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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Habakkuk – The Burden Prophet (4 of 4)
Focus Text: Habakkuk 2.20
“But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
Just what and where is God’s holy temple? Let the scriptures speak. “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands…” (Acts 7.48). “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.” (Acts 17.24). “Hear, all you peoples! Listen, O earth, and all that is in it! Let the Lord God be a witness against you, The Lord from His holy temple.” (Micah 1.2). “The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD’S throne is in heaven…” (Psalm 11.4).
Habakkuk, Stephen, Micah, and the Psalmist all saw God for the Almighty, Omniscient, Awesome God that He truly was and is! They knew that He is a God who can be approached but they also knew that there is a time when He is simply to be listened to! There is a time for talking and there is a time for listening. When God speaks, when He issues His decrees, that is NOT the time for talking. From a child most of us are taught it is rude to interrupt others when they are talking. How much more grave an error to interrupt the God of all Creation when He is talking! That is the idea these inspired writers were putting across; show respect, reverence, and submission by listening while God speaks!
In its context, today’s focus verse addresses the exalted position of Creator God; in point of fact, He absolutely has no equals; He is in His holy temple. The heavens themselves are the works of His hands. “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained…” (Psalm 8.3). Other writers, as we have demonstrated, affirm the fact that God cannot be contained in any physical building. Rather, God is Creator of all that exists! How could He be contained in a physical building? Common sense dictates that God simply must dwell in a dimension of which we have no experiential knowledge!
God is a part of the supernatural realm; He lives and rules in that sphere. Beyond the fact that He dwells in and rules over the supernatural realm is the fact that He, by implication, has power over the entire universe. The earth is but a tiny, almost infinitesimally, small part of that universe. To put that in somewhat of a perspective, the sun alone consists of a volume 1,000,000 times greater than the earth. To put it another way, you could fit 1,000,000 earths inside the sun. And the sun is but one of billions upon billions of stars that make up our universe. As someone has noted, the earth is but a “pale blue dot” when viewed against the immensity of space.
Where else could God be but in His holy temple? The earth, our solar system, the Milky Way galaxy, the billions of galaxies that exist in the universe – whether taken individually or collectively – all are but tiny and insignificant in comparison to the infinite power, wisdom, and goodness of Almighty God! God is in His holy temple and no power exists or shall exist that can dismiss Him from His rightful habitation. Let all the earth keep silence before Him! Men ought to think before they ignore, malign, or speak evil of such an One!
Questions:
1. How do we know that a physical building is not God’s holy temple?
2. Where does the Psalmist say the LORD’s throne is (Psalm 11.4)?
3. What, according to Psalm 8.3, is the work-product of God’s fingers?
4. If God really is the Creator of the universe as the Bible declares, what power could pose a threat to His existence and habitation?
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