Thursday, August 4, 2016

II Chronicles 3:The Location Of The Temple

For the house of the Lord, not just any old location would do.  It had to be appropriate, and the one that was chosen for the Temple was special for a number of reasons.

First, it was in Jerusalem, the capital city of the united nation of Israel, the "City of David" taken from the Jebusites.  The Temple symbolized God's presence in the heart of the nation, at its seat of power with the king, and represented the permanence of Israel and God's working in her.

Second, the Temple was constructed on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.  This was at David's designation, for it was at this location that David had called out to God for mercy when the destroying angel was about to attack Jerusalem with a plague.  This plague had been sent as judgment upon David for recklessly numbering the Israelites in a census and getting a headcount of his fighting men, as if his battles were purely physical and not under the command of the Lord.  At this threshing floor, David had seen God halt the destroying angel's advance, sparing Jerusalem.  Having witnessed the evidence of God miraculously answering his prayers on behalf of the nation at this spot, David decided it would make a great location for the Temple.

Third, this chapter identifies the Temple's location as "Mount Moriah" (vs. 1).  You have to go back to Genesis 22:2 to see that this region is named as the area where Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac.  While we are not told specifically that this is the very same mountain, it is not a stretch to believe that here, where it was once said "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided," God had chosen to build His house.  The other candidate for this location is a nearby mount - Mount Calvary (Golgotha), where it truly was provided on our behalf, and God supplied the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

By this point, there is starting to be a lot of overlapping history in the Holy Land region!

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