II Chronicles 4: Temple Talk

If you are reading the Bible straight through, you may wonder why so much time is spent on the construction of the Temple.  For instance, II Chronicles 4 goes into great detail concerning the Temple furnishings.  Why does the Bible dwell on this topic?

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the Temple to classic Judaism.  Solomon's permanent structure replaced the "movable tent" of the Tabernacle that was first shown to Moses.  Its design came straight from heaven (see Exodus 25-30 and Hebrews 9 for more on that!)  With the Temple, God didn't necessarily have a home - but His worship did!  The Temple became the center of the faith.

With a functioning Temple, a professional priesthood was able to ritualize the worship of Yahweh.  This they did through Psalms (many of which date to this era), sacrifices, and teaching.  The Temple itself symbolized the Presence of God with the people, evidence that they are, in fact, His chosen people.  There could be nothing more important as far as the Jewish religion was concerned.

This also helps to explain why speaking against the Temple was considered such a crime in the New Testament.  Jesus was accused of saying He would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days.  Stephen was stoned after he pointed out that God does not inhabit the Temple.  Paul was nearly torn apart because it was thought he had brought an uncircumcised Greek into the Temple.

With such importance ascribed to the Temple, it is no wonder that the Jews were so devastated when both the Babylonians and Romans destroyed the Temple (built and then rebuilt on the same spot) as well as when the Greeks desecrated it.  Even now, there are some Jews who long for the day when the Temple will be rebuilt and all of its functions go back once more into operation.  They are somewhat at a loss until then as there is no Temple today.

But for Christians, this lack of a Temple is not a problem.  We understand that the real Temple is the place where God's Spirit resides.  For us, that's us!  The Temple continues to be central and important in the Christian faith - it's just that we believe it not to be a building, but ourselves as we are inhabited by the Presence of the Holy Spirit!