I noticed something interesting in reading this passage, something I'd never seen before. The location of the temple construction was a very specific place, the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite...
Now, anyone who studies the building of the temple knows nothing was done haphazardly or willy-nilly. Rather, specific instruction was given to every detail, right down to the most miniscule component of the temple. So, it's very interesting to see that this location was chosen. Let's get a little background here:
In the later years of his life, David angered the Lord by taking an unauthorized census of the people. As a result, he was given 3 choices for punishment. David asked that he fall into God's hands rather than the hands of man, so God sent a plague up on the people. The angel of the Lord struck down 70,000 people. David repented and the angel stayed his hand. Then David purchased the land and built an altar at the place the angel stopped, that place was the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (see 2 Sam 24).Now we return to the building of the temple and see that it was constructed at this place of separation, with the plague on one hand and the mercy of God on the other...
This is a beautiful picture of the church. We, the church, are the temple of God in the world today (1 Cor 3:16). On the outside is the judgment of God and the unchecked battering that comes from this world of sin. On the inside is the grace, mercy, and peace of God, and the fellowship of the beloved. Jesus Christ is the dividing line that creates a wall of protection for the church...
Just look at the children of Israel in Egypt. The night before the exodus they put blood on the door posts and the angel passed over them when it saw the blood and could not enter to kill the firstborn. However, where there was no blood, the angel was able to take vengeance. The blood of Christ covers his saints; it's applied in baptism for all the weary souls hear the beckoning call of the Savior, those who come out of the world and cross the threshold of the church.
It's so wonderful to see how Jesus provides protection and safety for his own. There's no greater place to be than in the church, the kingdom of the living God!!!
