Where this command is found:
“And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”
What is the most significant element that makes a house a place we call home? Some may say what really matters is location. Others feel it’s about exterior and interior design, making your house the way you want it. Many may say it’s the memories made that make a house a home.
While all these things play a critical role, there is something even more significant. Something that makes up the very spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical foundation of a home…it’s called: relationships. Those who live in the home are the ones who make it either a place of joy, protection and comfort, or a place of hurt, brokenness, and painful memories.
In the Bible, we find that the Temple in Jerusalem was called the House of God. Like a home that is designed for building relationships, the Temple was to be a place where mankind came to fellowship with God. However, in Matthew 21 we see the House of God in a completely different state. The religious leaders had turned it into a place of extortion and theft. In verse 12, we find Jesus entering the Temple and purging it after seeing how His Father’s house was being so misused.
But Jesus didn’t stop there. In verses 13-14, He makes an eye opening statement which helps us understand one of the key purposes for the House of God. Jesus said, “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” Jesus was quoting the prophet Isaiah who said, “for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people” (Isaiah 56:7b). The House of God was to be a place of prayer for all people!
Just like God wanted the Temple to be a place of holiness for His presence to dwell in, as believers, He longs to make our hearts His dwelling place. In fact, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul correlates the Temple of his time with the lives of every believer, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
If we are to be a living Temple that houses the very presence of God and offers up the effectual and fervent prayer of righteousness, then we must be willing for God to have control in every area of our lives. Secondly, we must be abiding in the Word and remain sensitive to the promptings of God’s Spirit so we don’t allow any part of sin or self to impede God’s work in and through us.
When we as believers choose to live our individual lives in a pure and holy manner, we not only become a place where God’s presence dwells, but we also have the privilege of joining other believers that make up a much greater place for God to dwell in and for Him to accomplish His will in and through. This is God’s intention for all believers, that we would not only be individual Temples that God can dwell in, but that the Body of Christ as a whole would join together to be the place where God’s presence is seen and glorified.
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There are some beautiful parallels between God’s temple in Jerusalem and His temple within the heart and life of every believer. God’s heart for every believer is that they become a temple in which He dwells — where communion between God and man takes place!
What is a house of prayer? It is a place of fellowship, communication and intimacy with God. God desired that His physical temple be a place of communion with Himself, a place where He could fellowship with man.
Why did Jesus come in and so abruptly cleanse the Temple? Jesus came in to cleansed out the things that were in competition with God’s purpose for the Temple.
