Journey Through The Scriptures
Some thoughts I had today as I read in the Old Testament.
Today I came across 2 Chronicles 6.18, “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!”
I was immediately reminded of John 1.14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
The context of 2 Chronicles 6.18 is Solomon’s words of blessing after the completion of the Temple. In the Temple God was to dwell amongst his people. And, in fact, as he enters the Temple there is not even enough space for the priests to enter - God completely filled the place.
As awesome as that must have been Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s dwelling presence on the earth. Jesus, being fulling God, came and set up his tent - he tabernacled - among us. What a profound reality that dwarfs this Temple gig in the Old Testament. Because not only did God dwell bodily among people, Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for his people. In the Temple system continual sacrifices had to be brought, but in Jesus “it is finished.” His atoning work is so all pervasive that the need for further sacrifice isn’t necessary. What an amazing reality!
And then my mind was drawn to Revelation 21-22. God will one day dwell among his people in an all glorious way. Jesus’ work of creation restoration will be complete. There will be no more weeping, no more crying, nations will be restored. There will be no need for light from a lamp or the sun because God himself will be our light. Creation will be completely restored and redeemed. Again, what an amazing reality.
There is such hope in the person of Jesus. His work on the cross on our behalf affects every piece of our cosmos. Every piece of who we are, and every piece of this universe we live in will be utterly and completely transformed by Jesus’ restorative, redemptive work.
What do you think?
May 21st, 2007 at 10:13 am
I think there’s a lot about all that which I still don’t understand fully. For example, what does it look like to have a fully reconciled everything? Thanks for sharing.
May 21st, 2007 at 10:16 am
Thanks for the thought Parke. I agree with that. I don’t know about you, but for me I know it has a lot to do with the fact that I’ve never seen that. And in light of the world in which we live it’s virtually impossible for me to even imagine that. So the best I can do is approximate based upon the descriptions of it in the scriptures.
If you figure something out let us know.