Beyond bricks and mortar

Jeremiah continued to declare God’s plan for His people. “Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore,” (Jeremiah 3: 16). God’s plan for His people was that they should live in land that He had restored to them and enjoy the gift that He had given to them. From the days of Moses, the Lord had said that His people should build a sanctuary so that He could live among them (Exodus 25: 8). Whilst the Israelites were travelling to the Promised Land, the physical representation of God’s Presence was the Ark of the Covenant. When the Israelites went to war, the priests took the Ark on their shoulders and were at the forefront of the battle. The enemies of God’s people – like the Philistines – envied the power of the Ark, believing that the Ark was the Israelites’ object of worship. The power of the Ark became even “clearer” to the Philistines, when Dagon their god, suffered severe facial injuries and limb amputations in his own temple, when the Ark of the Covenant was present (1 Samuel 5: 3-5). Sadly, the people of God began thinking like the Philistines and they started to believe that the Ark brought them victory, rather than the mighty Hand of God. The word of God to His people back then is still true for kingdom citizens today. The apostle Paul explained to a group of Athenian scholars that God does not live in temples made by humans (Acts 17: 24). The Lord invites His people to go beyond the physical representation of His presence with us because we have in the birth of Christ, Emmanuel, God with us. The message so simple, yet so profound. When you experience the joy and reality of the presence of the Lord in your circumstances, you will not waste time worshipping buildings or symbols that represent His presence. The psalmist David explains. “In Your presence is fullness of joy,” (Psalm 16: 11). Experience the glory of the Lord; it is all you will ever need.