Ancient Worship
Psalm 48:9 ESV says, “We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.”
How incredible is it to realize that thousands of years ago, the Israelites were worshipping God in his temple, meditating on his steadfast love? I want us to see how precious and profound our simple worship can be this morning.
Before the Holy Spirit was poured out on all people and before Jesus came, there was the temple of God. This was the dwelling place of the Most High. Built in the reign of King Solomon, this building was the global center for Hebrew worship. This was the place to go to be near God and bring him worship. There were priests and leaders in place to perform the offerings and sacrifices of prayer, and the rest of the nation was to bring these gifts to the temple.
It was a shadow and a witness of the things to come. When Jesus came, died, rose, and ascended, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to us. Instead of offering sacrifices in a temple, we worship in spirit and truth from anywhere we find ourselves. We can praise God in ornate cathedrals, on a walk in the woods, or kneeling at our desks in the morning.
Of course, anyone at any time in history could pray to God. David, Moses, and Hagar prayed to God in the desert! The difference was that they were not in the temple of God. They could not access God’s intimate and dwelling presence, only cry out to him for help.
1 Corinthians 6:19 (ESV) reminds us, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” It is easy to forget the gift we have been given through the power of the Holy Spirit.
If you search the internet for illustrations and descriptions of the temple, it will wow you. The structure was splendorous in every way. Yet this temple was not the manifestation but the shadow of the manifestation. It was a mirror image of the throne room of heaven but a model of the new covenant reality. While Solomon's building was glorious, it was merely made of materials from the earth. You and I are made in the image of God. I assure you that you are far more valuable to God than a building.
So how does this reshape your perspective of worship? Knowing that God has been honored in his temple for thousands of years up to this point, how will you seek him? Knowing that you are the living temple of God’s Spirit, how will you carry yourself?
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