The Eye of the Beholder

I 56 46 rather. And what happens
here is Jesus begins to unveil the future to his disciples.
His particular intent there is not to let them in on secrets
as if it was some kind of a secret society, but to give them a warning
and to exhort them to faithfulness and to encourage them that God
and his sovereignty is in full control. The Olivet Discourse
said, one, is the last of Jesus’ major discourses in Matthew’s
Gospel. And it is largely concerned with
judgment and the conduct that is expected of a follower of
Christ. Sometimes what Jesus says regarding
the coming judgment on Jerusalem, a judgment that was consummated
in 70 A.D. Sometimes what Jesus is saying in these passages refer
to the judgment at the end of the age. And sometimes it’s difficult
to separate the two. Some of what Jesus says could
equally apply to both. The first is a judgment that
followed the rejection of Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry.
The second is the judgment that will follow the end, the culmination
of the preaching of the gospel throughout the world. All three
synoptic writers offer a substantial amount of detail, some unique
to this Olivet discourse. And we will spend no little time
on these words in the next weeks and months to come. If you would,
I want to take you to the Gospel of Luke and I want to pick it
up in verse five. We’ll read as is often the case,
much more than we will even propose to cover this morning. But I
want to continually park it in its context, if you would, beginning
in verse five of chapter twenty one. And while some were talking
about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones
and votive gifts, he said, as for these things which you are
looking at, the days will come in which there will not be one
stone upon another which will not be torn down.” And they questioned
Him, saying, “‘Teacher, when, therefore, will these things
happen? And what will be the sign when
these things are about to take place?’ And He said, “‘See to
it that you are not misled, for many will come in My name, saying,
I am He, and the time is near. Do not go after them. When you
hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified, for these
things must take place first.” But the end does not follow immediately.
Then he continued by saying to them, nation will rise against
nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes
in various places, plagues and famines. And there will be terrors
and great signs from heaven. But before all these things,
They will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering
you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and
governors for my name’s sake. It will lead to an opportunity
for your testimony. So make up your minds not to
prepare beforehand to defend yourselves, for I will give you
utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able
to resist or refute. But you will be betrayed even
by parents and brothers and relatives and friends. And they will put
some of you to death and you will be hated by all because
of my name. Yet, not a hair of your head
will perish. By your endurance, you will gain
your lives. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded
by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. Then
those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains and those who
are in the midst of the city must leave. And those who are
in the country must not enter the city because these are days
of vengeance so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.
Woe to those who are pregnant and those who are nursing babes
in those days, for there will be great distress upon the land
and wrath to this people. And they will fall by the edge
of the sword and will be led captive into all the nations.
And Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until
the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Jesus looked upon the temple. It wasn’t the first time that
he had visited the temple. If I may take you on a tour,
I’d like to take you back to Luke’s gospel all the way back
to the beginning, to chapter two. In chapter two, we have
Jesus first visit to Jerusalem, and it takes place in chapter
two, verse twenty two. And it is recorded regarding
his parents that when the days of their purification, according
to the law of Moses, were completed, they, that is, Jesus’ parents,
brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. Matthew
records that those are the same days when the Magi from the East
arrived in Jerusalem. Jesus’ second visit to Jerusalem
takes place in chapter to verse 41, if you would skip down a
bit and it reveals a pattern. So we don’t even know for sure
that this was Jesus’ second visit to Jerusalem, but rather his
second recorded visit, because it says in verse 41, now his
parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.
We know that he’s a young man here in this passage. And likely,
if this was an annual event, he had been there multiple times
before. Seeing the temple, the beauty
of it, the grandeur of it. Turn, if you will, to another
visit that Jesus made to Jerusalem in chapter 4. In chapter 4, if
you are familiar with Luke’s Gospel, you know the echo there.
