Lessons in Temple Building
Lesson #5 - Avoiding Temple Desecration
Duct tape is an amazing creation of man. The armed forces created it, used for the waterproofing of equipment. They quickly learned the enormous amount of uses. Even today, a few people have created television shows to create new and interesting functions for the sticky substance. Although, the history of duct tape may be an interesting pursuit, but its history is not the function we would like to look at more closely. I hope that it does not disappoint someone that we will not talk a half an hour on the history of duct tape. This function is its sticky nature. A person learns quickly that the first application is the best it will ever have. After repeated use of the substance the stickiness quickly evaporates, which leaves the piece of tape useless. Our relationships are very similar. Whether it is a marriage, friendship, kinship, or an acquaintance when the tape is used indiscriminately our relationship is disconnected. How can we avoid such turmoil and horrible situations? Even further, how can we keep from transgressing against God? Therefore, how can we avoid desecrating the Lord’s temple? The Israelites after Solomon’s death begin to use God indiscriminately, and soon His patience would wear out.
A few years following the completion of the Solomon’s temple, Solomon dies and Rehoboam begins his reign as king over Israel. Israel speedily takes a nosedive in morality and unity. Jeroboam leads a rebellion dividing the kingdom. Unity Israel will never have again. The kingdom divides geographically between a northern kingdom (Israel) and a southern kingdom (Judah). All for reasons based upon greed, pride, and politics. When there is a divided nation, a divided temple follows. Jeroboam shortly after the revolt recognizes that Rehoboam has the great Solomon’s temple. He reasoned, if he did not create a solution to not having the temple, it would not be long before his people would desert him to return to Judah. His mind racing, he decides to establish idols in the northern kingdom. He sets up high places dedicated to gods like Baal and Asheroth. He exclaims these gods really brought the children of Israel from Egypt, and sadly, the people believe every word Jeroboam professes. (1 Kings 12:26-31)
More distressful is the response given by Rehoboam. Rehoboam could have explained that the true God is Jehovah, and has demonstrated that fact throughout their history. No, he could not do the faithful act and give God the glory. How could he give God the glory, he is in the middle of a political struggle. The people want to worship these other gods, and of course, they know best. Instead, he responds to the threats of Jeroboam by creating high places himself. (1 Kings 14:22-27) In just a few years after the dedication of the temple, it has lost its significance and the people have not held their commitment.
As history progresses, Asa uses the temple treasury to buy peace. (1 Kings 15) Ahaz, later, builds a new altar like the one in Damascus. Its purpose was to be a high place for another god. (2 Kings 16:10-12) Desecrating the Lord’s temple further, Manasseh puts an idol to Asheroth in the temple. (2 Kings 21:1-7) The Lord, assuredly, has had enough of this disgraceful attitude of the Israelites. He can no longer let these people bring disgrace to His name. Therefore, he then sends the prophet Ezekiel to prophesy concerning Israel’s coming Judgment.
Ezekiel 8:1-18 “In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign LORD came upon me there. I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man. From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal. He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God; he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance to the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood. And there before me was the glory of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain. Then he said to me, "Son of man, look toward the north." So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol of jealousy. And he said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing-- the utterly detestable things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable." Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. He said to me, "Son of man, now dig into the wall." So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there. And he said to me, "Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here." So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and detestable animals and all the idols of the house of Israel ... Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them."
I would say God was indignantly upset with the children of Israel. In 2 Kings 25 the fall of Jerusalem finally occurs. In 587 BC, 380 years after the construction of the temple, the Babylonian king destroys Solomon’s temple.
“In him (Christ) the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:21-22) Learning from the past gives us an advantage to keep from desecrating the Lord’s temple. We study history so that we do not continue the mistakes of the past. With Christ as the chief cornerstone, the temple does rise to become the holy dwelling of God. The cycle of history easily traps and if we are not careful, we will have done what the Israelites did. They desecrated the Lord’s temple. Will we, also, desecrate the temple? History will be the judge of that.
It is obvious how personally we desecrate our temples. Accordingly, Christians categorized some acts as sin because of this reasoning. Anything that you place within the body that brings harm is a sin. These sins are such things like smoking, excessive drinking, gluttony, etc. According to a congressional testimony given April 16, 2002 to the House of Representatives, 160,000 Americans die of lung cancer a year. The overall cure rate for lung cancer is about 10%. 85% of the lung cancers found are late stage and are essentially incurable. Tobacco addiction is the number one cause of lung cancer. In addition, tobacco addiction is responsible for many other premature deaths. Smoking is a sin, because you are destroying the temple of God.
In cirrhosis of the liver, scar tissue replaces normal, healthy tissue, blocking the flow of blood through the organ and preventing it from working, as it should. Cirrhosis is the eighth leading cause of death by disease, killing about 25,000 people per year. It is true that cirrhosis of the liver is cause by multiple items, but chronic alcohol consumption is the leading cause for the ailment.
The desecration of your body is serious business; it never should be taken lighthearted. There were testimonies concerning cirrhosis of the liver case of which I encountered that grabbed my heart. Let me though tell you about one of them. Lorraine started experimenting with drugs at the ripe old age of 15. By 17 she experimented with heroin and at 21 she was selling her body on the streets of Glasgow, England -but at 34, Lorraine McEwan was told she only had three months to live. After almost 20 years of drug addiction, Lorraine had advanced cirrhosis of the liver and desperately needed a transplant. Her kidneys were also failing. Thankfully, she chose to turn her life around by admitting herself into a detox center. By getting off the drugs her liver would return to working order. My point is this: smoking, drugs and alcohol are all sins, because they destroy the temple of God. Be wary of the consequences of either of these addictions.
