(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“He has violently taken away his tabernacle,
as if it were a garden.
He has destroyed his place of assembly.
Yahweh has caused solemn assembly and Sabbath to be forgotten in Zion.
In the indignation of his anger, he has despised the king and the priest.
The Lord has cast off his altar.
He has abhorred his sanctuary.
He has given the walls of her palaces into the hand of the enemy.
They have made a noise in Yahweh’s house,
as in the day of a solemn assembly.
Yahweh has purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion.
He has stretched out the line.
He has not withdrawn his hand from destroying;
He has made the rampart and wall lament.
They languish together.
Her gates have sunk into the ground.
He has destroyed and broken her bars.
Her king and her princes are among the nations where the law is not.
Yes, her prophets find no vision from Yahweh.”
(Lamentations 2:6-9)
“Then I thought, “I will appeal to this:
the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
I will remember Yah’s deeds;
for I will remember your wonders of old.
I will also meditate on all your work,
and consider your doings.
Your way, God, is in the sanctuary.
What god is great like God?
You are the God who does wonders.
You have made your strength known among the peoples.
You have redeemed your people with your arm,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.”
(Psalm 77:10-15)
The Temple had ceased to be a place of true worship for the majority. The priests were corrupt. The prophets were speaking their own visions and ideas, not the words of the Lord. They were worshipping idols in the high places and in their homes, but also performing worship rites to Yahweh. It doesn’t work. God won’t take a divided heart. God wants all of us, not the bits we’re willing to give. They refused His warnings. They rejected His words and His prophets. Now judgement came and the Temple was destroyed. God washed His hands of all of it. Their idolatry and rebellious attitude had corrupted it all, so God destroyed it. Tore it down. Set fire to it. It was useless, so it became chaff. It was only later that the people sought Him with their hearts. When they did, He allowed them to rebuild.
Eventually, they remembered how God had been. They remembered how He brought them out of Egypt. How He had saved them. The miracles He had performed. How He had sustained them in the dessert. It was when they were punished, deprived of all they had, exiled from their Land, and having no Temple for proper worship. That was when they remembered Him. That was when they began to listen to Him again. That was when they were willing to humble themselves and follows His commands. That was when they began to seek His face.
Summary
In the New Covenant, we are the Temple of Holy Spirit. We are the Temple where God dwells. We are the place where proper worship should be performed. From our hearts, not from mental acquiescence to a rite or a rule. We should be looking to the Lord for the security of salvation. He is who we should trust in. We too can remember what He’s done for us. The miracles He has performed. The provision He provided. All of us have stories of needs met, sicknesses defeated, and things happening that can’t be explained any other way but God being good to us. Jesus told us to remember Him. To remember what He did for us. So that we would never forget. Never take for granted. So that we would worship Him properly. Acknowledging the truth of who He is and what He does for us. Worshipping Him in full from our hearts. Being worthy of the privilege in and through Jesus who makes us worthy.
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