This is the temptation of Christ. This is where Satan himself led
Jesus into the wilderness. And ultimately, it says in verse
nine, he led him to Jerusalem, not the first time that Jesus
had been there, not the first time that he had been to the
temple. And it says that he had him stand on the pinnacle of
the temple as if to tempt him and said to him, if you are the
son of God, throw yourself down from here. As I said, this is
the third recorded visit by Jesus to the temple. If you would turn
to the Gospel of John. In the Gospel of John, we find
the fourth recorded visit to the temple in chapter two. In
chapter two, it says that the Passover of the Jews was near
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. The narrative continues and echoes
this same visit in chapter 2, verse 23. And in chapter 5, we
find Jesus back in Jerusalem again for His fifth recorded
visit. It says that after these things,
there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
This was a familiar place to our Lord by now. The temple was
not only the temple of God, it was His temple. But he visited
not only as God, he visited it as our Lord, our earthly Lord. And then the Gospels enter in
to this series of forecasts. And it’s as if Jesus had never
been to the temple before. Don’t turn to Matthew’s Gospel,
because I only have a half a verse to read you. But it says in Matthew
16, 21, from that time, Jesus began to show His disciples
that He must go to Jerusalem. And He did so because it goes
on to say that He must go and suffer many things from the elders
and the chief priests and scribes and be killed and raised up the
third day. This was not His first visit
to Jerusalem. And yet, as the Gospels unfold,
everything focuses in on this moment. His arrival. on the streets
of Jerusalem. Turn, if you would, back to Luke
in chapter 9. Matthew issues this first of Jesus setting His sights on
Jerusalem. Luke picks this up and it’s like
a refrain, a chorus, if you will, that Luke keeps repeating, wetting
our appetites for the arrival of our Lord in the city of God.”
Luke 9.31, where Jesus said, “…appearing
in glory.” They were speaking of His departure, which He was
about to accomplish in Jerusalem. Turn to verse 53 of that same
chapter. In 9.53 it says, “…they did
not receive Him, because He was traveling to Jerusalem.” Turn
over to chapter 13, verse 22. It is recorded of Christ by Luke,
who is so focused on this detail. He’s doing it for a reason. It
says that as He was passing through from one city and village to
another, teaching and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. Look at chapter 13, verse 33.
where Jesus himself says, nevertheless, I must journey on today and tomorrow
and the next day, for it cannot be that a prophet would perish
outside of Jerusalem. Jesus knows his mission. Jesus
knows his ministry. Jesus knows exactly what he’s
called to by God the Father. Turn, if you would, to chapter
17. And in this particular occasion,
all three of the gospel writers record this particular forecast. Luke just says it simply while
in verse 11, while he was on his way to Jerusalem, almost
matter of fact, now at this point. Turn, if you would, one chapter
to the right. Chapter 18. Look at verse 31. Jesus now much more formally,
much more solemnly takes His followers aside, He says He took
the twelve aside and said to them in verse 31, Behold, we
are going up to Jerusalem and all things which are written
through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to
the Gentiles and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon.
And after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him. And
the third day He will rise again. But the disciples understood
none of these things and the meaning of this statement was
hidden from them and they did not comprehend the things that
were said. One chapter further to the right,
chapter 19, where Luke issues several more of his forecasts,
focusing our attention that much more on the mission in Jerusalem. Look at verse 11 of chapter 19.
While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to
tell a parable. Because He was near Jerusalem. The forecast there is that, look,
He’s got to get His teaching in. He’s got certain things left
to impart to His followers. And because He is near to Jerusalem,
His time is short. Finally, look at chapter 19,
verse 28. Chapter 19, verse 28, Luke sets
the table for us with regards to Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem.
It says, after He had said these things, He was going on ahead,
going up to Jerusalem. This didn’t catch Christ by surprise.
