Dwelling
Places of God built by Wisdom
Moses
who built the tabernacle in the wilderness said in Exodus
35:10-11, “And all the wise-hearted among you shall come and make
all that the Lord has commanded. The tabernacle, His tent, and His
covering.......” Only those
with wisdom and a heart for God were chosen to build God's dwelling
places. God didn't want His dwelling places built by
man's own ideas but by His blueprint according to His Word. These
wise ones will be teachable, skilled and full of knowledge and
understanding. A wise-hearted person will have a united heart with
God.
David
said that God teaches him wisdom in the inmost place. Psalm
51:6 The tabernacle of David
housed only the Ark of the Covenant – the presence of God. There
were no sacrifices offered in David's tabernacle. One entered this
tabernacle with thanksgiving and praise.
Solomon,
the wisest human king until Jesus, ruled over God's people. Solomon
wanted wisdom so he could rule God's people righteously and justly.
During his reign, the Israelites had peace, rest, glory and riches.
They even had the most glorious temple. There has never been another
one built like it. Unfortunately, like all of the dwelling places of
God on earth, it was temporary.
The only permanent (eternal)
dwelling place of God is in
Jesus and those who are “in Him” because they have accepted God's
love gift of grace and truth through Him. As wise as Solomon was, he
disobeyed God and turned to foreign wives and their idols. He also
gathered horses for battle in direct disobedience to God's
instruction. Jesus remained sinless and fully obedient to the Truth.
Jesus said that “One
greater than Solomon was here.” Luke 11:31 Solomon
had earthly wisdom, power and wealth but Jesus had pure wisdom (all
truth),
all power over the heavens and the earth and riches untold.
The
wisdom of God in His Word is dependable and faithful. Godly wisdom
is eternal because Jesus is the wisdom of God and He is eternal. The
Bible says that Jesus was “filled
with wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him.” Luke 2:40 Jesus
was strong and powerful because of this. This same wisdom is
available to everyone who desires it. By walking and talking in the
wisdom of God, Jesus glorified the Father and demonstrated that the
Kingdom of God is real. Earthly wisdom will pass away but the Word
of the Lord will last forever. Those who apply their mind to the
wisdom of God will gain knowledge and understanding and will
recognize the Truth. We will not be taken in by every wind of
doctrine but will know the Truth.
The
Bride of Christ needs to flow in the Spirit of wisdom. We, His
Bride, are to operate in His wisdom and understanding. We must raise
up a standard that the world can see and want to know Jesus because
of it. Instead of waving banners, we need to wave our transformed
life and bring glory to God through our actions, words and deeds.
“Walk in wisdom
toward them that are without, redeeming the time.” Colossians 4:5
KJV
Worship is more than a song. It is a life lived out in the ways of
God for God and with God. A man or woman of God with Godly wisdom is
well-fortified and strong. He or she is “walking
in Truth.” 2 John 4 The
Apostle John also said in 3
John 3-4, “It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell
about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in
the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are
walking in the truth.” How
much more joy must the Father and Jesus have when they see their
children walking in Truth! “The
joy of the Lord is our strength.”
He who is sure is the One working within us “to
will and to do of His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13
It pleased the Father to adopt us by Jesus Christ. (Ephesians
1:5) When
we walk in His will and truth, we please Him.
The
Bible says that we are to rightly-divide the Truth by studying. (2
Timothy 2:15) We
are sanctified by Truth. (John
17:17) Our
end goal is to walk and act as one who is approved by God because we
walk in the ways of God to the glory of His Name. If properly
prepared, we will not be ashamed. I am not saying that we will be perfect because God's perfecting is a progressive process. Walking according to God and His Word should be our goal. We should understand that when we fail, we have the loving grace and mercy of Jesus covering us, lifting us up and pushing us forward once again.
In
order for Ezra to rebuild the temple, he had to call God's people
back to the Word and repentance. The people had a renewed interest
in the Word and revival came. Ezra rebuilt the center of worship
first – the altar. God wants to begin with our hearts – the
center of worship—first. Then Ezra laid the foundation and the
temple was restored and renewed. Jesus must be the foundation stone
(beginning)
and the capstone (end)
and
all in between. He is the Temple of God not made with human hands.
With Jesus in our hearts ruling, believers are to also be the walking
temple of God who reflect the light and glory of the Son.
Proverbs
8: 32-36: Listen to me (wisdom);
blessed are those who keep my ways.
Listen to my
instruction and be wise; do not ignore it. Blessed is the man who
listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.
For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord.
But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love
death.” Wisdom
is in front of you at all times—at your door and doorway. Jesus
who is the Wisdom of God stands at the door of our hearts and knocks.
All we have to do is open our hearts and receive His wisdom. His
wisdom breathes life into our soul by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Those who don't find wisdom, wrongs his own soul. Wisdom calls from
a distance or right where we are. But are we listening? Do we
recognize or hear His voice of wisdom?
Proverbs
9:13-18
and Proverbs 10
compares
Godly wisdom with foolishness (folly).
Instruct
a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he
will add to his learning.
Proverbs
9:9 If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a
mocker, you alone will suffer. Those
who mock God have shut off His wisdom.
The
woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge. She
sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the highest point of the
city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way.
“Let all who are simple come in here!” she says to those who
lack judgment. “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is
delicious!” But little do they know the dead are there, that her
guests are in the depths of the grave. Proverbs 9:13-18 This
woman is the harlot bride of sin. She is undisciplined and without
wisdom. She exalts herself and calls to those who pass by to lure
them in by telling them that the things they do in secret are sweet. This is a lie. Doing what this harlot bride says will lead to their ruin and death. God operates in
openness and honesty (truth).
If we have to hide what we are doing from others, then it isn't the
Holy Spirit operating. It is our fleshly nature which is led by the
devil.
Proverbs
10 compares
those who are wise to those who are not. Blessing comes to those who
are wise, but grief, destruction and even death comes to the fool.
Blessings
crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of
the wicked. 10:6
The
mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms
the mouth of the wicked. 10:11
Wise
men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin. 10:14
Wisdom
is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of
him who lacks judgment. 10:13
The
wise at heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.
10:8
When
words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is
wise. 10:19
A
fool finds pleasure in evil conduct, but a man of understanding
delights in wisdom. 10:23
The
mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue
will be cut out. 10:31
The
lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the
wicked only what is perverse. 10:32
In
Proverbs 11, the
righteous are compared to the unrighteous, unfaithful and the wicked.
The
book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom. I have just tapped into some
of the scriptures on wisdom. You may want to study Proverbs for
further insight. Godly wisdom is infinite and unsurpassed. The
river of wisdom hopefully flows out of every believer's life and
collectively becomes a mighty overflowing river of life. Wisdom
won't return more than we are willing to invest to gain her. We are
to search for wisdom as a person searches for gold or silver.
May
the wisdom of God abide in you richly and strengthen you. May the
wisdom within you bring the blessings and favor of God upon you and
your household. May the words of your mouth be a fountain of life to
others, and may you discern right from wrong, truth from untruth, and
may the wisdom of God flow through your lips and your life reflect
it.
Blessings
and peace,
Sandy
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