God’s Glory in the Temple

Background Scripture: Ezekiel 43; Exodus 40
Lesson Scripture: Ezekiel 43:1-6; Exodus 40:34-38

Introduction

God gave Moses a detailed plan to build a place of worship where He would dwell. Under God’s direction, capable and talented men were called out to craft the various articles and components of the sanctuary. Not only were these men naturally skillful, they also received wisdom from the Lord “to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary” (Exod. 36:1-2). Everything was made with a purpose that depicts a deep spiritual meaning.

It was a habitation that God’s people would reverence and hallow by recognizing it as a meeting place where the holy glory of God’s Presence would reside.

Key Verse

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple (Isa. 6:1).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

God is high and holy and inhabits eternity; nevertheless, He desires to dwell with man. The tabernacle, and later the temple and its accompanying ceremonies have meaning that even in our day show us the way to approach God: the fear and respect needed to come into his presence and the attention to detail that God has concerning our service to Him.

Only those who worshipped the one, true God were permitted to enter the outer court of the tabernacle. There was the bronze altar where fire came down from Heaven to start a perpetual burning. Here the various sacrifices were offered that atoned for sin and pointed to the eternal sacrifice that was to come, the Lamb of God.

Inside the tabernacle was the Holy Place, where all external light was shut out and the golden candlestick with the seven lamps provided the sole source of light. The altar of incense filled the room with its sweet odor. The coals to light the golden candlestick and the altar of incense came from the perpetual fire on the bronze altar. A veil separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Inside it was the ark of the covenant with the two cherubim extending their wings over the mercy seat. All these articles were covered with pure gold. No one other than the high priest was permitted to enter the Most Holy Place. God’s presence appeared there in a cloud above the mercy seat (Lev. 16:2). Once every year the high priest brought a golden censer of incense, alight with coals from the bronze altar, into the Holy of Holies so that the cloud of the incense would cover the mercy seat. To atone for the sins of the people as well as his own, he was to sprinkle the blood from the sin offering upon the mercy seat.

Despite the splendor and magnificence of the building, there was no glory in the sanctuary unless God’s presence was there. During Ezekiel’s time the temple was desecrated and used for idol worship. God revealed to the prophet a temple where his presence and glory would remain. “I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images” (Isa. 42:8).

Practical Truths for Today

When Jesus met the woman at the well, she perceived that He was a prophet, so she posed a hard question, one that was controversial at that time. She asked Him where God wanted them to worship. Jesus replied that the time had come that true worshippers will not worship God in a temple or on a mountain but in spirit and in truth (John 4:19-24).

Every year the high priest entered behind the veil with a sense of fear and respect. There alone, he appeared in the presence of God, trusting that he had fulfilled the requirements that would spare him the sentence of death and that his offering would be accepted. The veil to this Most Holy Place was rent when Christ died. Through his blood our hearts are sanctified, and the Holy Spirit places his sanctuary in our hearts, making it the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16-17).

We can come into the presence of God in the name of Jesus, bringing all our petitions to the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). Even as God communed with the high priest at the mercy seat (Exod. 25:22), so He communes with us in our heart. It is here that we receive a renewing of life’s purpose, priorities are ordered in God’s perspective, and we receive peace, joy, and security. This inner sanctuary of the Holy Spirit is the core of the Christian’s life. The glory of God is in the nature of the Holy Spirit and is quiet, modest, and peaceable and radiates through the actions and countenance of the Christian.

A Christian brother went to an establishment that had no knowledge of the church or the brotherhood. A young woman who worked there later gave this testimony of the brother: “As soon as I saw him, I knew he was a man of God.” She, together with her entire family, became believers and members of the household of God. God glorified his name through this brother’s inner radiance, and his speech and conduct supported that witness. This inner glory that honors God is of great price and tremendously valuable in his sight.

An angel carried John to a high mountain to view the holy city descending from God out of Heaven. Its glory and splendor surpassed anything John had ever seen. External light was not needed, for God’s glory is the light. Neither is there a temple inside this city, for God and the Lamb are the temple. This city is the church of God. Within its walls are those who possess God’s glory because their hearts have become the temple of God. The church needs no external light. As the pillar of cloud and fire led the Israelites on their pilgrimage to the promised land, so the Holy Spirit has been a safe guide for the church in every era and under all circumstances and will be until the end.

The presence of the pillar of cloud is witnessed as the brotherhood gathers. Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20). Whether a handful gather to worship or the occasion calls for an event where many brethren gather to prove the will of God, as in a General Conference, the beauty of the gathering is found in the quiet witness of the Holy Spirit. As direction is sought from God, the oneness of heart and spirit is a result of the Spirit in each believer’s heart. Rest and security go with us as we depart, and we testify with a sense of awe, “Truly God was here.”

The physical beauty of the temple was glorious. Seeing the greater glory that rests within the heart of a believer and collectively in the church of God comes by spiritual enlightening. This revelation can only come from God the Father. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Cor. 4:7). If we should lose our first love and the Holy Spirit withdraws, the glory of God is lost with only the earthen exterior left. In many cases the result is a bitter and fault-finding heart. It is a tragedy indeed when God’s glory departs from one’s life!

Questions

1. How necessary is it to understand what the design and ceremonies of the original tabernacle represent today?
2. How do we receive the vision of God’s “glorious church” (Eph. 5:27)?
3. What hinders us from beholding the glory of the Lord today? Study 2 Corinthians 3:7-18.
4. If I allow sin in my life, at what point is my temple defiled to where the Holy Spirit leaves?
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Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).