Peter Misselbrook's Blog

May 15 2019 - 1 Chronicles 22 – David's preparations for the temple

David is now back in Jerusalem and is getting old. Years before he had wanted to build a house for the Lord but had been told by the Lord through the prophet Nathan that he would not build such a temple; his son, Solomon would build the temple in Jerusalem.

David may not have been allowed to build the temple but he is keen to do all that he can to prepare for its building; "David said, ‘My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendour in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.’ So David made extensive preparations before his death" (v. 5).

David then instructed his son Solomon concerning the preparations he had made for the temple and what was required of Solomon in building it. He also called on the leaders of Israel to help Solomon.

David had not been allowed to build the temple because he had shed much blood and fought many wars (v. 8). God said that David's son would, "be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, [a name meaning peace] and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever" (vv. 9-10). 

Our Lord Jesus is the one whom God has owned as his own beloved son. He is the one who has fought the final war against Satan, sin and death and has triumphed over them. He has entered into his rest: he is the Prince of Peace.

The elaborate preparations for the temple in Jerusalem seem impressive. The third temple built by Herod seemed impressive to Jesus' disciples. But Jesus said that the temple they so much admired would be destroyed. He was going to build a more magnificent and eternal temple. That temple is the risen Saviour himself and the community of his people among whom he dwells. Jesus, the Prince of Peace is building a great temple of living stones in which his glory will be displayed.

And Jesus calls us not only to enjoy the peace and rest he gives us but also to be active in building this temple – as the leaders in Israel were called to help Solomon. We are to be careful how we build. We are to seek to add new living stones to this temple by calling upon others to come and find rest for their souls and peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to build up one another in knowledge of Christ and likeness of him, that Christ's glory may be displayed in his temple. We are to be careful never to do damage to this temple – never to tear apart what Christ is constructing: "Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives among you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple" (1 Corinthians 3:16-17 – see vv. 10-17 of that chapter).

Solomon had a serious task to perform in building a temple for the Lord. To perform this task, David tells him that he needs to, "devote [his] heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God" (v.19). The Lord Jesus calls us to similar heart and soul devotion to him that we might be useful and effective in building his kingdom.

Father God, we thank you for the Lord Jesus, through whose death and resurrection we have been given peace with you and welcomed into the rest enjoyed by Christ himself. Help us by your Spirit to be effective and consistent master builders until the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.

May 15 2020 - 2 Corinthians 4:1-15 – Seen the light?

The gospel is all about the glory of Christ who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah, the Saviour of the world. He is God manifest in the flesh, yet is also the atoning sacrifice for our sins. He is the Lamb of God and he is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is Emmanuel. He is Lord. This, and so much more, is the glory of Christ – the Christ who came to fulfil all that was promised in the Scriptures.

Yet many see nothing of this glory. To the Jews he was a charlatan and a danger to the people. To many of the sophisticates of the first century Mediterranean world the message of the incarnate God and risen Saviour was pure folly. To many today, Jesus remains a wise teacher, to be ranked along with Socrates and Confucius – a wise teacher who has been misunderstood and deified by his followers. But these have not seen what Paul had seen. On the Damascus road he saw the glory of Christ, and in a blinding flash he knew that he had been brought face-to-face with the Christ of God.

Paul’s experience was, of course, unique to him. Yet there is a sense, says Paul, in which it is the common experience of every Christian. In 1 Corinthians 4:6 Paul speaks in the plural, including the Christians in Corinth when he writes, “God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” This, says Paul, is what it means to be a Christian. A Christian is one who has seen the glory of Christ. A Christian is one who has been brought to see the glory of God in the face of Christ. This light which struck Paul to the ground on the Damascus road has dawned in the hearts of all who truly belong to Christ. We have seen the light. We have been brought face-to-face with God through Jesus Christ.

And all of this is not our own doing, any more than Paul came to the conviction that Jesus is the Christ by his own reasoning. We came to know God by his own creative act. It is the work of God who brought light out of darkness at the dawn of creation. He has brought us from darkness into light. It is the work of his Spirit. To be sure, our experiences vary widely one from another. Some may be able to name the day and hour – even the minute – when the light dawned. For others it was a prolonged process through which they were drawn to Christ. Some may not be able to remember a time when they did not know him. But for all of us who know him it is because God has graciously made himself known to us; he has shown us the glory of Christ and has brought us to bow before him and to own that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

This was the confidence that undergirded Paul in his ministry; what God had done for him he could and would do for others. But Paul does not preach his own experience, he preaches Christ (4:5). Paul is aware of his own frailty, but he knows that in Christ he possesses an immense treasure (4:7), a treasure he is eager that others might also possess. So he tells them of Jesus Christ, crucified, raised from the dead and exalted as Lord. And as he does so, “the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ” shines into the hearts of many of his hearers. They too see the light.

Father God, you have filled these cracked pots with a glorious treasure – the treasures of your grace and glory in the Lord Jesus. May his glory shine out from our lives that others also may see the light and be drawn to him.

Peter Misselbrook