They didn’t give Him a surprise attack. Jesus knew precisely
what He was entering into. And in that 19th chapter, in
verse 41, Luke records this. When he approached Jerusalem,
he saw the city and wept over it, saying, If you had known
in this day, even you, the things which make for peace, but now
they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come
upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against
you and surround you and hem you in on every side. They will
level you to the ground and your children with you And they will
not leave you in one leave in you one stone upon another because
you did not recognize the time of your visitation. I want to take you to the temple
in your mind’s eye. Some of you have been introduced
to William Hendrickson in our commentaries, in our study of
the Gospel of Mark. If I’ve told the men if there
was one set that you would buy absolutely by Hendrickson, you’ve
got to be a little careful in particular places. But one of
the most solid commentators there is. William Hendrickson records
this about the temple. They had left the sanctuary in
the city. They had crossed back over the
Kidron and were slowly climbing out of the Mount of Olives. A
sudden turn in the road and the sacred building was once more
in full view. Just then, the western sun was
pouring its golden beams on top of the marble cloister and on
the terraced courts and glittering on the golden spikes of the roof
of the holy place. In that setting, even more than
in the rising sun, must the vast proportions, the symmetry, the
sparkling sheen of the mass of snowy marble and gold have stood
out more gloriously. And across the Black Valley and
up the slopes of all of that lay the dark shadows of these
gigantic walls built of massive stones. But it was but natural
that the contrast between this and the predicted desolation
should have impressed Jesus’ followers. It was natural also
that they should refer to it not as a matter of doubt, but
rather as a matter of question. And they begin to ask Jesus questions
about His statement. Look back again at verse 6 of
Luke’s Gospel. In Luke 21, Jesus forecasts for
them that this temple, this beautiful temple that they’re looking at,
is going to be utterly devastated. He says, as for the things which
you are looking at, the days will come in which there will
not be one stone upon another which will not be torn down.
That had to be a shocking statement to any Jew. And they respond
with not one or two, but a series of questions. We’ll take those
up in a moment. For the worshipper approaching
Jerusalem, it had to be an absolutely exhilarating sight. Alfred Edersheim, the great historian
that captured so much of first century Christianity for us,
said this of the approach of the temple. He said, as the pilgrim
ascended the mount crested by the symmetry of that proportioned
building, which could hold within its gigantic girdle not fewer
than 210,000 persons. His wonder might well increase
at every step. The mount itself seemed like
an island abruptly rising from deep valleys, surrounded by a
sea of walls and palaces, streets and houses. and crowned by a
mass of snowy marble and glittering gold, rising terrace upon terrace. Altogether, it measured a square
of about a thousand feet, or to give the rabbis exact equivalent,
the measurement of 927 feet. What did this temple mean to
the Jewish people? It meant everything. Their lives
were tied up in this particular locality. And at the very minimum,
annually, they would return to the temple any respecting Jew.
Edersheim continues in painting his picture of the temple. And
I acknowledge fully, I don’t normally read you entire portions,
but I want you to get a grasp of the temple until we know the
outstanding nature of this edifice, we will never even be able to
relate to Jesus’ proposed destruction of it. Edersheim goes on, what
did the temple mean to the Jewish people? Wherever a Roman, a Greek,
or an Asiatic might wander, he could take his gods with him.
Or find rites kindred to his own. It was far otherwise with
the Jew. He had only one temple. And that
in Jerusalem only one God, him who had once thrown there between
the cherubim and him who was still king over Zion. That temple
was the only place where God, where a God appointed pure priesthood
could offer acceptable sacrifices, whether for forgiveness of sin
or for fellowship with God. Here in the impenetrable gloom
of the innermost sanctuary, which the high priest alone might enter
once a year, for the most solemn expiation had stood the ark,
the leader of the people into the land of promise and the footstool
on which the Shekinah glory of God had rested. From that golden
altar rose a cloud in incense, a symbol of Israel’s accepted
prayers That seven-branched candlestick shed its perpetual light, indicative
of the brightness of God’s covenant presence. On that table, as it
were before the face of Jehovah Himself, was laid week by week
the bread, such as the literal meaning translated, showbread. The constant sacrificial meal
which Israel offered to God and wherewith God in turn fed His
chosen priesthood. On the great blood-sprinkled
altar of sacrifice smoked the daily and festive burnt offerings
brought by all Israel and for all Israel, wherever scattered,
while the vast courts of the temple were thronged, not only
by native Palestinians, but by literally Jews out of every nation
under heaven. Around this temple gathered the
