Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Temple is a house for a god

Our God cannot be housed - yet the Bible is full of temple.

Temple is one of those themes that can help you see the big picture of the Bible

We’ve seen the story of Creation, last week we saw Covenant.

Temple is the next integrating theme.

Now we will see the unfolding story of God’s salvation through 7 Temples.

1. Eden: Garden Temple

God dwelt with Humans

Garden Temple (never called a temple, but we would see that all the following temples are based on this design, same features)

Water of life flowed from there into all the world!

Source of life for the world

Adam called to care for the temple, the first priest!

“Keep it” doesn’t just mean “maintain it”, it means guard it and protect it.

From who or what?

Well we would find out soon that one of God's creations, a Serpent later called Satan was rebelling against God.

Failed to “keep” the temple

Sin divided - they were driven out - Cherubim guarded the way.

Covered by God in animal skins - the beginning of a pattern where humans would need to have a covering if they could ever hope to meet with God.

2. Tabernacle: Mobile Temple

God would once again dwell with his people and go with them!

But sin and purity was now a problem.

Mobile Temple complex (latter half of Exodus)

Tent with the Ark, God’s glory cloud would enter in

adorned with garden imagery, in the middle of the desert, pomegranates on clothes,

Cherubim covered the glory over the arc.

Big basins of water to cleanse the Priests

Came near through Sacrifice - covering their sin.

Then they could worship God meet and eat with him.

Tribes lived around the tabernacle (see Numbers)

They could meet with God, but on certain terms - Ceremonially clean.

You could be made impure from living in this corrupted world - it would rub off on you!

The Levites, were the priests, they both guarded the holiness of God, tended to the temple, and went as mediators between the people and God.

Levites had earned this privileged role by executing idol worshipers within the nation.

This was not just a matter of rituals and fancy costumes - this was a deadly game, one demonstrated by Nadab & Abihu who made up their own worship.

We don’t get to make up worship services that make us feel good or entertain us.

We only do what God has told us to do, or clearly implied.

(Direct: God tells us to sing in worship, so we do!

Implied: God tells us to gather, so we need to pick a time).

Israel struggled to live with God in their midst, because of their sin.

3. Solomon’sTemple: “First” House

Now that the people were settled in the land it seemed appropriate that God should have a permanent house too.

After all it felt weird building their own lovely homes while God still lived in a tent.

Solomon appointed to build it!

He knew that God could never really be contained to a home on earth, but this was a place where God & his people could meet.

Levites administered as priests

Imagery of garden - leaves and pomegranates on pillars.

Imagery of Cherubim guarding the way, such covering the glory.

Water for cleansing:

God came and dwelt there!

Came near through Sacrifice - covering their sin.

Then they could worship God meet and eat with him.

even though he was hidden from them in the temple behind a veil and guarded by the cherubim.

Yet, this would not last.

Because of the sin of the people God would eventually drive them out and allow his temple to be razed to the ground.

4. Ezekiel’s Temple Prophesied

When the Judah was carried off into exile and fellow called Ezekiel went with them

He was a priest, when he should have been beginning his career as a priest, he was living in Babylon.

God showed his visions of the glory leaving.

God showed him visions of the destruction of the temple, and that would take place while Ezekiel was in exile.

Now there was lost hope.

His identity was undermined, what priest had no temple to minster?

Sin kept getting in the way of dwelling with God, how could they ever sort that out?

Yet God showed him grand visions of a future temple.

A temple of extravagant proportions!

God’s glory returned to this temple!

A Temple with priests, and river that flowed out from the temple and brought life to the world!

Ezekiel also saw visions of God’s spirit entering into people and making them alive - regenerating them, giving them New Birth.

God was going to put his own spirit within the people and cleanse them from the sin that was getting in the way!

Ezekiel gave a message of hope in the wake of the destruction, that God would restore his people, that he would cleanse them, and that they would dwell with the Lord in the best temple ever!

5. Nehemiahs’ Temple: “Second” House

Rebuilding after exile

A place where they could meet with God and worship, through the covering of an atoning sacrifice.

Pitiful, nothing like Ezekiel’s vision

Ezra 3:11–13 (ESV)

And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.

Left hoping for a better temple, worthy of God’s glory.

They would refurbish and improve it, but it would never be the Ezekiel temple.

Yet God gave words of encouragement and hope to those people:

Haggai 2:5–9 (ESV)

My Spirit remains in your midst.

Fear not.

For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.

… The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts.

And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’

”

Despite their troubles and the continual losses - there would one day be peace.

6. Jesus & His Church: BodilyTemples

Jesus - God incarnate!

God “tabernacled” among us!

Jesus was a better priest.

Ceremonially clean.

Jesus would touch the unclean!

Yet instead of them “rubbing off” on him and making him unclean, now he went around making people clean!

He was the cleaning agent needed by God’s people!

He died as a sacrifice to cleanse the people of all their sin.

And when he did, the veil in the Temple (with cherubim on it) was torn.

Now the way was open once again!

The last sacrifice.

Jesus is the Living Water!