The Temple of the Lord

The Jerusalem Temple was the most sacred place on earth for the Jewish people in the Old Testament. David began the collection of the materials that would be used in the construction of the Temple that would be built by Solomon (3700 tons gold and 35,000 tons silver). The frame was constructed of the fabled cedars of Lebanon; its stone was so expertly quarried that no tools were used in the final construction. And every inch of the Temple’s interior and furnishings was overlaid with gold. But Solomon’s Temple wasn't holy because of its expensive materials and lavish construction; it was holy because of was God’s Temple! When the Temple was dedicated, the glory of God filled it (2 Chron 5:13). This Temple reminded the Jews God was present among them; He was “the Holy One of Israel among you” (Isa. 12:6). The Temple was at the center of Jewish religious life-- it was where sacrifices were offered and the priests ministered.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the Temple... it became real estate. A tour guide showing off the sights of Jerusalem might say, “The king lives over there, the high priest lives here and God lives on the big house on the hill.” The Jews were convinced that God would never allow barbarians at the gate to destroy Jerusalem because God's house was there and He'd never allow His property to be so devalued. After all, when did God save Jerusalem from the Assyrians under Sennacherib? It was when Hezekiah went to the Temple to show God the pagan’s threats! As long as the Jews had had the Temple of the Lord, they didn't need to fear the foreign invaders.

So it makes sense that when Jeremiah warns of the coming end of days for the Jewish nation, they pointed to the Temple as their salvation. Jeremiah preaches his most celebrated sermon on Jeremiah 7,  the so-called “Temple Sermon.” He preached it at the Temple, and he preached it about the Temple. It wasn't his favorite sermon; in fact, it wasn't his sermon at all.  It was God’s. Three times in the opening three verses of Jeremiah 7, he says this is “the word of the Lord.”  

 3 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. 9 “ ‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord. 

Judah was trusting in her religious heritage and religious forms. After all, they were the people of God and the people of the Temple.  And yet, Jeremiah warns them of a coming destruction and calls them to repent. They refused to hear because they had their hands over their ears screaming, “The Temple of the Lord…” (7:5).  They saw the their Temple religion as proof they were accepted by God. Sure, they lived like the pagans around them with their idols and their ethics (7:9). But they were safe in their Temple and free to continue their sin (7:10). Jeremiah twice calls this reliance on the Temple “deceptive words” (4, 8). His message is that you can't live like the pagans and escape the judgment on pagans. Pointing to the Temple of the Lord was not going to be enough. Why?  Because God was not nearly as impressed by worship rites  and rituals as the Jews wanted to believe (7:5-7). God could not be bought off by worship at the Temple of the Lord!

And that is the point for us as well-- God isn't nearly as impressed by our worship as we want to think.  God isn't as fixated on what we do on Sundays as we are.  He isn't as focused as we are on our by letter-of-the-law correctness in following patterns of worship that may or may not be implied by scripture.  He isn't as moved as we are by our joyful enthusiasm and passionate praise.  He isn't nearly as impressed as we are by our creativity and imagination in presenting our worship. Sure, all those things impress us, and some of those things lead us to choose one church over the other.  And those are also the things we might point to as proof of our faithfulness.  But that is the same kind of pride that caused Judah to point to the Temple!

When we base our identity (and thus our security) on what we do or don't do in our Sunday worship while not focusing so much on how we live daily before God, then we place ourselves squarely in the crosshairs of Jeremiah’s Temple sermon. Israel cried out to Jeremiah, “The Temple of the Lord…” We cry out, “I go to church, the right church, the church that worships right…” And if our lives don't reflect the things that God cares about the most, then pointing to how we do church will make about as much difference as the Temple made to the Jews.  A generation before Jeremiah, Micah sums what God is really looking for, and it was nothing to do with the Temple, “What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Mic 6:8).

The Call of Jeremiah

Today’s reading in our relentless march (or continuing crawl) through the Old Testament begins the book of Jeremiah and Jeremiah’s call as a prophet. God tells Jeremiah that he has set Jeremiah apart as His prophet since before he was born (1:5). Jeremiah immediately begins to make excuses, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young” (1:6).  Arguing youth is an interesting excuse since God said He had given Jeremiah the job before he was born! Twice in this opening God assures Jeremiah, “For I am with you and will rescue you” (8, 19). He will make Jeremiah “fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall.” That promise is repeated several times later in the book (see Jer 15:20).

