Divine Purposes!

Hezekiah, king of Judah, was sandwiched between the reigns of a wicked father and a wicked son. He led the nation back to the worship of God, removing the high places where people had worshipped instead of the temple and tore down the altars of Baal. But when his son began to reign it appears Manasseh wasted no time undoing the good done by his father. He rebuilt the high places his father had torn down and set up altars for the worship of the Baals, and led in the worship of other gods, including the heavenly host. ( 2 Chronicles 33:1-3) But if that wasn’t enough…

“(4) And HE BUILT ALTARS IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” (5) And HE BUILT ALTARS FOR ALL THE HOST OF HEAVEN IN THE TWO COURTS OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD.” ( 2 Chronicles 33:4-5 ESV)

The TEMPLE of Jerusalem, the place where God’s name was to be forever, was to be the place where man would meet God in worship. It was the place that was to remind the nation God was in their presence. The TEMPLE built by Solomon -- not because God needed a house, for even Solomon acknowledged that such a place could not contain God ( 2 Chronicles 6:18) -- was a place for Divine purposes; worship and focusing on the sovereign Will of God.

Bringing idolatry into the TEMPLE of God! We may be shocked that anyone would even consider doing such a thing. We may even be careful what we bring into our church buildings. However, are we not guilty of the same when we live our lives after our own purposes rather than God’s.

Paul reminded the Corinthian brethren…
“(19) Or do you not know that YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT within you, whom you have from God? YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN, (20) for you were bought with a price. So GLORIFY GOD IN YOUR BODY.” ( 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV)

Even our flesh, though it was not intended to last forever, was not created merely for fleshly purposes. It was created in the image of God to serve His Divine purposes. What we bring into this TEMPLE (our body) and what we do with our lives could be just as idolatrous as Manasseh’s desecration of the TEMPLE set up in Jerusalem. There ought to be a concern regarding even what we bring into our minds.

If we need to do some TEMPLE cleaning (note Nehemiah 13:7-9) let us get busy without delay. God’s TEMPLE (our body) is to be holy and we should diligently strive to keep it that way. Let us sincerely focus on the Divine purposes God has in mind for the use of our body and lives. May He be glorified by the use and contents of the TEMPLE we have been given to possess, yet keeping in mind we are not our own, but belong to Him.

Have a great day LIVING WORSHIPFULLY TO GOD’S GLORY!
Carl

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