Last week we finished with the
symbolism of the entrance of the Temple. But as we've seen the
whole Temple inside is decorated in the same manner as the
entrance, namely with cherubim, palm trees, open flowers and
gold.
So let us take all these images
together and see to what conclusion we can come.
Firstly we had a look at the
cherubim engraved on the entrance. We came to the conclusion that
it depicts that we must stay close to God, in His presence. We
should be defenders of all that is good and continue praising His
holy Name.
Secondly we had a look at the palm
trees engraved on the entrance. We concluded that we must walk in
the victory that Jesus bought at the cross for us. We should give
honor to Him, praise Him and then flourish where we are
planted.
Thirdly we had a look at the open
flowers engraved on the entrance. The flowers depicted for us God's
deep love for us, His special way of surrounding us with flowers
and saying 'I love you'. Flowers also serve as a warning to us that
things done for the glory of man will fade, but things done for God
will last forever.
And lastly we had a look at the
meaning of gold. Gold reflects the absolute majesty and infinite
richness of God. The gold is used to lure us into the Temple and
once there, we must be honest and open with Him, genuine in our
faith.
So once we enter into the Temple
God wants us to know the following:
We should stay close to God,
knowing that He loves us dearly. We should give honor to Him and
praise Him. He wants us to talk to Him and to be honest and open to
Him. And then flowing from that intimacy, He wants us to walk in
the victory Jesus brought for us. He wants us to be defenders of
all that is good and do everything to the glory of His Name and in
the process lure others in as well.
God's heart is a heart of love. God
IS love (1 John 4:8), and everything He does flows out of it.
Therefore in a nutshell He is telling us to come closer to Him, to
stay near to His heart of love. And then He wants us to go out and
attract others to Him as well. He loves to love. He wants us and
all His wayward children close by His side. He wants to protect us
like a hen protecting her chicks. Go and read Psalm 91 again. God
has such fabulous promises for us in that Psalm, but all of them
will only realize when we 'abide in the shadow of the Almighty'. In
other words close to Him. All answers lies up, close and personal.
Jesus died and gave access to us to have this wonderful
relationship with Him. Stop running around and appreciate the
fullness of what He has given us. Stand in awe of the wonderful
gift you have, the amazing invite that has been extended towards
you. And grab it with both hands. Enter into the Temple and just be
with Him. With an earthly mindset we will feel as if we are not
doing anything. But in effect we are doing infinitely more than we
can ever imagine or think. God will then go behind the scenes and
fight for us and help us in ways we never even thought possible.
Just come. That is all.
Thank you Jesus for opening the way
for us. Thank you for dying for us to make all of this possible. We
thank you and praise You forever! We are sorry that we do not
always make time for You. We are sorry that this world becomes too
important for us. Here we come. We are entering into Your presence
and we rejoice in all that You are. Amen