Of God & Dwellings

St. Giles Cathedral in Scotland.

OT: 2 Chr 1-2
NT: Acts 17:16-34
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2 Chronicles 2: 3-4, 5-6 — Solomon sent this message to Hiram king of Tyre: “Send me cedar logs as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in. Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God and to dedicate it to him... The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?"

I must confess that I love cathedrals. Massive monuments to God, government and the Church, cathedrals are meant to make a statement about the might and mystery of God. They are also meant to teach people about reverence, beauty, and holy Scripture. I remember my first up-close encounter with a cathedral in 1997, when my family took a trip to Scotland and I stared upward at the might of St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. Across the street was a cathedral much taller but St. Giles was far more impressive. The stained glass windows gave light to a cavernous interior that made me feel so small and insignificant. It was as if God was standing over me, looking down at my lowliness.

The temple in Jerusalem, by eyewitness accounts, was much more grand than even the grandest cathedral. It was massive in scale and ornate beyond value. There was only one built like Solomon's Temple, and even when it was rebuilt after the exile, the old men wept because the old temple was so much greater than the new one. But even Solomon, the builder, knew a very important truth about the nature of God that Scripture repeats over and over again: God is bigger than a building. He's so much bigger that not even this magnificent structure could contain His glory. All it was good for was as a place to burn sacrifices before the Lord of heaven and earth. Paul echoed this truth on Mars Hill in Acts 17, when he spun around and pointed out that the one true God doesn't need a temple like Zeus. No, He dwells outside of space and time.

Are you living in the knowledge of the true nature of God? Are you placing Him in "boxes" meant to confine His power, glory, or authority over your life? Or are you worshiping God for His almighty presence and might?

Be God's.