It was at first the tabernacle
But that was only a tent,
Since the Jews were on the go
This made a lot of sense.
The centre of the assembly
But not the centre-spot,
The Jews clearly understood then
That Yahweh held that spot.
On occasions though,
When showing a tendency to forget,
They were forcefully reminded
And their focus was reset.
It was a temporal setup
On the promised land journey
But in the fulness of time
There would be a stationary utility.
I speak of the temple
Which was David’s idea
But was built in Solomon’s time;
God had the final say.
With the temple came the city
Jerusalem was its name,
And under the reign of Solomon
Its riches were acclaimed.
There was great peace too
The result of God’s wisdom
That he gave to King Solomon
To rule in that kingdom.
The temple, the centre-piece,
Soon became the centre-spot
And at times they hardly recognized
That Yahweh definitely was not.
There were many hard lessons
The Israelites had to learn
But the lessons were short lived
Since they were quite stubborn.
Fast forward to the future
Where we come to the Jews,
Just like in old Testament time
The temple was oft abused.
In the time of Eli
And even afterwards, Samuel,
For many of the people
It became like an idol.
They could live as they like
And all would be well,
Once they looked to the temple
Their troubles would be quelled.
Like the ark of the covenant
Back in King David’s time,
Once it was in their possession
All would be fine.
A misguided focus
Which they paid for greatly,
Such abeyance and worship
Is deserving of Yahweh only.
The Jews were proud of the temple
Which housed Almighty God,
It was made a splendid attraction
By King Herod before its fall.
Such was prophesied by Jesus
And within forty years occurred,
About the year AD 70
Is with what most scholars concur.
This was a hard knock to take
Certainly, for the Jews,
This in any time era
Would have been world news.
That was not its purpose
But the Jewish charm had gone
And with it the Old Covenant
Since the New was born.
They had seen the temple
But could not see the Christ,
Rather than worship the Creator
They worshipped a device.
Hence, it had to be removed
Their eyes were out of focus,
With the temple out of the way
They would now see Jesus.
And that’s what happened
Three thousand in one fell swoop
And shortly thereafter
Two thousand more in the loop.
To the Jews first, remember?
And then thereafter the Gentiles,
All like today both are coming in
As the Word reaches the defiled.
These are the times of the Gentiles,
And these are the times of the Jews,
Of every nation under heaven
They are receiving the wonderful news.
The wonderful news of salvation
That Jesus is come to save,
To deliver from kings and presidents
Down to the common slave.
No need to be out of focus
And be trapped in traditions of old,
But step out in the genuine liberty
That your eyes can now behold.
Don’t replace the ancient temple
With modern edifices today
But let the Holy Spirit be your life
And in your heart hold sway.
Pray not only for Jerusalem
But pray for all other cities too,
From the four corners the Father is calling
Just as he called to me and you.
Stewart Russell © June 2020
