The Holy Temple

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 12:1–14 NASB95

“These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth. “You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. “You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place. “You shall not act like this toward the Lord your God. “But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come. “There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. “There also you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you. “You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; for you have not as yet come to the resting place and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. “When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the Lord. “And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance with you. “Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every cultic place you see, but in the place which the Lord chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.

Isaiah 66:1 NASB95

Thus says the Lord, “Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest?

1 Kings 8:54–56 NASB95

When Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and supplication to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread toward heaven. And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant.

1, 2 Kings ((4) Solomon’s Blessing (8:54–61))

8:56 Solomon prefaces his blessing with a confession of God’s faithfulness. This faithfulness is revealed by the fact that the Lord “has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised.” In Solomon’s mind “rest” refers to peaceful settlement in the land of promise. It means freedom from enemies (Deut 12:10) and God’s presence in Israel’s midst (Exod 33:14). It means total reliance on God’s word, which never fails. Finally, it means that what the Lord promised through Moses has come true nearly five centuries after it was first pledged. Solomon can bless the people with the confidence that an absolutely steadfast God stands behind the king’s statements.

Genesis 17:1–8 NASB95

Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.” Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. “No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. “I have made you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

Hebrews 11:13–16 NASB95

All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses (The Holiness of the Land and Its Symbolic Associations)

The Garden of Eden was a dwelling of God. The land of Palestine is described as a rich, garden-like land reminiscent of Eden (Deuteronomy 8:7–9; 7:13–15; Joel 2:3; Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 36:35).

The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses The Holiness of the Land and Its Symbolic Associations

Christ is the ultimate dwelling of God. The language concerning holy places and spaces is now REPLACED BY THE LANGUAGE OF BEING IN CHRIST. As W. D. Davies says, “for the holiness of place, Christianity has … substituted the holiness of the Person: it has Christified holy space

CHRIST IS THE PLACE! CHRIST IS THE PROMISED LAND!!!