Good Morning.

And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it. (Exodus 25:10-11)

As I mentioned in yesterday’s devotion, the ark of the covenant was the first piece of furniture mentioned by God and was the first to be placed in the Sanctuary. When you consider the partitions of the sanctuary — the court, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies — resembles a person in a sense — the outer, the inner and innermost –the ark is the piece of furniture that was placed in the “heart” of the Sanctuary. As with everything God teaches us, it is all about the heart being the place reserved for Him.

So just as the Holy of Holies is the focus (heart) of God’s house, the condition of our heart is the focus of our house where God is concerned. I have often said that He isn’t as concerned about our theology as much as He is the condition of our heart. If He has our hearts, then He can work on our minds. Moreover, any good deeds we perform with our hands must first be conceived in our heart. Think of it this way: when His Presence was within the Holy of Holies, the holiness of the Almighty emanated from the innermost chamber outwardly to permeate the rest of the House even into the courts. If He is in our hearts His Spirit, along with His Word, will permeate our mind; if in our mind, our actions will follow suit.

Centuries ago the psalmist wrote, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). He made certain to say, “heart” as opposed to “mind.” In other words, we can memorize Scripture all we want but still retain the potential and inclination to sin — even the Adversary can quote Scripture. But when His Word and His Spirit resides in our heart — the most intimate part of our being — we are less likely to commit sins against Him. That is because when He has our heart, we are empowered to live up to the challenge Yeshua gave to us when He said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill 

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