Dear Friends in Christ,
Israel had worshipped in a temporary sanctuary called the Tabernacle for about 500 years. They had carried this portable tent through the desert as a message. God had commanded his people to worship the one God in one place. This was in contrast with the surrounding nations who worshipped many gods in many places like mountain shrines and wooded groves.
The Tabernacle represented God’s earthly dwelling place among his people; the place he would meet them. Finally, the Tabernacle sat in Jerusalem, Israel’s political and religious center. There the worship leaders emphasized that all sinners needed mediation before they can ever approach God. The worship service illustrated that sinners are reconciled to God through blood atonement.
It was time for a permanent Temple. David had stated the purpose and drawn up the plans. The Temple was to be the new home for the Ark of the Covenant, a new place that bore the Name of the LORD. King David had drawn up all the plans under God’s architectural direction but he would not build the Temple because he was a warrior who had shed blood.
Solomon would gather the funds and lead the construction. Mostly with the help of King Hiram up in Lebanon for materials, and with the initial financial resources his father had given, David’s son and new king began the project.
We know the purpose for a new sanctuary for Bethlehem. We built this sanctuary if not to be portable, to be temporary. A new sanctuary will be the permanent place God dwells among us particularly in his gospel in Word and sacrament, the signs of the church. An architect is working on plans. You have decided it is time to gather the funds and begin: That the Temple will be Built for the Name of the LORD. It takes devoted hearts and souls seeking the LORD. It will be the dwelling place for the LORD’s sacred articles.
It is common to name a building after someone. Think of university buildings with the names of benefactors. The Name of the LORD was on the Tabernacle, and on the Temple, and is on this temporary sanctuary. It will be on our new house of worship.
Here is the Name of the LORD as he reveals it in Exodus 34:6,7, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” The Name of the LORD is his reputation as both a loving God and a just God. We see God’s justice and love on the cross of Jesus Christ. There our Savior died under the just punishment for our sins. There our Savior died loving us so much as to take our place.
The LORD told Solomon to devote his heart and soul “to seeking the LORD your God.” I hope you note that our theme Building Devoted Hearts for Jesus is about that. We did not choose a theme that focused on building a building even if it is for the Lord’s glory. The LORD God focused Solomon’s attention on his heart, and devoting his heart to the LORD his God. Our stewardship emphasis is about the Holy Spirit building our hearts in devotion for Jesus through God’s Word.
Solomon would build devoted hearts for the LORD in his own faith and in the faith of others as he and they followed the LORD’s decrees, observes his laws, and obeyed his commands. God promised not to abandon them. The LORD promised to hear the people’s supplications and forgive them. This is God’s promise to us.
The Temple was the new dwelling place of the LORD’s sacred articles; the Ark, the candlesticks, the places for the offerings, all the furnishings. Those articles combined with the LORD’s presence in his visible glory were the focus of the people’s worship. We plan to move the altar, the ambo, the baptismal font, the banners, all the furnishings we have in the sanctuary now. They will continue to be the focus of our worship with the glory of the Lord in his Word and sacrament. Our sanctuary may move a few feet to the east but our worship will remain fixed on God; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
It took seven years to build the temple at a cost today of hundreds of millions of dollars. What really builds are the devoted hearts and souls of God’s people, which the Holy Spirit builds as God dwells among us in his Word. Amen. <SDG>