Text: Ezra 5:3 – 6:22
Proposition: To grasp the significance of the Temple is to not only gain better understanding of Scripture it grants a better knowledge and faith in Christ.
Introduction: A number of years ago a friend of mine was doing a renovation in an old log cabin in the Yukon and as they ripped out the wall board they found this old coat that had been stuffed into the wall, probably as insulation against the wind and cold. When they went through the pockets in the coat they discovered an old Bank of British North America bill for ten British pounds. Maybe you’ve had a similar experience where you found this curiosity, it used to be of considerable value but now it is just an historic artifact, something that is interesting but of little practical use. Perhaps today this is precisely the view that many have when it comes to the topic of the Temple. It’s interesting, even intriguing, but as far as right now is concerned it really doesn’t mean much. For the last number of weeks we’ve been working through the book of Ezra and its focus is the repatriation of the peoples back to the land of Israel after being in captivity for 70 years. Their goal as they returned was to rebuild the Temple, and we’ve been following that through the first 4 chapters of Ezra. Here’s the thing, was this just a fixation of the Jews from Babylon or was it a God driven thing, was it something that God orchestrated into existence? If so, does it have meaning for today? We know king Solomon built the first Temple and it lasted almost 400 years until the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar had it destroyed. Now Ezra is describing a second Temple, probably around 530BC. We know that it lasted through the Persian empire, through the Greek empire and well into the Roman empire. It was there when Jesus was taken as an infant and brought into it to be dedicated there by Mary and Joseph. This Temple lasted until about 70AD when the Romans finally destroyed it. It was about 700AD when the Muslims, who then had possession of Jerusalem, built the Dome of the Rock in the area of where the Second Temple had been. What can we learn from these early Temple constructions, it is for us an unavoidable topic as we work through the book of Ezra in chapters 5 and 6, but especially 5:5; 6:14; 6:22.
I. The Temple, Whose Idea Was It… If you read chapters 5 and 6 you see the same kind of irony that is in the book of Esther when God sovereignly overrules the opposition in order to further His purposes in His people. It becomes clear that the idea of building the Second Temple originates with God and that’s really no surprise to you. In Ezra 6:3 we see some of the Temples’ dimensions on record, we know that it was built with two courts, the outer having huge stones put together to form an altar for burnt offerings, a laver for ceremonial washing, and some other unique furnishings. The inner court or Holy of Holies was also rebuilt in this Second Temple, even though the ark of the covenant was long since missing. But the idea of the Temple is clearly God’s, He ensured it’s construction (5:5), He clearly commanded it (6:14) He used it for His sovereign glory( 6:22). So let’s ask the next question…
II. The Temple, What Were It’s Essential Purposes… This can seem like a simple question because we know it was intended to be used as ‘THE’ place of sacrifice, but is that all? Before we answer this let’s remember that whenever the Temple was destroyed, or taken away from the people, Israel fell apart. The Temple is what God used to keep Israel together. Consider the actions described in 6:17, they sacrificed 12 male goats, one for each tribe of Israel even though these were just 2 tribes, Judah and Benjamin, that came back to the land. There is a great lesson here in how we are to remember all of who we are as the church, even when we separated by various issues. Consider the Temples purposes:
1. Sin was expiated or paid for in this place, though only past sin and partially.
2.The offerings of the people were brought here, thank offerings, burnt offerings, vow offerings, offerings of cleansing, redemption of the first born son, offerings of dedication, first fruit, tithes.
3.The judicial system’s authority came from the Temple. It was here that law suits were arbitrated and issues of social justice presided over.
4. The lineage of all the families of the tribes of Israel were kept at the temple. When the temple was destroyed, there was no more record of inheritance. Without lineage records, it would be impossible to tell who rightly owned what.
5. The Temple was where people came to hear the oracles or word of God for instruction and guidance.
6. The Temple was where Blessings and Dedications were received and given.
7. The Temple was a place of Benevolence, a place where the needy received help.
8. The Temple was where God’s name dwelt. His name was the reputation of His person, His name is an avenue of His power, His name represents His presence.
III. The Temple Was Then, What About Now… It was Jesus who predicted that the Second Temple would be torn down and that He would rebuild it again in three days and by that He meant His body would be resurrected from the dead and that He would be the new Temple. He would fulfill all that it had been pointing to, the place of the propitiation of sin, the place where the name of God is, the place where justice is and where man can know and worship God Almighty. The resurrection of the body of Jesus not only declared that sin was completely atoned for through His perfect body and blood sacrificed on the cross, it now moved the Temple from being in a singular place. Instead of man coming to the Temple, now the Temple would come to man. Now the name of God would dwell in this new Temple. Paul describes it in Eph. 3:15-19:
“ Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
The power, purposes and passion of God the Father reside in Jesus and now Jesus brings that to reside in you through faith. The prayer of John 17 is about this very thing, “I in them and Thou in Me that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me.” This is the Third Temple, and it has become the next meeting place for God and man and it prepares the way for the final Temple. It is what was described by Isaiah when he saw the Lord sitting in the Temple, it is a setting in heaven that one day will be an earthly setting in a place called the New Jerusalem. Consider the words of the Apostle John , “ I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”- Rev. 21:22Today the Temple resides in the people of faith in Christ Jesus. In this Temple it is God who prescribes how man shall approach Him, He defines the sacrifice that is mandatory for life, He issues blessing and mercy and justice and instruction from His Temple through His priests. The issues of worship, oneness, social justice, the care of the poor and the bearing of truth and the sacrifices of thanksgiving, these are what the Temple is to be about today. You the church are for now,this Temple.