Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
I want to take some time to talk about the element of the word "temple." Looking at a passage in 2 Chronicles chapter 5, the people of Israel had just finished building King Solomon's temple. This is what led up to the consecration of the temple. This is what it says in 2 Chronicles chapter 5:
"They raise their voices and praise the LORD with these words: 'He is good. His faithfulness and His faithful love endures forever.' At that moment, a thick cloud filled the temple of the LORD. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the temple of God."
Just the power of the presence of God in the temple.
The Mystery of Temples
I want to unpack a little bit of the mystery of temples. It's interesting. That's the beauty of knowing God, because here we have this demonstration of God's presence entering the temple that King Solomon and the people of Israel built. But if we go back to 1 Samuel chapter 5—this is before the temple was built, and they had the Ark of the Covenant, or in 1 Samuel chapter 5, it refers to the Ark of God.
The Ark of God and Dagon's Temple
Israel was defeated, and the Ark of God was captured by the Philistines. They took it to their temple of their god called Dagon. When they put the Ark of the Covenant, or the Ark of God, in this temple, the next morning when they came out, their god, this huge statue of Dagon, had fallen straight on its face in front of the Ark of the Covenant, or Ark of God. They then put it back up in place.
You'd think at some point they would just stop, even the first night, and say, that's strange. But they put it back up in its place, and they came back the next morning, and not only had it fallen straight on the ground in front of the Ark of God—the head had broken off, and its hands had broken off. The head and hands lay on the threshold of the temple.
Walking Around the Threshold
Mind you, when they put it back in place, here's something interesting. Because the head and hands of this god that they worshiped, Dagon, fell and broke off and landed on the threshold, they actually never walked on the threshold from then on, moving forward. They walked around it out of respect and reverence for their god.
How crazy is that? Here you have this temple to this god, a statue that falls over two days in a row. Because of the things that were going on, the people of Philistia actually got rid of the Ark of God and sent it back to Israel and said, "We don't want this. There's something going on. There's something to this."
Here you have this temple that was so revered by these people. There was a false god, a fake god—just a statue. Yet the power of God's presence wasn't just in the temple that Solomon built. It was just the power of God's presence.
Your Body as God's Temple
Let's relook at the Verse of the Day today. First Corinthians chapter 6, verse 19: "Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, the temple of God who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself."
The power that God has and the presence that He has as He lives in us, as we are His temple—think about any other temple that you would enter and walk into, and the reverence and the respect. How do we treat our body as the temple of the Holy Spirit?
I'll tell you what: preparing for this was convicting, and just reflecting back on really the power of the presence of God living within us as His temple.
Take Time with the Lord
I would love for you to take some time without me saying, "This is how you should do this." I would just challenge you: take some time with the Lord and say, You living within me, me being Your temple, what can I do? What can I do? What do I need to surrender? What do I need to clean to allow my temple, my spirit, my body to be that? That's a consideration. It's in consideration of Your presence living within me.
Just take some time with the Lord today and consider.
