WHAT HOUSES HAVE YOU BUILT?

During the reign of King Saul, the Ark of God was taken into battle and captured by the Philistines. The Ark was important to the Nation of Israel because it was where once a year the high priest would bring blood as atonement for the sins of all the people, and present it before God at the Mercy Seat. It was also where the manifest presence of God rested.

For several years, Israel existed without the Ark until King David made arrangements to have it brought back to Jerusalem. David had a desire to not only bring the Ark home but to build a temple, dedicated to God where the Ark would be housed and all the people could worship. The Bible tells us that instead of David, the privilege of building the temple was given to Solomon, David’s son.

When it came time for David to die and Solomon to ascend to the throne, David instructed his son with these words in the 2nd chapter of 1 Kings:

1 Kings 2:2-3 “Be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. 3And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.”

 1 Kings records further, that when God asked Solomon to request any blessing he desired, Solomon chose wisdom. God was so pleased with Solomon’s choice that He also gave him riches and honor. The years passed and Solomon completed a great temple in honor of the God of Israel. At the dedication of the temple, the Glory of God so overwhelming filled the temple until the priests were unable to minister. What a glorious day for the God of Israel, the Children of Israel and Solomon.

As the story of Solomon continues, we learn about the part that is not so great or pure or holy. Unfortunately, this is the sad side of Solomon’s life that he describes in Ecclesiastes as “vanity and vexation of the soul.”

2 Chronicles 8:11 Now Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places to which the ark of the Lord has come are holy.” 

The part I find so striking is not that Solomon built a special house for his wife but the reason for building a house apart from his palace. This verse tells us that Solomon would not allow his wife, who worshiped gods other than Jehovah, to live in the palace because the Ark of the Lord had rested there. His wisdom told him he could not mix the holy with the profane and so another house was built.

What houses am I building? Do I have a house that is Holy unto the Lord, where my thoughts and actions are pure and the praises go forth continually? That is the house I live in on Sunday and in front of my church family and friends. But what about the house I have erected way back in the shadows; the house that is reserved for all the things of this world that I cling to so tightly and visit regularly.

These are the things in my life that I don’t like to bring to church or push aside when I am praying; the things that just don’t mix with the part of my life that is dedicated to God. I fool myself into thinking I can live between the two houses; that the possessions of one need never mix or interfere with those of the other. Soon, however, I find that after a visit to my “special house” I have carried over some “dear” attitude or behavior into that which I have reserved for God. Only now I have polluted the Holy because the profane and holy cannot mix.

 If I want the house I have dedicated to God to remain, I must sacrifice the other house on the altar.

Check your plans, are you building a special edifice just for you to house all the secrets you have buried? TEAR IT DOWN!!! How sad to die as Solomon, having experienced all the wonderful blessings of God yet finding that life ends as vanity and vexation of the soul.