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Prior to the construction of the Temple the people of God wandered around in tents and had a special tent or tabernacle for God to live in.
When the people became settled King Solomon built a fabulous Temple that included the “Holy of Holies” for God to dwell in.
God inspired Nebuchadnezzar to punish his people Israel for their sins and destroyed the magnificent Temple that took Solomon seven years to build.
Seventy years later God inspired Cyrus King of Persia to rebuild the Temple under the guidance of Zerubbabel. That project lasted twenty-one years and was not as magnificent as Solomon’s Temple. Some of the older people who remembered Solomon’s Temple wept at what they considered a far lessor structure.
Perhaps some of that sorrow was because of what Ezekiel the prophet predicted what the new Temple would look like (Ez. 40-48). They took Ezekiel’s prophecy literally.
Later King Herod would take 45 years to rejuvenate and expand the second Temple and it was astoundingly beautiful to the disciples of Jesus.
But the Jews made the mistake again of a horrible sin and killed Jesus Christ. God sent the Romans in AD 70 and totally destroyed the Temple.
There won’t be anymore structural Temples for God to live in because God chose to live in his peoples… in their hearts… with his Holy Spirit and that is a far, far superior Temple than anything carpenters and builders could construct. And one that cannot be destroyed.
Make your lives and your bodies a place that God is proud to live in.
The conditions in Judea were deplorable. The Babylonians had carried off all of Jerusalem… the armies, the priests, the levites, the skilled workers and the royal family. All that was left in Judea were the poorest of the poor.
For the seventy years while their brethren were in Babylonia those left in Judea had no teaching, no sacrifices and no feast day celebrations. In fact they were surrounded by enemies and by those who hated them like the Samaritans, Philistines and other peoples of the land. They were barely surviving waiting on God’s promises.
However in Babylonia the Jews prospered. They became rich and powerful. Examples would be Daniel, Mordecai, Esther, Hannah, Mischael, Azariah, Ezra and Nehemiah. In Babylonia the Jews had all the best and all the brightest of their people including the priests and the scrolls of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and the Prophets that they had brought with them.
But God had not forgotten his wretched people in Judea and he inspired Cyrus King of the Persian empire and 43,000 Jews to leave Babylonia to rebuild Jerusalem, it’s Temple and it’s walls. Ezra would bring back the Hebrew scriptures that he had patched back together to rebuild the people.
In seventy years time few would remember or have been eye witnesses to the siege of Jerusalem and all of its horrors. And those who did remember would be elderly and at the end of their lives but they had passed down the stories to their children and their children’s children.
Never forget the names of Zerubabbel who led in the rebuilding of the Temple, Ezra who re-instituted the Law and Nehemiah who led in the rebuilding of the walls. Also, the contemporary prophet Haggai who encouraged the people to rebuild the Temple and the contemporary prophet Zechariah who prophesied about hope and restoration.
God always has a plan and is always true to his promises. Wait on him.
The New Testament is replete on the topic of Agape Love… the love that serves. It is commanded, examples are given and the theory behind it is discussed.
Agape/Love (especially towards our foes) is an identifying mark of who is and who is not a Christian. Agape/Love is a testimony to the world that God sent Jesus Christ. Agape/Love witnesses God’s wisdom to the spiritual world in Heavenly places.
Something in the scriptures that is implied but not stated is that Agape/Love can make us physically and emotionally healthy.
A quick search of Artificial Intelligence on the topic of how does Agape/Love benefit the giver and/or the receiver reveals these things (to name a few)
For the giver…
- increased happiness and life satisfaction. Acts of kindness triggers the release of feel good hormones in the brain.
- reduction and stress in anxiety
- greater emotional resilience
- a sense of purpose and meaning
- deeper emotional intimacy
- builds a more compassionate community and reduced social isolation
For the recipient…
- Deepens self-acceptance: Agape love embraces a person for their complete self, including all their flaws and vulnerabilities, without judgment. This unconditional acceptance from another person helps the recipient accept and embrace their own true self, overcoming feelings of guilt, shame, and hopelessness.
- Lowers stress and improves mood: The act of giving and receiving love has a positive physiological effect on the body. Love can lower stress hormones like cortisol and trigger the release of “feel-good" neurotransmitters like oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin.
So, a couple of learning points here. God doesn’t just give us meaningless commands like we’re some kind of lab rats. His commands are purposeful and *beneficial* to us. He wants us to be happy and healthy as we testify to the world.
Also, if we are depressed and stressed out or have any other kind of malady maybe the therapeutic benefits of practicing Agape/Love could be beneficial or even curative. It can’t hurt to try or even to “up our game” in that area. Think on these things.
Of course the Bible talks a lot about self control (for obvious reasons)… to please God you have to control your behavior. There is a standard of conduct that he expects. You can’t go the party if you’re not dressed right.
Most of the time we control ourselves because of negative consequences. For instance we obey the laws of the land so we don’t end up in jail. No one wants to go to jail so we obey the law even if we don’t like the law because we don’t like jail worse.
In addition, we control our behaviors so we don’t have the consequence of poor health. Recently I received a lab report that said my HbA1c was elevated so since I don’t want to be diabetic or have coronary disease I greatly reduced my sugar intake. You see, I not only want to live a long life but I also want to have a certain quality of life. Potential consequences force me to take self control measures. I do allow myself one teaspoon of sugar in my coffee once week.
Galatians 5 records a list of behaviors that need to be controlled because the consequence would be like having a thousand needles stuck in our eye. Our room mate for eternity would be Satan. You can dress a pig up and put lipstick and jewelry on her but she's still a pig and Satan will always be Satan.
Uncontrolled sexual desires can ruin families and reputations. Is it worth it? If not then control it.
Lack of control causes consequences. I know there are bad consequences and I know there are good consequences. I also know there is a pint of my favorite ice cream in the freezer but if I share it with Julie the consequences just turned from bad to good.
