Whilst the Israelites wandered the wilderness and campaigned to claim the promised land their worship was conducted at the Tabernacle.
Once David had completed his work he wanted to build a permanent home for God in Jerusalem but God would not allow him to as he had the blood of battle on his hands, but he did allow David to make preparations so that his son Solomon could complete the Temple. God provided David with the exact blueprints for it and laid out what it would be built of and provided the resources for it to be constructed.
Essentially it is based on the plan of the Tabernacle but increased in all elements. He also added some elements. A wee porch and a couple of bronze pillars and some storerooms around the outside of the Temple itself. We'll come back to these shortly.
Now looking at it architecturally all of this is rather glorious, everything has its purpose, to worship God in compliance with the Laws. Its the spiritual heart of Israel and a symbol for all Jews that they are Gods chosen. Its also mentioned that its rebuilding as a sign of the coming end of days. And thats where most people leave it.
But Chuck and Nancy Missler ask us to look a little deeper. Read the Old Testament through the New and reveal a deeper meaning to this. Lets start with 1 Cor 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
What is Paul saying here. How about Eph 2:22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Or even 2 Cor 5:16 For we are the temple of the living God
Could there be something more on this detailed plan given to David, the Temple built not by David but his Son. So lets look at this plan (borrowing one of Chucks slides here):
So we have the Holy of Holies. It is the place where the ark of the covenant sat along with the mercy seat, the seat of God. In our terms it is representing the new spirit of the believer, Gods Spirit within us as we are reborn accepting Jesus as our Savior.
Next is the Holy Place where the man sacrifices and worship were conducted. It represents our new Heart, brought into being by the entrance of Christ in us.
Lets check out Eze 36:25-27 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you. Sounds convincing so far.
Moving out we come across the Porch. This is a transition in the Temple from the holy inner area which is incased on gold to the area which deals with sin and contains objects of bronze. This is representative of the believer living in Gods Will not our own will and the transition from the spiritual to the flesh. It is the conscious decision of letting God enter and guide our lives and when we listen to the guards at the door, the giant bronze pillars named Jachin and Boaz, we let the light of the new Spirit and new Heart flow out into the world through our flesh. Did I mention what the guards names mean? Jachin is "in his counsel" and Boaz is "in his strength".
This porch is one of the most important parts of our lives as a Christian. It is where we make that conscious decision to follow Gods counsel and live in his strength and not our own strength: Prov 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
If we replace Gods will will our will and start making decisions in the conscious mind based on emotion and desire instead of on faith, we close the door on the inner heart and spirit, and the power of sin starts to take hold of our lives.
The Inner Court is the place of dealing with sin. It is where the sacrifices were made and the priests cleansed themselves before entering the Holy Place. It is representing our conscious Soul. The Greek word for soul is 'psyche' which has a two fold root. It can mean either "it shall have life" or "it shall wax cold". Interestingly this can represent a Spirit filled life or an empty cold space devoid of love. The Soul is designed to reflect the inner beauty, to be filled with the life of God emanating from the inner spirit.
The Chambers which are in the outer court are our subconscious, the hidden parts of our Soul. Interestingly these were used by the Priests to hide their idols and private possessions. In the same way, it is the place where we hide out darkest secrets.
The Outer Court is our Body. This is the part of us exposed to the world, the part that is exposed to sin. It is also the part of us that demonstrates the inner to the world, it should show the light of Gods Spirit shining forth.
So with this understanding we can look at an oft quoted commandment Mark 12:30 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.
All your mind, your Spirit that fills you
All your heart, that God has given you
All your soul that reflects the inner you and the decision to live in Gods strength and will
All your strength of your body that carries the other parts through this world and displays the inner love of God to the rest of the world in the way we live.
I have barely scratched the surface of this topic, and Nancy Missler has a series of sermons at The King’s High Way Ministries that cover this in wonderful detail and with great insight and to which I am much indebted for content in this answer. Once again the connection between the Old and New Testaments, the layered meaning of Gods word and the depth of reward from seeking out the hidden truths leads me to a level of understanding that pushes me forward to seek even more.
