Reverence for the house of God is something we are severely lacking in the modern age. This is applicable to the modern church buildings that are more entertainment centers rather than places of worship, but also to the true House of God that will one day sit on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. In spite of our irreverent society, God calls you to revere His place in the 21st positive commandment.
P21 – To revere this house, as Leviticus 19:30 states: “And revere My sanctuary.[1]“
The literal view
There are two directions to reveal this command in the writings of the New Testament. The first is in regard to the Temple in Jerusalem. I talked about this in the previous post – the Jewish people are actively working toward building the third Temple; a topic that will continue to come up as I journey through the commandments of God. Within Christianity, there is often tremendous misunderstanding and misapplication of Scripture regarding this topic. For that reason, I too often hear Christians bemoan the efforts to rebuild the Temple. While our hearts may be in the right place, we are unfortunately falling captive to the enemy’s lies. Satan has successfully convinced much of the Body to abandon their reverence for the House of God, His Holy Mountain, and His Holy City, Jerusalem.
In their effort, the Jewish people are doing as God commanded. No stretch of imagination can successfully construe their work as sin or against the wishes of Jesus. Only the lies of Satan suggest such things. The Jewish people are keeping to their covenantal promises. Returning to covenant faithfulness was precisely what the entire ministry of Jesus was about. Yes, they may not yet know their Messiah by name, but the Temple is going to play a role in His return and in His Kingdom. Ultimately, the Temple will be the house of prayer for all nations, so in spite of any discomfort or confusion it may illicit, the Temple still has incredible purpose.
In Revelation we see a parallel with Ezekiel’s vision of the Temple when John is commanded to measure the House, but not the outside which is left for the nations to trample.
Revelation 11:1–2 (ESV)
1 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
When I read this idea of the nations trampling the holy city, I see an allusion to a *lack* of reverence for what God deems holy. In my eyes, this is one of several views in the writings of the Apostles where we see the reverence toward the Temple. Those who love the Temple revere it. Those who don’t will trample the places God holds dear.
The Revelation verse isn’t the only reference toward revering God’s Temple in the New Testament. Reverence of the sanctuary is prevalent in these writings if you’re watching for it. Paul made haste to return to Jerusalem for a High Holiday and it wasn’t just for good fellowship. (Acts 20:16) Another event that demonstrates the reverence Yeshua has for His Father’s house is that of the cleansing of the Temple.
Mark 11:15–19 (ESV)
15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city.
Just as it is today, reverence for the House of God was waning during the ministry of Yeshua. In the story recounted in the Gospels, vendors had moved into the Holy Precinct of the Temple and to say it frustrated Yeshua would be an understatement.
Comparing that story with our modern Christian culture, it brings to my mind the few times I’ve visited mega churches. I can’t speak to all of them, but those that I have visited all seem to have multiple shops in the lobby making a profit for the ministry as people flow in. It breaks my heart to see the children’s “ministry” in these buildings. Rather than truly immersing the next generation in the faith and teachings of our Master, children are enrolled in something more akin to a theme park for an hour while the parents “do church”. I suspect if Yeshua were walking among us today, He would again be cleansing a few sanctuaries.
Where has our reverence gone?
The mystical and spiritual aspects
Paul once again extends the meaning of a commandment into the intangible Spiritual domain when he presents a more mystical level to revering the Sanctuary of God. He makes a nearly explicit reference to this command when he is speaking about sexual immorality. That topic, of course, will dovetail into other commandments later and will be discussed at length with the negative commandments, but it’s absolutely applicable to P21.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (ESV)
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
With this mystical teaching, honoring our own body through obedience to God’s ways is part of revering the Temple. This instruction from Paul is an explicit example of the command to revere God’s house. No teacher of the faith could rightly pretend to excuse you from this command or exempt the Body from its intent. God demands you revere His house.
Psalm 26:8 (NKJV)
8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house, And the place where Your glory dwells.