Why did God want people to build a temple for him? Unlike some religions where people create a shrine or temple and then invite a god to join them there, the temple where God met with people was God’s idea and he issued the invitation.

The first place that God created for his glory was the earth. He made it in seven days and reserved the seventh day for reflection and rest. The Lord wanted people also to reserve every seventh day to reflect upon him and appreciate his goodness in the earth. The earth itself was a place of worship.

The Garden of Eden was the particular place where God met Adam and Eve each day. It was another kind of temple, a holy place where God and people walked and fellowshipped together – until the people sinned. Then God drove them out of his holy paradise and they were separated from God’s glory.

God continued to speak to people, and he often met with individuals, but it wasn’t until he directed Moses to build the tabernacle that there was again a particular place for people to come and worship the Lord.

The Message of the Temple

God led Israel to Mount Sinai to meet him and that’s where they first saw his glory. Thunder and lightning, dark clouds of smoke and earthquakes shook the mountain and the people were so frightened that they begged Moses to speak to God for them. They were afraid to approach God themselves.

God gave Israel his laws there, but he also gave Moses the pattern for the tabernacle. The Lord wanted a place on earth where people could safely meet with him. The design of the earthly tabernacle reflected God’s throne room in heaven and it was decorated and furnished according to his meticulous requirements. When it was completed, the Lord filled it with his glory.

King David copied the tabernacle when he drew up the plans for the temple in Jerusalem. His son Solomon built the temple and when it was dedicated, God came and again filled it with his glory.

The message of the temple was that God wanted a relationship with people. He wanted to be among them, to hear their prayers and teach them how to thrive. The temple was an oasis of restoration and peace in a broken world, where sins were forgiven and God and people celebrated life together. It was the place where people could access the abundant blessings God longed to pour into their lives.

The Story of the Temple

As we have read the Old Testament we’ve seen the places where God meets people expand, and contract, and expand again. We have gone from the whole earth to the Garden of Eden; from individual visions and dreams to Mount Sinai; from Mount Sinai to the Tent of Meeting; and finally from the Tent of Meeting to the temple in Jerusalem.

Then, hundreds of years after the temple was built, it was destroyed because people sinned there and filled it with idols. The Lord was not willing to dwell in a place that was so dishonored. In Ezekiel 10 the prophet saw God’s glory rise from the Holy of Holies, hover briefly and then cross the temple threshold and leave. After that, the Babylonian general Nebuzaradan destroyed the temple.

A second temple was built beginning in 516 BC after the Jews returned to Jerusalem from seventy years of exile. In 20 BC Herod the Great renovated and added onto it so that it more closely resembled Solomon’s temple, but in 70 AD the Romans tore Herod’s temple down.

Where was God’s dwelling place then?

The Third Temple

In Ezekiel 40-43 God gave his prophet a detailed vision of the third temple. Christian and Jewish Bible scholars wrestle with the meaning of this vision and are largely in two camps regarding its interpretation.

One camp believes that God described an actual, physical temple that will be built someday. Orthodox Jews believe it will be built on Mount Moriah in the center of Jerusalem and they believe construction of the Third Temple will bring the Messiah to the earth.

Christians who agree that God described an actual building in Ezekiel 40-43 believe that when it’s built, it will trigger the end times. They watch Jerusalem closely and wait for evidence that the Third Temple is finally under construction as a clue to the second coming of Christ.

The other camp of interpreters believes that Ezekiel saw a symbolic new temple rather than an actual building. They point to the Apostle Paul’s assertion that the hearts of believers are now the temple in which God dwells.

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

These interpreters point to the fact that Ezekiel never said the Third Temple was in Jerusalem, only that he was in the land of Israel when he saw the man measuring the temple walls and buildings.    

Regardless of whether you believe there will be a new temple built in Jerusalem, or you believe Ezekiel’s temple represents God dwelling in the hearts of believers, the good news is the same. God still wants to dwell among people. He still wants his glory to shine in this world.

The Glory of the Lord

Whether we are talking about a physical structure or a person’s heart, it’s important to understand God’s pattern for the temple. It was a place of great beauty and holiness where people could be close to God, but the only approach was through the altar of sacrifice for sins. Unforgiven sinners could never enter into God’s presence because his holiness would consume them.

The huge bronze altar stood at the entrance to the temple in Jerusalem. The sins of every worshiper had to be atoned for and priests were kept busy all day long slaughtering animals and putting them on the altar. It was only after sin sacrifices were made that people could join worship and celebrations at the temple.

Then Jesus came and laid down his life as the final sacrifice for the sins of the world. He was the high priest who made the sacrifice of his own body as the perfect atonement offering.

“But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Hebrews 10:12-13

The high priest at the temple in Jerusalem entered the Holiest Place once a year to make atonement for Israel. Then he backed away and returned to the daily sacrifices. When Jesus entered the Holiest Place with the blood of his sacrifice, he stayed and sat down at the right hand of God. His was the final sacrifice.

Glory in Our Hearts

Most people who accept the sacrifice of Jesus for their sins don’t understand the greatness of what God has done for them. They may understand that they have been made new and clean within. They may feel joy and relief that they have been forgiven, but they still may not grasp that the glory of God has come to dwell in them.

If we are indeed temples of the Holy Spirit and God dwells in us, the things God says about his temple apply to us individually. Here is what Ezekiel saw:

“Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory. The vision I saw was like the vision I saw when he came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” Ezekiel 43:1-5

Experiencing the Glory

God designated places on earth where people could encounter his glory, but they had to participate to see it. They had to get rid of their sins to enter in. They had to seek the Lord.

Thanks to the work of Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit, the glory of God now dwells in every believer. So why do so few of us see that glory or hear the roar of his voice?

It’s because we don’t ask . . . and we don’t seek him in his temple. We know that he’s there, but we don’t turn toward him. We go through our days without looking in his direction.

Daily Bible reading is one way to seek God in the temple of your heart. When you read, stay awhile and pray. When the Lord sees that you are sincerely seeking him, you may well experience his glory — filling the temple of your heart.

For more information on the story of the temple, check out this Bible Project video:

https://bibleproject.com/videos/temple/