A Temple Lost and Found – 2 Kings 25

¹¹ and Josiah (was) the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.  Matthew 1:11 (NIV)

Two-thirds of the way through the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1, we encounter the last godly king of Judah, Josiah, and then witness his wayward sons, Jeconiah (also called Jehoiachin) and his brothers.  These would rule Judah right up until the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple, its official buildings, and the defensive wall around the city by the invading armies of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

¹⁰ At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, ¹¹ and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. ¹² …In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. ¹³ As the Lord had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord. ¹⁴ He carried all Jerusalem into exile… 2 Kings 24:10-14a (NIV)

⁸ … Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ⁹ He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. ¹⁰ The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem.  2 Kings 25:8b-10 (NIV)

In these Old Testament times, Jerusalem’s temple was the holy residence of God.  It was erected by King Solomon on the spot selected by God, as shown to Solomon’s father, King David.  Because of its holiness, it was also a place of sacrifice.  All people are unclean and tainted by sin, and sacrifice is required to atone for this to allow entrance into the presence of a holy God.  This spot in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, was where Abraham had been directed to take his son Isaac, and where God the Father’s son, Jesus, would ultimately be sacrificed to provide an eternal cleansing and forgiveness of all who would believe in and receive Him, by faith.

Although the exiles in Babylon would begin to return in seventy years to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls and its temple, it was not until almost the time of Christ, around five hundred years later, when King Herod would undertake a long building project to truly restore the temple to its previous majesty.  It was a magnificent structure and complex, so much so that the disciples of Jesus were amazed and excited to point it out to Him.  Jesus then gave them the bad news, as found in Matthew 24 – in a few decades, the Romans under Titus would tear this one down, too, not leaving one stone upon another.  All that remains of it to this day are some excavated walls, impressive as they are, and large blocks of debris.

God had permitted Nebuchadnezzar to destroy the first temple as a judgment for many years of unfaithfulness and idolatry by Judah.  Both the Davidic line of kings and the temple for which they were responsible were ended by Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion.  But why might God permit the Romans to destroy the second temple, and allow its site to lay in a demolished state for almost 2,000 years?

With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, given to Jesus’ disciples ten days after He ascended into heaven, God no longer needed a building to live in.  From then on, God would take up holy residence in the hearts of believers worldwide, cleansed daily by the one-time sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ.

Witnessed by devout Jews gathered from throughout the known world, the Pentecost event led to three thousand new believers being baptized into a faith in Jesus.  Also being gifted with the Holy Spirit, they returned to their homes, carrying with them the very presence of God.  Here they were able to share their faith and grow the kingdom of heaven as Jesus had directed, prospered through the working of the Holy Spirit. As the apostle Paul later wrote in a letter to the Corinthian church:

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20a (NIV)

Believers have been bought at a price – the loving sacrifice of Jesus laying down His life on the cross for us, because of His great love for you and me.  He was then raised to life by the power of the Holy Spirit, the first of a long line of believers who will follow Him.  In the meantime, He has given us the Holy Spirit as a seal and a deposit, to lead and guide us as we seek to grow His kingdom. One day we, too, will come into His holy presence. It is up to us – let us all choose to be there to make up His new and eternal temple, once lost, but now found forever.

Reflection

What choice have I made regarding Jesus in my life?

Father God, we choose You and Your Son Jesus to be our one and only God.  We desire in our hearts to be a part of Your eternal, global temple.  Fill us with your Holy Spirit and lead us to do the works that You would have us do.  Cleanse us from all of our sin, then heal and strengthen us to live a life that is fruitful and pleasing to You.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Have a beautiful, blessed day in the Lord today.