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Re: Bulletin Board [message #6706 is a reply to message #6620]

Fri, 22 January 2010 19:35

james
Messages: 2137
Registered: April 2008
Location: Birmingham, AL

Senior Member

God's Sanctuary...more thoughts

The Lord has continued to speak to my heart from His Word concerning His Sanctuary. In the Old Testament the sanctuary of God was called His temple, the house of God, among others. I've been reading Nehemiah this week and about the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. When Nehemiah got permission from the king of Babylon to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls, he had opposition from the start. Sanballat and Tobiah first laughed at Nehemiah and the Jews who were to help in the work. But soon their laughter turned to anger and they conspired to fight against Jerusalem and hinder the restoration.

Nehemiah got wind of their plans and had the men arm themselves, half would work in the restoration, while the other half would stand guard against the enemy. So when it was finished they had a dedication of the walls of Jerusalem and they also read to the people of their history, how God had delivered them from Egypt. They reestablished sacrifices and priestly duties, and sanctified them.

Eliashib, the priest, who was supposed to be set apart and righteous unto God as the priest of God's house, had an alliance with Tobiah(the enemy of Israel and Nehemiah). Nehemiah had returned to his place in Babylon as the king's cupbearer. So he wasn't there to witness what was taking place, in that the house of God was being inhabited by the enemies of Israel. So when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem he found a city with rebuilt walls, people going through the motions of obeying God by having sacrifices and worship on the sabbath, yet they were profaning God's holiness by allowing Tobiah to dwell in the house of God and allowing merchants and sellers to come into Jerusalem on the sabbath and violate God's holy day. Not only this, but they had taken unto themselves wives of the surrounding nations, which God had forbidden, and even one of the priest sons had married a daughter of Sanballat.

"And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God." Neh.13:7

What The Lord was showing me from this (the whole book of Nehemiah)was the parallel between what they were doing then and what is going on even today. Many who profess the name of Jesus and go through the outward motions of living a christian life haven't totally forsaken the world and idolatry. We can not serve both God and man, and since we know that God looketh upon the heart, the only ones being fooled are those watching from the outside. He will not be mocked, nor will He make His abode within a polluted sanctuary.

The time is drawing ever shorter for the return of The Lord, He's seeking a people who are set apart, sanctifed, and holy unto Him.

"Lord prepare me, to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true...

with thanksgiving, I'll be a living sanctuary for you."

[Updated on: Fri, 22 January 2010 19:44]

“But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,”

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