Hi, everyone! Thanks for taking the time to learn about “The House of the Lord, Part 2.” If you missed last week’s Part 1, I understand. Life is busy and challenging. However, before diving into Part 2, I recommend reading Part 1, as it will make today’s study more meaningful. Here is a brief synopsis.
God dwells in His heavenly house. The House of the Lord encompasses all His creation. Yet His presence extends beyond heaven into a physical place. We reviewed the Bible’s first two references to God’s house. The first appeared in Genesis, when Jacob saw God’s house in a dream. He knew it was real and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (Genesis 28:16-17).
The second reference was when God spoke to Moses’s siblings, Aaron and Miriam, who questioned their brother’s godly authority. God sternly said, “He [Moses] is faithful in all my house” (Numbers 12:5-7). In that verse, “my house” means the nation of Israel, the community of God’s chosen people, led by Moses, God’s chosen leader.
Those two Hebrew Bible/Torah passages demonstrated God’s real presence among His ancient people. That truth endured over time, and approximately 400 to 500 years after Moses, King David invoked the “house of the Lord” in his Psalms. (See Vol. 342.)
We now begin Part 2 with God speaking through the prophet Isaiah. God proclaims that the temple Solomon built, where God dwelt, was open to foreigners who love and serve Him. Later, we read when Jesus quoted the final phrase of the following passage:
“And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:6-7).
In the next Isaiah passage, God explains that His greatness surpasses any physical house of worship. As I previously wrote, “the House of the Lord encompasses all His creation.” Below, God declares that He “favors” worshipers who are humbled by Him and His Word. We read:
“This is what the LORD says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?’ declares the LORD. ‘These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word’” (Isaiah 66:1-2).
Below are passages from Haggai, a prophet who wrote a short book in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament when God demands that the Second Temple be built. For context, here is some background.
In 586 BC, the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple, completed by King Solomon around 957 BC. In 520 BC, Haggai delivered God’s commands to the Israelites who had returned from the Babylonian exile to complete the Second Temple. Construction began in 538 BC, but work stopped due to conflict and apathy, which angered God, as Haggai conveyed.
In 516 BC, the Second Temple was completed. This Temple was where Jesus was brought as a baby, then where He worshiped, taught, and overturned the money changers’ tables. The Romans destroyed the Second Temple in AD 70.
Here is Haggai’s message from an angry God:
“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the LORD’s house.” Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: ‘Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?'” (Haggai 1:2-4). God commands:
“‘Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,’ says the LORD” (Haggai 1:8). The people listened:
The Lord stirred up “the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God” (Haggai 1:14). God declares:
“’I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Haggai 2:7).
Fast forward to the New Testament gospel, where Jesus taught about “my Father’s house.” As believers, our goal is to be with Jesus forever in His Father’s house. The Apostle John recorded what Jesus said:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going” (John 14:1-4).
Our last passage is when Jesus quotes Isaiah during one of the most memorable events in Jesus’s earthly life:
“When Jesus entered the temple courts, He began to drive out those who were selling. ‘It is written,’ He said to them, ‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’ Every day He was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill Him. Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on His words” (Luke 19:45-48).
Now I ask, “What have we learned from this two-part series on the House of the Lord?” Here are my thoughts:
First, when you enter a House of God, remember that He is there. It is His House. His presence is real.
Second, what God told Isaiah applies to all who worship in His House. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word” (Isaiah 66:1-2).
Third, I am appalled by how disrespectfully people dress when they come to worship in His House. I wish someone would remind church attendees that God demands respect. I have never said this to anyone, but maybe someday I will. Perhaps you might, the next time you see dress that disrespects God in His House? Or are we numb to it?
Fourth, let’s incorporate His Truth into our lives. Jesus is preparing a place for us in His Father’s house. Thus, we must act accordingly if we are to be rewarded with five-star accommodations in our eternal home, should we be so blessed. Amen to that!
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer. Her book “Bible Study For Those Who Don’t Read The Bible“ reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. “Part 2“ reprints Vols. 57-113. Order it here.
Myra is also the Executive Director of the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit. You can help support our popular exhibit at the Basilica in Orlando, Florida. Now extended into 2027! Read more here. Contact: Myraadams01@gmail.com
This article was originally posted at Townhall.com.
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