sacred memories of the past. To it clung the brighter hopes
of the future. The history of Israel and all
their prospects were intertwined by their religion so that it
may be said that without their religion, they had no history. And without their history, they
had no religion. Thus, history and patriotism,
religion and hope alike pointed to Jerusalem and to the temple
as the center of Israel’s unity. This was everything to the Jew. Let me just give you a brief
history. Of the temple, it was David,
as we said, that conceived to build the temple. But in First
Chronicles 28 3, God had other plans and he said,
you shall not build a house for my name because you are a man
of war and have shed blood. God had standards and God upheld
those standards and gave the job instead to David’s son, Solomon. Solomon began the work we know
in 969 BC and finished it seven years later. First Kings. Chapter six through eight give
intricate details that were to be followed in the construction
of this temple. This wasn’t just any work. This
wasn’t to be casually entered into. Just speaking of the furniture. Chapter 6 says this, the inner
sanctuary He made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits
high, five cubits with the one wing of the cherub, five of the
other of the cherub. From the end of one wing to the
end of the other wing were ten cubits. The other cherub was
ten cubits. Both the cherubim were of the
same measure, of the same form. The height of the one cherub
was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. Do you get the
degree of detail that God put in? to this temple. It was David’s
idea. It was Solomon’s job, but it’s
God’s plan. God drew the blueprint. Over the course of the next centuries,
the temple, God’s temple would be plundered. It would be rebuilt,
renovated, ultimately desecrated and purged and rebuilt again. In 586 B.C., it says that the
Chaldean army came and destroyed Jerusalem, including Solomon’s
temple. There was an attempt 50 years
later to rebuild it with the portion, the remnant that had
come back to Jerusalem. And while they built it, it was
an utter disappointment. Ezra records this. Yet many of
the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old
men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the
foundation of this house was laid before their eyes. They
were utterly brokenhearted at the level of workmanship. It
just didn’t measure up. It wasn’t the same. And enter
in, of all people, Herod the Great, to pick up the work, the
heathen ruler to come in and to throw his efforts and his
finances behind the project of restoring. He changed it. He enlarged it. He enlarged the
true complex or the original complex to a state that to such
an extent that ultimately it could literally be called a new
temple. It was a huge area on which the
temple stood, a square that one recorded measuring not less than
a thousand feet on each side, enclosed by a massive wall. The
east wall, as we just heard read, was overlooked the Kidron Valley.
Through that golden gate, you would be able to go out and cross
a brook and go through the Garden of Gethsemane. All places that
were common to the Jews and recorded for our posterity in the Gospels
with regards to our Lord. Gethsemane, Bethany, the Mount
of Olives, all waited just outside the gate. And as one pointed
out, there were three particular features that made this temple
absolutely unforgettable. Its vastness. He goes on to say
that the vastness reminding man of his littleness, which inspired
awe as people approached. They saw this massive structure
and the closer they got, the more in awe they were. It’s beauty. Pointing to the fact that beauty,
as he points out, is conducive to worship and its purpose, its
purpose, everybody knew what the purpose of the building was
originally designed to be. And it took Jesus to come back
and remind everyone what that purpose was. Jesus, quoting from
Isaiah, said that the temple was to be a house of worship
where the Jews could come and draw near to God, who was otherwise
austere and far away, separated from them by their sin. It is important to note here,
as we Delve back into Luke’s gospel in verse five. It is important
to note here that Matthew inserts here that it is a departure,
really. Jesus is leaving the temple,
perhaps for good. Jesus, Matthew records, came
out of the temple and was going away. His public ministry was
ended. Jesus was leaving the temple
now, perhaps for the last time. And there is symbolism there,
even in those simple words. Jesus is leaving the temple for
the last time in a very real sense, abandoning it. And Luke
records in verse 5, And while some were talking about the temple,
that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, some
of his own followers couldn’t help exclaim I mean, here they
have the Lord of glory next to them. Their focus was on an earthly
building. Again, Matthew adds the context
that it was actually Jesus disciples who gestured were called attention
to this grand religious structure. Matthew 24, one says that this
way Jesus came out from the temple. He was going away when his disciples
came up to a point to point out the temple buildings to him as
if Jesus hadn’t seen them. Perhaps the sun was glistening
off the white marble in such a way that it was just absolutely
stunning, spellbinding to his own followers. Mark goes further
to point out what those features were, the specifics of their
observations. Mark says exactly what it was
