July 27. 2021

A DWELLING PLACE WITH GOD

Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”  Haggai 1:3-6

Grasping the type/antitype principle in Scripture is easy.... except when the implied message gets personal and calls for changes! But, if you trust that our God sends a message out of purest love and that He is inviting you to prepare for His soon return, your response will be, “I’m listening, LORD! Help me to get ready and use me to help others!” 

And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.  Exodus 25:8

 Our Creator makes no secret of His desire to dwell among us. The temple is a beautiful illustration of His plan of salvation. Every element of it points to Jesus, our Emmanuel! He is the Shield, the Gate, the Lamb, the Water of Life, the Door, the Bread of Life, the Light of the world, the Intercessor, and the Lawgiver.  His mission in the first advent was to “destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)  We cannot truly fathom the costliness of His mission!

 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.   1 Corinthians 6:19-20

 Is He speaking to you in saying “Consider your ways!”? Does your “temple lie in ruins”? If your time, efforts, and earnings are spent on worldly comforts ahead of your relationship with Jesus, you are just a paneled house. Definitely not the best use of your abilities and resources; think of the bag with holes!  He desires your salvation and sanctification—and also that of others through your influence and example. 

 ...having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.  Ephesians 2:20-22