Jeremiah was set apart as God's prophet, but his ministry as a prophet would not be an easy one.  God tells Jeremiah from the beginning that times were going to be hard.  The barbarians were at the gate and God's people would be punished (1:15-16).  Jeremiah was going to sounds the warning, but no one was going to listen to him.

• Jeremiah is not going to have a prophetic ministry like that of Jonah. You recall that Jonah preached one sermon and all of Nineveh responded in sackcloth; few would listen and fewer would respond to Jeremiah's sermons.
  
•  Jeremiah is also not going to have a ministry like Isaiah who was the confidant and adviser of kings; Jeremiah would be a pariah to  most of the kings to whom he preached... and persecuted by them.

I think we can understand Jeremiah's reluctance to take on this job!  But God promises that He would be with Jeremiah and would make him an iron pillar and a bronze wall. But what did that mean? Well, it's obvious what it doesn't mean! God’s presence with Jeremiah didn't mean everything would going to go nice and easy for him. God’s presence with Jeremiah would mean hard times and real struggles. Jeremiah would not pray the “Prayer of Jabez” and receive expanded territory and success! Jeremiah’s faithfulness would not mean the health-n-wealth in all its forms that are sometimes promised as the reward for faithfulness today. 

God's promise to Jeremiah was that no matter what he was called to endure, he would never endure it alone. The promise was not that there would be no struggles; the promises was that God would lead him through all His struggles. God’s promise to Jeremiah was “They will fight against you!” But the rest of that promise was “I am with you and will rescue you.” God’s ultimate promise isn't success or prosperity. The promise was that if Jeremiah was faithful, he would receive God himself. Whatever struggles and opposition he would face, he would never face them alone. And that is the promise God makes to us. Whatever our struggles and hardships, we are not alone. God is with us, God’s Spirit is in us, and God’s people are beside us. God never promises that we will not struggle; He does promise that we will never have to struggle alone!

One Thing

This is the classic (though slightly edited) scene from the movie City Slickers. Several eastern urbanites with issues at home go on vacation together to a dude ranch out west where they work as cowboys. The trail boss, an old crusty cowboy named Curly (Jack Palance), pulled aside one of the city slickers (Billy Crystal). "One thing!" he said. "Life is all about one thing." When Billy Crystal asked what that one thing was, Curly said that he would have to find that out for himself. The secret of life is that there is one thing... and it's our job to find out what that is. "One thing!"

That reflects several scenes from the life of Jesus. One is in Luke 10 where Lazarus' sisters Mary and Martha are entertaining Jesus. Or rather, Martha is preparing to entertain Jesus with all the details of cooking and cleaning that go along with that while Mary is sitting and listening to Jesus. Mary finally lashes out at Mary... and at Jesus Himself, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me" (Luke 10:40, ESV). Mary wasn't pulling her fair share of the housework, and it was Jesus' fault for monopolizing all of her time! Jesus replies gently, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary" (Luke 10:41, ESV). OK, Guys, when you are getting ready for company and your wife is rushing around fussing over all the details, I strongly suggest you NOT use this "Martha, Martha" line. Jesus' point here isn't that meal preparation with all of it's attendant details is unimportant. His point was that Martha, like Mary, needed to find out what was her one thing.

That scene from City Slickers is also mirrored in Mark 12:29-31. Here Jesus has been fielding a series of hot potato questions tossed to him by enemies. After sweeping aside their petty arguments, Jesus is approached by a teacher of the law who is impressed by His answers, and he has a question of his own, "Of all the commandments, which is most important?" Listen to the Lord's answer (Mark 12:29-31, ESV).

The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.

God's kingdom is a single-minded love for and pursuit of God. His oneness is the central fact of our faith, and our "one thing" must be all about God. The greatest command is love God heart, soul, mind, and strength. One of the struggles we face as Christians is that we pulled in so many different directions by so many different things. Not only are there things competing for our time and our attention; these things are also competing for our loyalty. Our world tells us that there are many things that are important.  That's why Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler to give all to the poor and follow Jesus. He told him, "You still lack one thing" (Luke 18:22). The Ruler was unwilling to make God his "one thing" because his wealth and position were already occupying that position.  His "one thing" wasn't God.

What is our one thing?  Have we figured that out yet?