that captured their attention. Mark 13.1 says, as he was going
out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Teacher,
behold, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings. The spokesman for the disciples
isn’t indicated there, but seemingly It was a reply to what Jesus
had already said about Jerusalem. Perhaps they were trying to talk
Jesus out of his words, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Heartbreaking words
where Jesus pronounced that destruction upon this place and this temple. Perhaps they were trying to suggest,
Jesus, surely you’re not really talking about destroying this
temple. Matthew 23, 38 records that Jesus
said on that occasion, Behold, your house is being left to you
desolate. It’s empty. It’s void. It’s worth
nothing. It was so utterly grievous to
these Jewish apostles, followers of Christ, no doubt, but Jewish
to the core, that desolation, utter destruction was in store
for this building. the disciples couldn’t hardly
bear it. As our friend J.C. Ryle said
it, to put it in perspective, we have to remember that these
words were spoken of a building which every Israelite regarded
with almost idolatrous veneration. A building which contained the
Ark, the Holy of Holies, the symbolical furniture formed on
a pattern given by God Himself. A building associated with most
of the principal names in Jewish history. David, Solomon, Hezekiah,
Josiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Nehemiah. A building toward which
every devout Jew turned his face when he offered up daily prayers. And it was at that very time This temple of Jerusalem, because
of the massive size of it, because of its glory and grandeur, it
was regarded throughout the world as one of the wonders of the
world. And for over a thousand years,
it was the place looked to by the entire world as the religious
center, religious life. of what they knew of was the
chosen people of God. And all they can do as they look
out across the valley is comment. Look at the size of the stones
on the building. Look at the glorious gifts. According to Josephus, part of
the temple was built of strong white stones measuring nearly
40 feet long, eight feet high and 18 feet thick. Astounding
in any day and age. It is recorded that some of these
stones weigh more than 100 tons, how they moved them is beyond
figuring out that these votive gifts that the disciples are
so focused on. They were sacrifice offerings,
they were basically goodwill offerings from worshippers and
non-worshippers, from those who, through political desires, desired
to curry favor with the Jews and those who were worshiping
God himself as they gave gifts. There were all kinds of gifts,
all manner of gifts. One recorded that Tacitus, the
Roman historian and Josephus, the Jewish writer, both mentioned
the enormous riches that were contained in the temple. It consisted
chiefly of offerings given by pious persons, by rulers who
wish to testify respect for the building. Many of these offerings
were suspended in the portico of the temple so that all could
see them. In particular, there was given
a golden vine by Herod. with clusters of grapes as tall
as a man. It was absolutely a stunning
edifice. No wonder it was called by one
a palace of immense opulence. Most of you know of Josephus,
the Jewish historian. He was not a follower of Christ.
He was not a believer. He was not a godly man, particularly. He was a historian. He merely
stood back and recorded what he saw. This is what he saw of
the temple. Now, the outward face of the
temple in its front lacked nothing that was likely to surprise either
men’s minds or their eyes, for it was covered all over with
plates of gold of great weight. And at the first rising of the
sun, it reflected back a fiery splendor and made those who forced
themselves to look upon it turn their eyes away, just as they
would have done at the sun’s own rays. This temple appeared
to strangers when they were at a distance, like a mountain covered
with snow. For as those parts of it that
were not covered with gold, they were exceedingly white. On its
top, it had spikes with sharp points to prevent any pollution
of it by birds sitting upon it. Of its stones, some of them were
45 cubits in length. Before this temple stood the
altar 15 cubits high and equal on both length and breadth, each
with dimensions of 50 cubits. The figure of it was built in
a square. It had corners like horns and
the passage up to it was by any insensible acclivity. It was
formed without any iron tool, nor did any such iron tool so
much as touch it at any time. At one point, this temple, this
Jerusalem had been the glory of the whole earth. The Psalms
repeatedly talk about the glory of the temple. Psalm 48, too. Beautiful in elevation. The joy
of the whole earth is Mount Zion in the far north, the city of
the great king. Verse 12 of that same psalm,
walk about Zion. Go around her. Count her towers. Consider her ramparts. Go through
her palaces that you may tell it to the next generation. For
such is God. For God, forever and ever, He
will guide us until death. Psalm 137 May my tongue cling
to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not
exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. And here lies the city stretched
out before the view of our Lord. And Jesus had a view that nobody
else had. And in the eye of this beholder,
he looked out upon a city that was absolutely objectively beautiful
to the human eye. But what Jesus saw was hideous.
