Leon's Bible Commentary 7 God in Man

God In Man

leon
Jerusalem 13th June 2005

Ex 25:8 "And make for me a Temple and I will dwell in them."

God doesn't dwell in a physical building made of mortar and stones, which man calls a "The Temple".
The Temple is a spiritual situation of man.
God dwells in that spiritual Temple which is in the heart of man.
God requires a spiritual Temple in the heart of man in which to reside.
God dwells in Jerusalem when man lives according to His commandments.

Zech 8:3 "Thus saith the Lord 'I will return to Zion and I will dwell in Jerusalem, and Jerusalem will be called the city of truth and the Mountain of the Lord of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain."

Ezekiel gives the details of the spiritual Temple
Ezek 43:9 "Now put far from me their harlots and the carcasses of their kings and I will dwell in them forever."

"Them" refers to the people.

Jeremiah gives more details of the spiritual Temple:
Jeremiah 7: 1 - 10 " Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, 'make your conduct and your deeds good, and I will dwell in this place.'"

He means the heart of a man whose deeds are good etc.
"Don't trust in lying words, saying ' the Temple of the Lord 'they are the Temple of the Lord."

"But make good your conduct and your deeds.' If you will surely perform justice between a man and his neighbor.

"Don't oppress the stranger, the orphan, and the widow and don't spill innocent blood in this place and don't do evil to yourselves by following after other gods."

"Then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land which I gave to your fathers from eternity to eternity."

The people will deserve to live in the Land only when they have built God's temple in their hearts by becoming good.

"Behold you trust in lying words that aren't of any use."
"Stealing and murdering and going after harlots and taking false oaths and offering incense to Baal and following after gods that you don't know."
"Then you come and stand before this house where you call my name and you say'we are saved even if we do all these abominations.

Conclusion summary of these verses:

The Land belongs to God, not to the People of Israel. God gives the Land to those who live according to His commandments. The expression in the Bible is that God dwells in the Land when the people who live there have made a place for Him to dwell in their hearts.

Where is God? He's in the heart of man. Where is man?
He is everywhere that he lives according to God's word.

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