I'm Just Saying

I remember hearing comedian Paul Reiser (of “Mad About You” fame) do a stand-up routine based on the phrase “I’m just saying.” Where he grew up, you could say anything you want to say, no matter how outrageous or hurtful, as long you added, "Hey, I'm just saying." What may be insulting by itself really isn't as long as you add “I’m just saying” to the beginning or end or both. Because... you’re just saying. So Reiser would then go around insulting people in his audience and add his disclaimer. “Ma’am, that is one ugly baby you have there. Hey, I’m just saying.” That's not hurtful; he's just saying.

 Reiser's routine was really very funny... and also very, very wrong. Things that are said often do hurt others. We may want to believe that “sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never harm me.” But we all know that this really isn't true—words hurt. James warns us about the unlimited power of our words to destroy, "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell" (James 3:6). An entire section of this epistle (James 3:1-12) is devoted to warnings about our language. I'm just saying.

I ran across an article on Christian Post entitled “Poisonous Recipe: How to Destroy Your Church” that illustrates the power of our words to destroy. The article suggests how we can go about tearing up the church with the power of thoughtless, hurtful language. Here’s a partial list--

1. Be a whisperer or gossip (Proverbs 16:28) 
2. Hold others to a higher standard than yourself (Proverbs 11:9) 
3. Assume the worst of others (Psalm 41:7) 
4. Listen to rumors against others (Proverbs 17:4) 
5. Repeat every rumor you hear (Proverbs 17:9) 

Paul warns us not to use language that tears people down, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" (Eph. 4:29). The next verse adds, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…" Not only can we hurt others when we misuse words, the Holy Spirit is disappointed with us as well! Paul warns against things like “slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder” (2 Cor 12:20), “obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking” (Eph. 5:4) and “malice, slander, and filthy language” (Col 3:8).

So let’s hear no more of that "I'm just saying" nonsense. The words we use are extremely important. In fact. Jesus says, "For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matt 12:37). I’m just saying.

Are You Comfortable?

I was watching a ball game Saturday and noticed that Bella, our little Maltese, was going to an awful lot of trouble to get comfortable.  She went on and on on for several minutes before I got the bright idea to film her, and then it took me awhile to get the camera rolling.  What looks like a minute here probably took her 4-5 minutes.

Sometimes she'll do this same little dance in my lap before settling in.  And when she goes to all that trouble, you really do hate to disturb her for something as petty as getting up to go to work or get a sandwich.  And when you do, she looks at you with a combination of hurt and disbelief.  Bella takes getting comfortable very seriously indeed!

I'm afraid I probably do too; I like to be comfortable.   I was, after all, sitting in my easy chair watching a ball game while musing over Bella's comfort dance.  Or course, I have given Lynn the new comfortable chair and have taken the one that hurts her back-- my easy chair doesn't count as all that easy.  And the football game I was watching Wake Forest play Duke-- that doesn't really count as football. We don't have cable, so I don't have access to all the ESPN goodies that less spiritual people enjoy.  But I was pretty comfortable... and I liked it.

I ran across a quotation from Francis Chan in a video presentation that reminded me of the fact that "God has never called anyone to be comfortable."  One of the reasons Moses comes up with excuse after excuse in Exodus 3-4 was that he was pretty comfortable tending sheep in Midian.  If you translate "I am not a good speaker" or "I'm from an obscure family" or "they won't listen to me" really comes across as "Lord, I'm really pretty comfortable in Midian tending sheep."  God had other ideas; He usually does.  And He often has some choice things to say to people who get too comfortable; these texts make me uncomfortable--

Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come! (Amos 6:1)

But God drags away the mighty by his power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life. He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are on their ways. (Job 24:22-23) 

Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure, lounging in your security and saying to yourself, 'I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children.'  (Isaiah 47:8)

It was when Nebuchadnezzar was "at home in my palace, contented and prosperous" that God sent him the vision that made him afraid (Daniel 4:4-5).  Isaiah has harsh and stern words for the women of Israel who were "complacent" and felt "secure" (Isaiah 32:9-13).   Jesus tells of the Rich Fool who was so comfortable in his prosperity that he said to himself "Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry" (Luke 12:19-21).

So maybe we should be really uncomfortable when we get a little too comfortable!  That reminds me of something Dad would say before giving me my next chore he expected me to jump up and get done.  He'd say, "Don't get comfortable."  Maybe God is telling us the same thing?