In this
verse we see Jesus in Jerusalem and the first thing he did was to visit the
temple. Why? The temple was central to the life of Israel. They are a people
called into a relationship with God. The temple was the place that represents
God’s dwelling. The kind of activities conducted in the temple and the attitude
the people came with, would be indicative of the condition of their
relationship with Him. So naturally it was the first place that the Lord
visited. We can imagine He must have slowly and purposefully walked through the
whole building, and scrutinized part by part till it was late. Then He and His
disciples left for Bethany.
What did the
Lord see in the temple? We will be told later that what He saw displeased Him.
The place of worship was desecrated, commercialized, and the worshippers exploited.
The courtyard of the temple was more like a marketplace – full of dirt and
filth. It was to be a place of prayer, a place where people built their lives and
instructed how to stay connected with God. But unfortunately, all these did not
happen. Even when the Lord of lords came to the place that was to make Him
central, He was un-noticed. Nobody was concerned about His presence.
Today, the Lord
still sees everything. He is not just interested in what’s going on in church but
also what’s going on in our hearts. He looks at every aspect of our lives. The
point is this: in the midst of all our activities in life, are we so engrossed with
our activities and so fail to notice His presence? Let us not be unconcerned
about His presence. Know that it’s true: the eyes of the Lord still run to and fro
the whole earth to look for those whose hearts are for perfectly His.
We need to
take heed of Psalm 14:2 that tells us:
“The Lord has looked down from heaven
upon the sons of men
To see if there
are any who understand, who seek after God.”
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