May 21

When the Israelites first left Egypt, God commanded Moses to build a large structure, called the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:1-7). The Tabernacle would be like a huge tent that could be taken down and moved as the people traveled, and then built again when the people stopped. God gave very specific instructions as to how the Tabernacle was to be built, what furnishings would be inside, what the purpose would be for those furnishings, the appointment of priests to minister in the Tabernacle, what the priests would wear, etc. (Exodus 25:8-31:11). Moses did exactly as God commanded (Exodus 35:4-40:33). Whereas, God first appeared to the Israelites when He descended on Mount Sinai in the form of fire, covering the mountain with smoke and causing an earthquake to shake the mountain (Exodus 19), God now filled this Tabernacle in the form of a cloud. And whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle and moved, the people of Israel followed it until such time that the cloud stopped. They would then erect the Tabernacle again. God would fill the Tabernacle as a cloud during the day and at night there was a fire in the cloud so all the people of Israel could see it (Exodus 40:34-38).
While David had wanted to build a permanent structure that God could dwell in, called the Temple, God insisted the task be given to David’s son, Solomon. Solomon enlisted 30,000 Israelites to go to Lebanon in shifts to gather the wood for the Temple (I Kings 5:13) and 153,600 foreign men living in the land of Israel to actually build the Temple (I Kings 5:15-18; II Chronicles 2:17&18). The task of building the Temple took Solomon 7 full years (I Kings 6:38). The Temple itself was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high (I Kings 6:2; II Chron.3:3). The walls were overlaid with gold, as were many of the furnishings. The Temple would be a permanent facility that God’s presence could appear in. It was a magnificently beautiful structure paid for by the willing offerings of the people of Israel. But, in truth, God’s presence inhabits the entire Universe and no building made by human hands can fully contain the Lord (II Chron.2:6; 6:18; I Kings 8:27; Acts 7:48&49; Psalm 139:7-16).
We are later told that under God’s New Covenant with His people, a covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s presence fills the body of EVERY person who believes that Jesus is the Messiah sent by God to redeem us, and who places their trust entirely in his sacrificed blood to forgive us and reconcile us to God (I Corinthians 6:19&20). That truth means we no longer belong to ourselves to do as we please (Romans 14:7&8; Galatians 2:20). Our bodies are to be instruments of God, doing what God wants us to do, and going where God wants us to go. If the Temple housing the presence of God under the Old Covenant was valuable and expensive to build, what does that say about the Temples God now resides in under the New Covenant? As Paul said, “You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you MUST honor God with your body” (I Cor.6:19&20). God no longer desires the sacrifice of dead animals as He did under the Old Covenant. God desires that we be living sacrifices, honoring and glorifying Him in these earthly Temples He has redeemed (Romans 12:1&2).