A city smoldering in ruin with hundreds of thousands doomed
to their death. Jesus said in verse 6, As for
these things which you are looking out, the days will come in which
there will not be one stone upon another which will not be torn
down. As we suggested already, absolutely
stunning words to the apostles. Words that were literally fulfilled
in 70 A.D. that all the apostles can do
is begin to grasp with questions. Matthew records an additional
questions. The three questions were simple.
The first one pertained to the destruction of the temple. Another
pertained to Jesus’ future personal return. When are you coming back?
The other question related to the sign when these things were
about to happen. You see, as one person very accurately
stated, the disciples assumed that the destruction of the temple
would be the prelude to the Messiah’s return to consummate the age
and initiate his kingdom on earth. They assumed that. Jesus did
not deny a relationship between the two, nor did he in the subsequent
discourse reveal the long interval that would separate the two.
Jerusalem would be destroyed and then Jesus would return. Some predictions were fulfilled
a few years after he spoke the words. Others have yet to be
fulfilled. We’ll get into some of this in
Sunday school and in the weeks to come. But of the three questions
that Jesus takes up. Jesus ignores, at least temporarily,
the first question. Exactly when the temple would
be destroyed, history tells us we know now. Looking back now,
we know exactly when that was. 70 A.D. Total destruction, precisely
as Jesus had prophesied. And we’ll go into great detail
on that next Lord’s Day. The amazing thing, though, is
that God allowed it all to be destroyed. The temple, the city
and all of it. All of it, that is, except the
people. He allowed the destruction of the place of worship, the
beautiful temple, even the Holy of Holies. It is recorded that
the conquerors came and took those curtains, took them with
them. Not only that, but he permitted
the destruction of the whole city, the walls, the buildings,
everything, all that is except the remnant. A fragment of the
nation of Israel. The Jews. Estimates of how many
Jews were killed during the siege that lasted several years eclipsed
the million mark, it was utter massacre. The Israelites could
have been wiped out here in an instant. But in God’s providence,
they weren’t they weren’t. Schaff. From his history, one
of the most astounding coverages of the history of the church
in any generation said this. But the Jews still had the law
after all this utter devastation carted off largely in slavery,
the ones that weren’t fed to the lions in some kind of sick
and morbid show. They still had the law. and the
prophets and the sacred traditions to which they clung to this day
with indestructible tenacity and with the hope of a great
future, scattered over the earth, at home everywhere and nowhere,
refusing to mingle their blood with any other race, dwelling
in distinct communities, marked out as a peculiar people in every
feature of countenance, in every rite of religion, patient, sober,
industrious, Successful in every enterprise. Prosperous in spite
of oppression. Ridiculed and feared. Robbed,
yet wealthy. Massacred, yet springing up again. They have outlived the persecution
of centuries and are likely to continue to live to the end of
time. The object of the mingled contempt, admiration and wonder
of the world. issue a special invitation to
Sunday school. We’ll take up a little bit more
of this, and I will echo that, do essentially the same presentation
for those of you who can’t be there next Sunday night. I’ll
be addressing this very issue in more detail. The very reason
for the four year hiatus from Luke’s Gospel, from this discussion
of the end times and eschatology and all that. I’m not going to
give you the final word. I don’t know that I ever will.
I’m not going to tell you that I have it all figured out, but
I will echo this. Israel lives. The nation of Israel
is alive to this day. In 70 A.D., the temple and the
entire city of Jerusalem were reduced to unrecognizable rubble. But the people live and God has
a plan for them. Would you join me in prayer? Our God, you are incredibly merciful
to paint this picture for us of your passion for holiness
and righteousness and justice. Father God, we thank you and
we praise you for your grace and goodness in our own lives
that we stand far off from these days. And we have come to know
the God who dwelled the Holy of Holies. Lord, you have infused
us with your righteousness, having sent your son to die on our behalf. Lord God, we fall before you
and worship you and thank you and praise you for the salvation
that you have granted to us for no desert of our own. but purely
by your mercy alone. Lord God, we thank you and we
praise you. And it’s in Jesus name that we
pray. Amen. You