The Jesus Bible Reading PlanSample

THE TEMPLE

The first half of the first chapter of Lamentations describes the destruction of Jerusalem from the point of view of someone directly observing what had happened. The prophet Jeremiah shows, with extensive poetic language, how Jerusalem’s sins have caused it to be completely desolated. Verse 10 shifts from the view of objective observer and makes the destruction of the city more personal for readers. By referring to “your assembly,” Jeremiah pointed out that the pagan enemy has not just entered into any building. The assembly, or the temple, was a house of worship and a very important building for the people of Jerusalem to communicate with God. The author was saying it is not simply a building, it is your building, and furthermore it is a representation of one’s relationship with God.

However, once Jesus arrived, the whole meaning and imagery of the temple changed. In John 2:19, Jesus said that he was going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. What Jesus was saying is that he is now the temple, and with his crucifixion, the temple (his body) would be destroyed only to rise again (or be rebuilt) in three days. While the temple was the way God’s people used to communicate with God, Jesus is the way Christians communicate with God today.

Jesus, I praise you because God can hear my praises. I praise you because God can hear my requests. I praise you because God can see my repentance. Amen.