The baton is being passed from David to Solomon. David has announced publicly that the temple will not be built by himself, a man of warfare but instead by Solomon, a man of wisdom. Solomon was also a man of rest who would establish peace with all Israel’s enemies on every side.  God has made a covenant with David promising that he would reign over Israel for ever. Solomon is being given the opportunity to be a continuance of God’s promise. But there are conditions….

….Observe and seek after all the commandments of the Lord your God so that you may possess the good land and bequeath it to your sons after you forever

….Know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. For the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts.

….If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be courageous and act.

The spiritual / national rule here is the Law of Moses. That Law, with its priest system and sacrifices, is the essence of the covenant through which Israel related to God. We who have been born anew are partakers of a newer and better covenant that is administered by the Spirit of grace (not law).  As attractive as many of the old covenant promises may be, they are conditional and pale in comparison to the ones we have in Christ as partakers of the new covenant. There are incredible differences between these covenants that we must understand. One primary one has to do with identity. 

The old covenant established a national, corporate identity’ . Their collective mind was, “We are the children of Israel.” They were a nation established and sustained through very particular rituals and the blood of animal sacrifice.” Theirs was a corporate identity dependent on a priest class that served as mediator between God and his people. Contrastingly, the new testament establishes an individual’s identity as an offspring of God.  Having no mediator; establishing the opportunity for a more personal relationship with God is, in part, what we are told the ancients were longing to see. The new covenant is without the constraints of any rituals and is established and sustained by the blood of Jesus, the sinless human sacrifice which would atone for our sin, once and for all.  A definite covenant upgrade!

Here is the primary difference though. While the Lord told Solomon that he has chosen him to build a house for the sanctuary and for him to be courageous and do it. God has told us something far far greater. In the new covenant, God is saying that he has created us as the house of his sanctuary and tells us to go and courageously be my residence (and therefore my witness) on earth. What a scandal that he chose willful flesh and blood with its dismal track record instead of the more dependable bricks and mortar! Such is the risk and wager of God.

What could God possibly be banking on? Based on what new variable could man possibly succeed in knowing and serving God with a whole heart and a willing mind? The crux of this answer is that with the new covenant came a new nature. As the Spirit has entered our lives, our natures have been awakened and altered. We no longer are constrained by a heart of stone. We have been given softened hearts. We can live (unburdened) by God and his commands not just because we have gotten more serious about sin and have doubled down with holy resolve against it but rather because, we are now children who share God’s DNA as did the two prototypes God once breathed life into, who themselves had their own covenant with God -the original one that God has never forgotten. To Adam and Eve he said..

I bless you; Go and be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

The common denominator of both testaments is God’s heart and his original intentions. These things have not changed. The old testament is simply the story of one of the covenants God implemented to re-establish his original human-administrated, global-dominion plan. The new covenant reveals God’s secret weapon in this battle – Jesus Christ and a body of people in whose hearts he lives and reigns. I do not think I will ever tire of saying; It is Christ in us the hope of God’s original and ultimate glory. Given that so much is riding on our new hearts, he still…..

searches them, and understands every intent of the thoughts. For the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts.

What he hopes to find in our hearts is not our doubled-down, dead-serious resolve of holy convictions and compliance but rather a simple rest, keenly aware of our altered identities and natures – hearts that know that God will never reject them (as was apparently possible with Solomon and the old covenant).  One day the resurrected Christ will establish his kingdom reign in this earth through the collective hearts of those where he is dwelling and has established his rule. (which is immeasurably more than being save from hell!) 

The foundation God is endeavoring to build his kingdom on is under repair just now. That repair has to do with our identities. Only sons and friends can build in the kingdom. Fear-motivated slaves laboring under the burden of performance religion, motivated by fear, working for God in the strength of their flesh will receive whatever rewards they have coming in this life not in eternity. Things we do in our own strength are wood hay and stubble. 

Since our hearts are God’s base of operations in the establishment of his kingdom (aka; taking dominion), he endeavors to burn these things (mere human motivation) up before we must stand before him and give account.  The refining process of our fiery trials on earth, when they are necessary, are useful in exposing where our flesh is ruling instead of his Spirit.

The baton has been passed again from the old testament saint to the new. It will also be passed from old wineskins to new wineskins. The new ones are not bound by conviction, rules and rituals. Through brokenness they are being weaned from the strength of human resolve and are becoming pliable and responsive to the Holy Spirit – God’s primary agent on earth and the occupants of our hearts. 

So, if it is not yet clear, God is banking on the Holy Spirit of Christ in our hearts. He has hedged His bet with himself. If we can grasp this, we will be free to unbuckle our religious seat belts and move about the kingdom. We will possess this good kingdom real estate and we will bequeath it to all in our spiritual linage all to the glory of Jesus Christ.

Father, in the sight of the great cloud of witnesses and a skeptical and unbelieving world establish your throne in our hearts in wisdom and rest. May we go out and courageously be the kingdom agents who establish you reign in this earth. May we grasp this overarching Kingdom Commission. So be it. 


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