How to become part of the Temple of God
Although the Lord’s promise to David that his offspring would sit on his throne and have the kingdom established forever ultimately spoke of the future Messiah, the choice of David’s successor to the throne was an extremely important decision. Like the Lord’s choice of David as king, David’s choice of Solomon was perhaps just as unpredictable, given the sons he already had and the circumstances regarding Bathsheba as mother of the new king. Solomon was chosen by David to be his successor to the throne, but the Bible records that the choice was actually the Lord’s. This was very significant because, chronologically, Solomon was the seventh son born to David, and Solomon’s mother was Bathsheba, with whom David had committed adultery.
It was David’s desire to build a house for God. The Lord responded by making David a promise that his son, the son of David, would build a house for the name of the Lord and sit on his throne of his kingdom forever.
“And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever”.
2 Samuel 7:12,13
David understood that he was not the one to build the house, but that it would be his son. When Solomon was still young, not only did David begin to assemble the materials for the house to be built, he announced that Solomon would be the builder of the house of the Lord.
Solomon did build a magnificent Temple to the Lord but within 34 years it began to fall into disrepair and much of the most costly materials in its structure were taken by nations invading the kingdom of Judah. Finally in 585 BC the city of Jerusalem was invaded and its inhabitants taken into captivity by the nation of Babylon. The Temple suffered great devastation. It was, in some measure, rebuilt when the Jews returned from Babylon 70 years later but it was a far cry from its former glory and magnificence.
However, the promise the Lord made to David would ultimately be fulfilled in the Lord’s son, Jesus. Jesus was born in the kingly line of David and, therefore, termed, “the son of David” (Matthew 1:1). Jesus would build a house for the Lord, but this house would not be made of bricks and mortar; this house would consist of people. In fact, Jesus was not only the builder of the house, but also the “chief corner stone” upon which the entire structure would rest.
The gospel message is one in which Jesus is seeking people who will follow him and be obedient to his Father in heaven. The death and resurrection of Jesus opened the door for Gentiles as well as Jewish people to become part of this building. The work of this “house” is not complete, as the Lord is still calling out, primarily from the Gentiles, a people to bear His name.
The apostle Peter in his first epistle speaks of this temple or spiritual house which is made up of God fearing people.
“Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby; If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house (temple), an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ”.
1 Peter 2:1-5
This great structure which will consist of people acceptable to God, will be God’s place of worship in the kingdom which is soon to be established upon the earth with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ as its king. It is to last forever as God’s promise to David states in 2 Samuel 7:13.
Illustration by Jeremy Park of Bible Scenes (freebibleimages.org) CCA-4.0.
