TEMPLE LOCATION

“Now Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. " (2 Chron. 3:1 NKJV).

The place where Solomon build the Temple was a very significant place. From our text, we want note that this was a place of mercy, a place of money, and a place of manifestation.

Place of mercy – “Threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.” This was the place where the where the angel of God had stopped on his way to bring judgment upon the land because of David’s sin in numbering the people. The angel was sent to destroy Jerusalem, but God in mercy stopped him at Ornan’s threshing floor (1 Chron. 21:15). The place therefore, was a strong reminder of the great mercy of God. How fitting that the Temple, where worship and mercy are emphasized, should be built on the spot which especially spoke of God’s mercy.

Place of money – “Prepared.” God told David to buy the threshing floor and make an altar there and sacrifice to God. Ornan offered the place to David for free. David refused his offer and insisted on paying ‘full price’ for the location, the altar, and the burnt-offering (1 Chron. 21:22). All this outlay of money by David speaks of sacrifice in worship. True worship requires sacrifice. How fitting that the Temple, where many sacrifices would be made in Israel’s worship, would be built on a spot symbolic of sacrifice in worship.

Place of manifestation – “Where the Lord had appeared to his father David.” God spoke through the angel and through Gad the prophet to David at this location and revealed to David his duties (1 Chron. 21:18). So, this place where the Temple was built was a place of Divine revelation. Hence, the location for the Temple is most fitting, for the place of worship is the place of Divine revelation.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“For God’s people, worship must come before work!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Discipline

In 1 Cor. 9:27 we read, “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (NKJV).

Discipline is the Greek word hupopiazo (ὑπωπιάζω = hoop-o-pee-ad'-zo). It is made up of two words: “hupo” which means under, and “ops” which means eye. Thus, the word means to blacken the eye, to treat roughly. Literally it means to strike under the eye. To strike in this manner was generally considered to be a ‘knockout’ punch by the ancient Greek boxers. The idea then is to strike hard and heavy on one’s face, rendering it black and blue.

In secular Greek hupopiazo was used figuratively to describe cities terribly scourged and afflicted by war, bearing the marks of devastation. The word is not found in the Septuagint. In the New Testament Paul used hupopiazo to describe the manner in which he disciplined his body for service. Just as an athlete must train and master his body to compete, so the Christian must ‘keep under’ or discipline his body in order to bring it into subjection. Paul had a high regard for the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and he commanded believers to treat it as such.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – That He would be buried with the rich (Isa. 53:9)

New Testament Fulfillment – Matt. 27:57-60

Bible Facts

God fashions and knits us together in the womb (Job 10:8-12; 31:15). Science was ignorant concerning embryonic development until recently. Yet many centuries ago, the Bible accurately described God making us an “intricate unity” in the womb.

Bible Quiz

What did the manna that the Israelites received from God taste like?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: What was put on the lips of Isaiah by a seraph? A live coal (Isa. 6:6-7)

That’s in the Bible

"Answer a fool according to his foolishness” (give a foolish answer to a fool)

“Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes” (Prov. 26:5 NKJV).

There is a time to answer a fool, and a time not to answer. There is a right way to answer a fool as well as a wrong way. Wise people need to discern when and how to answer fools and when to ignore them. Responding to a fool regarding pointless or absurd matters can make you look foolish.

Did You Know – Christian History

Frederic George Kenyon was born January 15, 1863 in London, England. He was a British paleographer and biblical and classical scholar. Kenyon was educated at Winchester College, and graduated from Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was later a fellow.

Kenyon joined the British Museum in 1889 and rose to be its Director and Principal Librarian by 1909. His position offered him many opportunities to study ancient papyri in the Greek language. He showed that there are parallels between things written in the Greek documents and the text of the Bible. He wrote books such as Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts. He was convinced that science does not disprove the Bible, but rather supports it.

Writing about the Bible, he showed that our documentary evidence for it is very good compared to the documentary evidence for other events in ancient history. For instance, the earliest substantial manuscript upon which Sophocles (Greek playwright) is based was written more than 1,400 years after the poet’s death. By comparison, the oldest manuscripts of the New Testament date to less than 100 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus and almost every verse of the New Testament had been quoted in a writing by someone somewhere by the third century.

Frederick concluded from his researches that, "the Christian can take the whole Bible in his hand and say without fear or hesitation that he holds in it the true Word of God, handed down without essential loss from generation to generation, throughout the centuries.” In 1920, Sir Frederick became president of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem. He had been knighted in 1912. Between 1933 and 1936, Frederick published the famous Chester Beatty papyri in five volumes. The British museum had acquired these. They dated from about 200 AD and included most of the Epistles of Paul.

Frederick died August 23, 1952. He was 89 years old, but had lived long enough to learn of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

A Little Humor

The Sunday school teacher was carefully explaining the story of Elijah the Prophet and the false prophets of Baal. She explained how Elijah built the altar, put wood upon it, cut the steer in pieces and laid it upon the altar. And then Elijah commanded the people of God to fill four barrels of water and pour it over the altar. He had them do this four times. “Now, said the teacher, “can anyone in the class tell me why the Lord would have Elijah pour water over the steer on the altar?” A little girl in the back of the room raised her hand with great enthusiasm. “To make the gravy.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“You cannot repent too soon because you don’t know how soon it may be too late!”