May the mumbling commence!
For all the blood and violence of the Hebrew Bible,
there is an interesting passage from First Chronicles chapter twenty-two. Read the passage that gives the reasoning for
David not building the Temple… and tell me what you think:
Then David sent for his son Solomon and instructed him to
build a Temple for the Lord, the
God of Israel. "I wanted to build a
Temple to honor the name of the Lord
my God," David told him.
"But the Lord
said to me, 'You have killed many men in the great
battles you have fought. And since you have shed so much blood before
me, you will not be the one to build a Temple to honor my name. But you will
have a son who will experience peace and
rest. I will give him peace with
his enemies in all the surrounding lands. His name will be Solomon, and I will
give peace and quiet to Israel
during his reign. He is the one who will build a Temple to honor my name. He will be my son,
and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom
over Israel forever.'
Now, my son, may the Lord be with you and give you success as you follow his
instructions in building the Temple of the Lord
your God. And may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding,
that you may obey the law of the Lord
your God as you rule over Israel.
For if you carefully obey the laws and regulations that the Lord gave to Israel through Moses, you will be successful. Be strong and
courageous; do not be afraid or lose heart!” (Verses 6-13)
Though David was a man after God’s heart, he was not
called a son of God. Why? David told his son Solomon that God refused
to allow David to build the Temple because of the violence that David committed
during the many battles that were fought.
That kind of action does not honor the Name of the Lord.
Solomon was a man of peace and wisdom and understanding
and obedience. Solomon was called a son
of God. Solomon is a foreshadowing of
Jesus. The throne of Solomon was not
established forever. Solomon
stumbled.
Jesus did not.
Jesus remains obedient to the will of the Father. His kingdom will never end. For this reason, we can be strong and
courageous as we seek to serve the will of the Lord – not our own will.
And as we do God’s will for our lives, let’s
not forget where we came from – just as Solomon didn't forget the wandering
days of Israel. Read from First
Chronicles chapter twenty-three: “And
so, under the supervision of the priests, the Levites watched over the Tabernacle and the Temple and
faithfully carried out their duties of service at the house of the Lord.” (Verse 32)
The Tabernacle was remembered and kept for a reminder of
the days of wandering – a reminder of the faithfulness of the Lord.
And the Lord remains faithful even
when we do not. Read about the relationship
between Israel and the Lord from Romans chapter eleven:
No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose
from the very beginning. Do you remember what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the
prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, "Lord, they
have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I alone am left, and now
they are trying to kill me, too."
And do you remember God's reply? He said, "You are not the only one left. I have seven
thousand others who have never bowed down to Baal!"
It is the same today, for not all the Jews have
turned away from God. A few are being saved as a result of God's kindness in
choosing them. And if they are saved by God's kindness,
then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God's wonderful kindness would not be
what it really is – free and undeserved.
(Verses 2-6)
We are not alone.
Many faithful Jews have come to and are coming to Christ as
Messiah. This miracle is through the
grace and kindness of the Lord.
Though
our numbers may dwindle, there are many more faithful ones that we do not see –
like an iceberg, most of the Lord’s faithful ones are beneath the surface.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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