Today's Devotions

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Showcase: Assorted Treats

  • Listening to God +

    Scripture 1 Chronicles 22 11 “Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build Read More
  • August Devotional: Repentance +

    Scripture Read More
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Don  Carsonhttp://www.biblestudytools.com/rsv/1-chronicles/22.html

http://www.biblestudytools.com/rsv/1-peter/3.html

http://www.biblestudytools.com/rsv/micah/1.html

http://www.biblestudytools.com/rsv/luke/10.html

1 Chronicles 22; 1 Peter 3; Micah 1; Luke 10

THE TRANSITION BETWEEN THE account of David's numbering of the people (1 Chron. 21) and the account of David's formidable preparations for the construction of the temple that his son Solomon would build (1 Chron. 22) is one verse, the first verse of chapter 22, with no parallel in 2 Samuel: "Then David said, 'The house of the LORD God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel'" (1 Chron. 22:1).

So the place where the temple was built is the place where David built an altar to the Lord, calling on him with sacrificial offerings (1 Chron. 21:25–27), and where the angel of death sheathed his sword.

So David laid in formidable supplies of building materials and prepared the people to help his son Solomon build the promised temple. "Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD" (1 Chron. 22:19).

There are some lessons to be learned from this siting of the temple.

(1) The place chosen for the temple is the place where a sacrifice was offered and the wrath of God against sin was averted. Of course, the very design of tabernacle and temple was meant to remind people that sin had to be atoned for, that one could not simply saunter into the presence of the holy God, that the sacrifices God himself had prescribed had to be offered by the designated high priest once a year, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. But the siting of the temple on this location reinforces the point. Worship and religion are not primarily about offering to God something called praise, something God prefers not to be without. Worship and religion are first of all about God-centeredness—and because we are rebels, that means that worship and religion are in the first instance about being reconciled to this God, our Creator and Redeemer, from whom we have willfully become alienated. The heart of the temple is not its choirs, its incense, its ceremonies. The heart of the temple is about averting the wrath of God, by the means he himself has provided.

(2) The siting of the temple is also a mingling of priestly and kingly lines of authority. Originally, the priests and Levites alone were responsible for the tabernacle; the pillar of cloud determined when it would move. But here the king establishes the site—anticipating the offices of king and priest in one man: Jesus Christ.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/loveofgod/2013/11/26/1-chronicles-22-1-peter-3-micah-1-luke-10/

Reflections to Consider

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Publications

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Music

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Audio & Video

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Favorites

  • Prayer - Does it Make Any Difference, Philip Yancey +

    Contemporary classic that probes the meaning of prayer for 21st century believers, and provides extended, personal anecdotes from a wide Read More
  • Blog of the Week: Mister Noah's Neighborhood: Philip Yancey blog +

    Below is a wonderful blog by Philip Yancey--see the link at the end of the posting. Mister Noah's Neighborhood Posted Read More
  • Why Not Give the Christians a Chance: Philip Yancey on prison ministries +

    Below is an excerpt from a recent blog post by Philip Yancey--a thoughtful examination of prison ministries.The link to the Read More
  • The Winter Season of Faith: Philip Yancey's blog +

    The following is taken from Philip Yancey's blog. A link to his website is at the end of this excerpt. Read More
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Hidden Blessings

  • Transforming this World: The Hope of Glory by NT Wright +

    Wright confronts the perspective that this world doesn’t matter, and that we live only to be in heaven. He shows Read More
  • What is Good in a World that Defies Hope: a talk by NT Wright +

    This is the second part of three talks by NT Wright at Harvard University in November, 2008 on the topic Read More
  • The Stream, the Lake and the River: NT Wright +

      Acts 2.1-21; John 7.37-39; a sermon at the Eucharist on the Feast of Pentecost, 11 May 2008, by the Read More
  • Jesus in the Perfect Storm by NT Wright +

    Zechariah 9.9-17; Luke 19.28-48; A sermon for Palm Sunday, April 17, 2011, In the University Chapel of St Salvator, St Read More
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