The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. (Psalm 11:4)
If we were only to glance at this verse, something very interesting, even very important, might be overlooked. Specifically, let us consider that the temple David referred to may not have been the Heavenly Temple but an earthly one. True, there was no temple in Jerusalem during David’s lifetime but there was a tent that housed the Ark of the Covenant. Furthermore, David knew that there would be a Temple in Jerusalem in which the Presence of God would dwell. He knew that because, to dwell in the midst of His people was God’s plan from the beginning.
My point is that, even though His Throne is in Heaven, God desired to rest in His earthly house among His people; David alludes to this by saying, “The LORD is in His holy temple.”
We understand that God’s Presence is everywhere at all times but we should also understand that there are times when His Presence is much nearer. There are several passages in Scripture that describe God as distancing Himself or even turning His face away from Israel when they were in rebellion. But if they called out to Him in repentance, He would turn back to them, receive them and cause His Presence to dwell among them.
Being so much nearer lends to the idea that He would be in a position to behold the deeds of men, not to mention the intention of their heart, from a more intimate perspective. This is not to say that God can’t observe from a distance, but being in closer proximity to men results in closer scrutiny; e,g God came into the garden to engage Adam; He came down to Babel to investigate man’s rebellious tower.
So what is the point of this discussion? First of all, anyone who is pursuing God understands that we have need of His Spirit and Presence in our lives; that is why we seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In so doing, we not only invite Him to teach us and guide us through our lives but we also invite Him to challenge and convict us of wrongful thoughts and deeds. In short, we want His Presence close to us, not far away.
As Moses said, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here” (Exodus 33:15). That being said, with His Presence so intimately involved in our lives. there comes the responsibility to live in a way that encourages His Presence to remain with us. As David said, “His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men” meaning that He expects us to live in acknowledgement that He, indeed, moves among us.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
Recent Comments