Temples and Priests

This morning my prayer is that you find this as fascinating as I have to study, and I pray God enables me to effectively and engagingly communicate these truths. Peter really ties together themes that are paramount in Scripture…shadows and foreshadows and pictures that God has painted throughout salvation history that now come to a head in Peter’s letter. There are two themes present at the beginning of all of history, and now Peter says this is fulfilled in those who follow Christ. Hang on, it will be part overarching biblical story line, part scarlet thread that runs throughout the Bible, part theology lecture, part grand crescendo, and part gospel challenge.

Temples of God

The first “temple” picture we get is in the garden of Eden.

Show Eden picture.

What is a temple? In just a broad sense, a temple is the place where a deity dwells and where it can be worshiped. Commonplace in temples are two things: a priest and an image. You name the temple…there’s a carved image of some sort to represent the deity, and there is someone there to represent that deity to others, and to represent mankind to the deity.

Check out Eden. Is there an image? Yes, God Himself makes mankind in His image. (Gen.1:27 “So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.”)

Are there priests? Yes. Adam and Eve. See Gen.2:15 “The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.”

“The tasks given to Adam are of a priestly nature: caring for a sacred space. In ancient thinking, caring for sacred space was a way of upholding creation. By preserving order, non-order was held at bay… If the priestly vocabulary in duties of the indicates the same kind of thinking, the point of caring for sacred space should be seen as much more than landscaping or even priestly duties. Maintaining order made one a participant with God in the ongoing task of sustaining the equilibrium God had established in the cosmos. Egyptian thinking attached this not only to the role of priests as they maintained the sacred space in the temples but also to the king, whose task was ‘to complete what was unfinished, and to preserve the existent, not as a status quo but in a continuing, dynamic, even revolutionary process of remodeling and improvement.’ This combines the subduing and ruling of

“The tasks given to Adam are of a priestly nature: caring for a sacred space. In ancient thinking, caring for sacred space was a way of upholding creation. By preserving order, non-order was held at bay… If the priestly vocabulary in Genesis 2:15 indicates the same kind of thinking, the point of caring for sacred space should be seen as much more than landscaping or even priestly duties. Maintaining order made one a participant with God in the ongoing task of sustaining the equilibrium God had established in the cosmos. Egyptian thinking attached this not only to the role of priests as they maintained the sacred space in the temples but also to the king, whose task was ‘to complete what was unfinished, and to preserve the existent, not as a status quo but in a continuing, dynamic, even revolutionary process of remodeling and improvement.’ This combines the subduing and ruling of Genesis 1 with the abad and shemar of this chapter.” - John H. Walton, The Lost World of Adam and Eve, 106-107.

These two verbs, scholars note, are packed with significance in the Scripture. The abad can mean “work” in a strict sense, but elsewhere the verb is used to refer to service to God (Gen.27:29), worship (Ex.3:12), and priestly service (Num.18:7; 1 Chr.24:3). The second term, shemar, means “to serve and keep.” This word is commonly used in reference to priestly service of worship. Together, abad and shemar are used as a phrase only in descriptions of priests and Levites working in and around the Temple.

So we have a temple, complete with images and priests. But, we know what happens…the fall, then the promise, and the rest of the narrative is asking at least in some part how will mankind be restored, and to what will we be restored?

By the way, the Edenic temple is lost, and what guards the way back into this temple and into the presence of God? Cherubim. And that image continues to appear time and time again!

The next temple image I think is at Mt. Sinai.

Show Sinai temple

At the base, the people of Israel. And some phenomenal things happen in all of this…just to quickly touch on them.

They were called to be a kingdom of priests. Yet, the presence of God terrified them.

Deut.5:26 “For who out of all humanity has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the fire, as we have, and lived?”

Mid-way up, the priests and elders could come. But, a consistent theme starts to arise as it pertains to the presence of the Lord. The summit of Sinai where the cloud of the presence of the Lord would come down? Only Moses could go there. This alone is intriguing, because Moses is portrayed as sort of the anti-hero. God calls him, but he doesn’t want to take up the mantle, even though in some ways he does. Meanwhile, the one who will be appointed high priest, who should be able to ascend into the place where the Lord’s presence comes down, well he’s down below making golden calves. Even from the start, it doesn’t take long for us to figure out just how broken things really are. But, more on the priesthood in a moment.

Next, you have first the tabernacle, a portable tent/temple, and then the temple that will be established by Solomon on Mt. Moriah (by the way, Mt. Moriah is grammatically linked to the oaks of Moreh and Abraham’s call (Gen.12:6), it is the place where God showed Abraham to offer Isaac (Gen.22:2), and it is the place where Solomon would ultimately build the temple (2 Chr.3:1).