One other addiction not talked about much is food. Gluttony is a sin in the same category. According to American Obesity Association, obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States. 127 million Americans are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese. Obesity increases the risk of illness for about 30 serious medical conditions. America’s addiction to food is a growing problem that is increasing beyond the boundaries of adulthood into adolescence. Gluttony is a sin, because it destroys the temple of God.
Temple desecration is a real possibility for everyone, but remember Ephesians 2:21-22 “In him (Christ) the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Corporately as a body of believers, how can we avoid desecrating this temple of our living God? 1 Corinthians 10:6-14 says,
"Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did-- and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did-- and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did-- and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.”
We can look at these examples of Israel and see ourselves in these same people. We, too, are driven to place items before God; not having Him in the first place of our lives. We, though, have a historical example of what happens to a nation, even a nation selected by God, who does not continue in God’s law. We need to flee from sin, instead living for righteousness. The desecration of Solomon’s temple teaches us three principles that we must place within our lives.
The first is quite simple: remain faithful. Boy is that easier said than done. It is true that we will stumble within our walk as a Christian, but the trick is to get back up and continue on the path of righteousness. Clarence Jordan was a man of unusual abilities and commitment. He had two Ph.D.s, one in agriculture and one in Greek and Hebrew. So gifted was he, he could have chosen to do anything he wanted. He chose to serve the poor. In the 1940’s, he founded a farm in Americus, Georgia, and called it koinonia farm. It was a community for poor whites and poor blacks. As you might guess, such an idea did not go over well in the Deep South of the ’40’s. Ironically, much of the resistance came from good church people who followed the laws of segregation as much as the other folks in town. The town people tried everything to stop Clarence. They tried boycotting him, and slashing worker’s tires when they came to town. Repeatedly, for fourteen years, they tried to stop him. Finally, in 1954, the Ku Klux Klan had had enough of Clarence Jordan, so they decided to get rid of him once and for all. They came one night with guns and torches set fire to every building on Koinonia farm, except Clarence’s house, which they riddled with bullets.
And they chased off all the families except one black family, which refused to leave. Clarence recognized the voices of many clansmen, and, as you might guess, some of them were church people. Another was the local newspaper’s reporter. The next day the reporter came out to see what remained of the farm. The rubble still smoldered and the land was scorched, but he found Clarence in the field, hoeing and planting. “I heard the awful news,” he called to Clarence, “and I came out to do a story on the tragedy of your farm closing.” Clarence just kept hoeing and planting. The reporter kept prodding kept poking, trying to get a rise from the quietly determined man who seemed to be planting instead of packing his bags. So, finally, the reporter said in a haughty voice, “Well, Dr. Jordan, you got two of them Ph.D.s and you’ve put fourteen years into this farm, and there’s nothing left of it at all. Just how successful do you think you’ve been?”
Clarence stopped hoeing, turning toward the reporter with his penetrating blue eyes, and said quietly but firmly, “About as successful as the cross. Sir, I do not think you understand us. What we are about is not success, but faithfulness. We are staying. Good day.” Beginning that day, Clarence and his companions rebuilt Koinonia and the farm is still going strong today. Remain faithful!
Rejecting other gods is the second avenue to pursue if we want to keep from desecrating the Lord’s temple. God was infuriated with the people of Israel when they placed before him other gods. Idols shaped by the hands of men, and placed before men as if they were gods. Simply reject idols in your life and place God in the pilot seat.
Remember the dedication of the temple is the third avenue to pursue if we want to keep from desecrating the Lord’s temple. Our whole-hearted obedience, praise, fellowship and sacrifice are essential to keep the temple in a healthy state. Paul gave some significant advice in keeping the temple from being desecrated.
Avoid the temptations in your life by first being a living sacrifice for God. ”Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2) Avoid the temptations of this life by fleeing impurity. “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” (Ephesians 5:3) Avoid the temptations of immorality by giving thanksgiving. “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” (Ephesians 5:4) Finally flee from the temptation by continually remembering whose child you are. “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person-- such a man is an idolater-- has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore, do not be partners with them. For, you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:5-8)
Each of us each day has significant choices to make concerning the holy temple in which we live. Sin has been categorized in many ways, but one categorization is how we treat our holy temples. Whether it is drugs, alcohol, smoking, excessive food; anything out of balance needs to be looked at closely. We must strive to live holy lives. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and ive a life of love, just as Christ loved us and game himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)
Are you struggling with keeping your temple pure? Thankfully our God is a forgiving God, giving us ample time to change our lives. Praise to Him who forgives and forgets. We are here as a body of believers for the encouragement and building up of each other. Please come and express your needs after this quote.
A quote from the movie Hoosiers, “Forget about the crowds, the size of the school, their fancy uniforms, and remember what got you here, focus on the fundamentals we have gone over time and time again, and most importantly don’t get caught up thinking about winning and losing this game. If you put your efforts and concentration on playing to your potential, being the best you can be, I don’t care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game; in my book we’re going to be winners.”
