave.
Massive gold-covered angelic figures surrounded the place where God dwelt. The image is clear, God's presence is both beautiful and powerful.
We must see the elaborate means by which Solomon builds this temple to the Lord. When you entered the Temple of Israel you would have immediately been in awe of it's beauty and glory. Israel was going to learn to Worship the Lord as He was - the God of beauty and glory.
Consider the enormous expense Solomon spends on the Temple and then look at the average church in town. Is there glory and awe in that building? I know the Church is the people today but we DO GATHER in a certain place every week to worship the Lord. Should not that place be beautiful and glorious so that when people enter, they know we take great pride in our God, that we love Him and honor Him?
Then look to the sides of that average church building. Are there skyscrapers overwhelming it? Do the pillars of men's gain and self-made glory dwarf the place of worship? I think you'll see that's the case in most American (and worldly) cities.
Architecture speaks to the values of a culture. At the end of Solomon's building, the glory of the Lord fills the Temple and overwhelms the people. Perhaps the reason our culture is so underwhelmed with our God is that we have made the place where we worship a second-rate facility.
I'm a Pastor. I'm in charge of spending a lot of money on our facilities. In my opinion, that money is always well spent if we use it to beautiful our gathering place. When people enter into the presence of Christ's body (the Church), they should be inspired, they should see our love for God expressed in the care for our facility.
Now the naysayer will say, "I would like to see the Church pour as much money into poor people as their facilities." But I take you to the New Testament, John 12, when the woman with the alabaster jar pours it out on Jesus' feet and Judas has the same complaint. What did Jesus say?
John 12:7–8 (ESV) Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
Could it be that the presence of Jesus is not experienced because we have let spiritual Judases guilt us into spending less on our places of worship while he then takes that money to build pillars to himself? Remember Judas' end? It wasn't pretty. But the work of Jesus in saving many - both rich and poor - was only beginning at that fateful dinner.
Spend yourself on the presence of God. You will NEVER be disappointed.
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