Holy Week Count Down – Day Seven

When the Israelites crafted the Tabernacle at Mount Sinai (Exodus 25-40), Yahweh’s Shekinah glory blazed down from heaven and filled the place with the divine presence.

God was at home with God’s people, living with them, traveling with them, creating community with them. Later, when Israel was settled in the Promised Land, King Solomon built the magnificent Temple, replacing the worn out and ragged Tabernacle.

At its dedication (1 Kings 8 ), Yahweh’s Shekinah glory flooded the building, and all knew again that God was at home with God’s people. But then politics and morality began to take many wrong turns.

By 588 B.C., the prophet Ezekiel had a nightmare vision of God’s glory cloud gathering itself from the various rooms of the Temple, and sucked back up to heaven (Ezekiel 9-11). The Owner had left the building! A short while later, Babylonian armies stormed Jerusalem’s gates, wasted the city, and destroyed the Temple.

It would be a long seventy years before a smaller, uglier version of the old grand divine palace of Yahweh was rebuilt by returning Exiles (Ezra 1-6). Those who remembered Solomon’s splendid structure wept. Most significantly, though, Yahweh’s Shekinah glory light never returned!

Would God abandon God’s House and God’s people forever?

This was the question of the day during prophet Malachi’s time (Malachi 3). “I will come back,” promised Yahweh. “First I will send ‘Elijah’ to prepare the way…”

So the people waited.

One day John “The Baptizer” showed up and began to shout about God returning. Three times over, in Matthew’s gospel, he was called ‘Elijah’!

Then came Jesus! To the Temple!
The Owner of the House had come home! But things had fallen into chaos and disrepair.

Only the Homeowner had the guts and authority to do some house cleaning..