Seize the Moment – Day 939
Protect the Purity of the Temple!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, October 12.
The Chronicler’s account of King Solomon’s concern for ritual purity is juxtaposed with the 1 King’s account of how his foreign wives led him into covenant unfaithfulness. This perspective was clearly stated in 1 Kings 11:1, 6-8:
Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, … Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
The Chronicler’s account of Solomon’s life was told in a more positive light than that of the account told in 1 Kings. Regardless of the Chronicler’s intentions for how he told Solomon’s story it was always the temple that was the focus of his story. The temple, just like the tabernacle before it, was at the center of Israel’s worship because that is where the presence of God manifested in Israel. Whereas David and Solomon played their parts in the story, God was always the main character of Israel’s story!
In the same way, the church is at the center of worship in the New Covenant, but not a building made with human hands, like the temple. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit; therefore, we must protect the purity of God’s house (1 Corinthians 6:15-20).
Seize the moment and glorify God in your body. What do you need to deal with in your life today so that God’s story is declared without distraction through your story?
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
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