The House of the LORD

The following are thoughts inspired by an act of God today, and represent my personal understanding of scripture.

One of our favorite Psalms, Psalm 23, is one in which David understood the blessing of relationship with God -  that it was not a thing solely about being happy and having material rewards. He believed with all his heart that being in relationship with the God of Creation, with Yahweh Elohim was the true and utmost blessing of his life. (Psalm 18:1-3; Psalm 136, 139)

David also understood - as we must today - that the House of the LORD was an expression and gift of God to His people as a place of worship and praise to God, a beneficial, encouraging exhortation of how to show God's love to one another. It was a place of learning, and the center of schooling corporately in the way of God and the importance of learning to trust God. It was a place where they would spiritually meet with God uniquely and see His glory.

David's love for God's House was not a matter of a particular room or space per se - he saw the entire house as God's dwelling! (Psalm 26:8; 93:5; 134:1-2; 135:1-3)

My recent experiences in the role of caring for God's House has been enlightening. Just a few minutes ago, God opened my mind to the broader understanding of what it means to be in the House of the LORD, to be a caretaker - a steward - of His House. I dropped everything else I was doing (my stomach is demanding food, but that can wait!), and hurried to write these things down before the concerns of the day overwhelmed.

There are 'perspectives' within our house of worship held by a number of persons as to what is "important" in God's House. One group honors as 'sacred only' their meeting space, where they pray and praise, to the extent that anything that is not considered holy or used in worship must be considered profane and removed from the space and put into another part of the building that the group considers less than holy, but where others need to meet to commune with God and to worship Him. There are some who consider the single, most holy part of the building is the place where the altar sits under or next to the cross, with the second place being the sacristy (a room that holds sacred implements of worship). Everything else is, for them, regarded as less holy or perhaps not even considered to be in the camp of holy. 

But God said that His House was holy - not just some of the square footage, but all of it! (compare Psalm 122; Deuteronomy 23:18; 1 Kings 8:6-11; 1 Chronicles 26:27; Psalm 26:8; Psalm 116:18-19) David knew that truth. David also knew that it was God's House - not ours; God owns it and God provided it. For whatever reason, we have allowed our personal biased viewpoints to lead us into actions, attitudes, activities - or lack thereof, that dishonor God's House, and we may not even be aware we are doing it. Yes, the sanctuary altar is where we offer sacrifices to God, praise Him, bless Him, seek His face during solemn worship. In ancient Israel's Tabernacle and later the Temple in the Most Holy room, God's presence would be evidenced by a cloud of smoke above and/or within those holiest rooms. The Most Holy is referred to as the Holiest of Holies, conveying that all of the House itself was a holy place, with spaces assigned for varying acts of worship and service. During the exile of the Jews by Babylon, profiteers (the main ones mentioned by Nehemiah are Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem [2:19]) came into Jerusalem and set up camp. When the priests and others were released from captivity and ensued upon the project to build a temple that would replace the one Solomon built, which had been destroyed completely, the completed project yielded the fleshing out of the plans that God had given Ezekiel (chapters 40-44) to give to those upon whom the assignment to rebuild rested. The profiteers tried to halt the work through "shenanigans" which failed; yet, would at an opportune time seize on the chance to use God's House for their selfish gains: taking rooms appointed for the priestly activities and turning them into boarding rooms for profit and gain, with the assistance of a dishonest priest. Misusing and desecrating selected spaces within the building defiled God's entire House. (Nehemiah 13:1-14)

Again, the entire building is God's House; He does not lay claim to only a portion of it - all of it is His. He is the one who deems it holy before Himself. He is the gifter/provider; we are to be the stewards of the whole House. No ifs, ands, or buts. To do otherwise, is either a passive or deliberate offense and defilement of God's House. (compare Nehemiah 13:11) Sure, we are not perfect and we may forget or get busy with other things, but if we, regardless of what church we may belong to, are being reminded frequently that we are needed to be hands and feet for Christ, and continue to shrug it off, it should make us take stock of where priorities lie. God may be calling us to steward even a small fragment of what needs to take place, but if we shut up our ears and dull ourselves to that call, we will never know the special blessing that comes with that request. (compare Matthew 25:14-30) So whether it is in a sanctuary or place of corporate prayer, in a classroom, in a storage space, in a remote part of the building used by stewards of the plate offerings, in the restrooms, in a meeting room, in an office space, in the hallways, the courtyard, the parking lot - it is ALL part of God's House. To neglect any part, to cheapen its intent, is an offense - intentional or otherwise. To 'trash' or disrespect any space by leaving the space neglected or unclean, or to leave it in a run-down condition is an offense. To willfully deface any part of the building is an offense. To dismiss the maintenance and stewardship of any of the spaces is an offense. An offense to God!

So, this awareness should give anyone whom God has blessed with a dedicated building for worship and fellowship in praise and thanksgiving cause to pause: whether the building is by lease or ownership, and regardless of what denomination, but one that claims Christ, and where God has provided His people with a building as a launching pad for greater witness and service within the surrounding community - how are we responding to this gift? Do we see it as a reminder of Whose we are and all of what He has made us stewards of? Does it expand in our hearts and minds deep gratitude, the comprehension of what it means to glorify God in His House and in our lives? 

Consider that the physical building is to reflect the building up of God's spiritual house stone by living stone, and vice versa. We who are called by God to serve and be adopted as children are individually living stones, but when placed one beside the other we become built into the Spiritual House of God. No stone is lesser than the other!! (1 Peter 2:4-10; Ephesians 1:3-14,17-23)

IT IS HIS HOUSE - ALL OF IT!  We cannot love one space and disregard or hold profane another.  We must ask ourselves: what does this mean to me, for me, and about me? Am I thinking like David and seeking to dwell in the House of the LORD, where His Name dwells, to worship, honor and praise Him for the gift of relationship and of a special building made available by Him no matter how old or new, that He has set aside for us to revere Him in? Or, am I thinking like Sanballat and crew and dismiss, even desecrate, the holiness of God represented in the building and misuse it, rejecting the stewardship of it?

Let this be our prayer: I love you LORD with my whole heart, my whole mind, my whole soul! Thank you for the gift of your House to us where we can come together in assembly and serve and worshp you, because you deserve all praise and honor and glory! No act of worship is too small to you, Almighty God and Father, no service in your House and among your people too little when it is from the heart. Father, your mercy and goodness in my life are like the grains of sand at the seashore -- who can count all the moments of grace and favor you bestow? In your House, we will raise holy hands; we shall use those hands of praise to be stewards of all that you have gifted us with - both physical and spiritual to your glory and by your grace. Lord, may I never fail to praise you; let me dwell in your house, the house of the Lord forever, may I never turn away from your presence. Amen.