Show Tabernacle/Temple

This is the place where God would meet with His people, where the priests would mediate between God and man, and where sacrifices were made to God. God’s presence would come and fill the most holy place, and it was there in the most holy place that atonement would be made for the sins of the people. And guess what guarded the way to the presence of the Lord, and guess what guarded His holy altar? The Cherubim, angels…the same thing that guarded the way back into the Garden and the presence of God.

The idea of making atonement, it’s no small deal for both the priest and the people. Lev.16 describes the whole process by which Aaron would go in, and it’s fascinating. But something particular I want to point out this morning: when Aaron would go in, and any high priest after him, to make atonement for the sins of Israel, he was to wear special garments. You might think, “Well, of course. He’d need to have his ‘Sunday best’ on.” But, the scene seems more like a stripping down than it does to a dressing up. Lev.16:23-24 ““Then Aaron is to enter the tent of meeting, take off the linen garments he wore when he entered the most holy place, and leave them there. He will bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes. Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering; he will make atonement for himself and for the people.” We may think things like this are a bit trivial, but there are no happenstance phrases/words in Scripture. And, notice what we find in John 20:11-12 “But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb. She saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’s body had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.” And what was in between these two angels? The bloody linens of the Suffering Servant and Slain Savior.

But I digress…I’m telling you, there are just so many points of connection. It’s mind boggling. And to those who say, “Oh, well it’s just a book written by men. There’s nothing special about it.” That’s nonsense to me, because there is such a unified picture, so many recurring themes that point and foreshadow to an ultimate fulfillment. How can a multitude of authors write the same story, bringing it to a heart-stopping crescendo, if there is not a single source for it all — the Holy Spirit?

Well, I won’t share all of Israel’s history with you, but what happens? They worship at the tabernacle until ultimately David secures Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem (BTW, Jerusalem has already been linked to YHWH worship through this guy was the king of Shalem…Melchizedek…who was not only a king but also a priest!) as the place for the temple. But David, who functions like a priest, and is presented in priestly role, his hands are too bloody to build the temple, so Solomon does so. And Solomon, he’s even worse than his father David. The downward spiral begins until we end up in 2 Chr. 36. This is the place where the Hebrew OT ends. I point that out, because it’s going to help us understand the significance of the “living stones” and “spiritual house” we find in Peter.

So, track with me here. I promise, we’re not chasing rabbits!

When we read in our English Bible, 2 Chr. happens early in the OT, and right behind it, Ezra/Nehemiah. Second Chr. ends with the exile and destruction of Solomon’s temple (2 Chr.36:14, “All the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, imitating all the detestable practices of the nations, and they defiled the Lord’s temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem.” 18-19 “He took everything to Babylon—all the articles of God’s temple, large and small, the treasures of the Lord’s temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials. Then the Chaldeans burned God’s temple. They tore down Jerusalem’s wall, burned all its palaces, and destroyed all its valuable articles.”

Our temptation is to think chronologically, like all good westerners do. But, when it comes to Scripture, it is profitable to think Hebraically and theologically rather than just but straight chronological logic. So, 2 Chr. actually ENDS the Hebrew OT. So, yes, the temple has been rebuilt by the time the OT closes, the end of the OT leaves us staring off into the abyss of a temple-less life.

No place for worship.

No place for atonement.

There really is this seemingly dark abyss…until you get to the end: 2 Chr.36:22-23 “In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord roused the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and also to put it in writing: This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a temple at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord his God be with him.”

Now, here’s what I want you to see, because it may not seem like much on the surface. Cyrus commissions the building of God’s temple. But, I want to parallel it to another commission for you before we settle back in to 1 Peter. Let’s look at Mt.28:18-20 “Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Cyrus had authority over all the kingdoms of the earth, but JESUS has authority over all of heaven AND earth.

Cyrus issues a possibility to any of God’s people who would like to return, but Jesus commands ALL of God’s people to be obedient.

Cyrus comforts YHWH’s people saying, “the Lord his God be with him.” Yet, Jesus assures His followers, “I AM with you always, to the end of the age.”

Cyrus suggest, “you may go up,” but Jesus commands, “as you are going.”

Cyrus was given much, Jesus was given all. Cyrus relays God’s word, Jesus is God’s word. Cyrus was God’s instrument, Jesus is God incarnate. Cyrus merely encourages, but Jesus commands. Cyrus is talking about a temple…but here’s the hold up, Jesus isn’t talking about a temple. He’s talking about converts. He’s talking about NT believers. Jesus is talking about the church.

Ah…yes…the last temple motif.

Show the Commission Motif

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.””

We no longer travel to a temple to rightly worship God. We ARE the temple. And as the dwelling place of God Most High, we are commissioned by Christ to continue to build His temple. The Holy Spirit has come, and every person who commits and surrenders his life to Jesus is another stone placed in the wall of the temple of the Lord. The place where man can once again walk in fellowship with His people has been and will be restored, and we have been commissioned that His kingdom may grow!