Worthless Wealth Meets Wrecking Ball

“Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.” (2Ch 7:20 AV)

Imagine the appearance of the temple.  The total area including the outer court was approximately 180,000 square feet.  The temple itself was 90 feet by 30 feet by 45 feet high.  For a grand total of 2,700 square feet.  About the size of an average small church building.  Or, imagine a basketball court and add about thirty percent more floor space and 45 feet high.  Now, consider all that went into the construction of that temple.  All the bronze, silver, gold, and precious gems.  Most conservative estimates place the cost of materials alone for the building of the temple today to be in the neighborhood of 150 billion (with a ‘b’) dollars.  Now, imagine a building about the size of a congregation of a few hundred who spent 150 billion – with a ‘b’- on remodeling their church building.  Could you imagine how much pride they would take in the appearance of such a structure?  A building such as this would be a national spectacle.  People for all over the nation would make a special trip just to see it.  Then, imagine a natural disaster that would completely swallow said building.  Imagine the thoughts that would enter the mind.  What a waste.  All that work and expense and it is now gone. 

God told Israel that if they failed to follow the law, He personally would see to it that this global testimony to His name would be destroyed.  To give you an idea of what that means, the Parthenon would only cost in the hundred of millions of dollars and it is five to six times the size.  The Sears Tower would cost just under ten billion.  In other words, there was not even a close second place to the Hebrew temple.  In our carnal thinking, we would think it a waste to be destroyed just because the children of Israel compromised the law.  At least there remained some testimony to the LORD, right?  Why throw away 150 billion – with a ‘b’- dollars because Israel didn’t go to church every Sabbath?  Isn’t that kind of radical?

Building and facilities do not impress God.  Obedience does.  Many of our churches are slowly losing membership because God is not there.  The shekinah glory left the moment the congregation decided that obedience to the word of God was a matter of liberty and not a matter of command.  Our nation is littered with empty shells that were once a church building.  Years ago, my newlywed wife and I were shopping for a home.  All we could afford was a fixer-upper.  Our real estate agent took us to a building that was run down and falling apart.  When we opened the tall oak doors, we were faced with an open area that was one a sanctuary.  The pews were all gone.  The pulpit area empty.  Lose timbers swung from the rafters.  An empty church building whose congregation lost the fire of faith and obedience generations ago.  God is not impressed with our buildings.  One hundred and fifty billion – with a ‘b’- is but a drop in compared to the vast oceans that belong to God.  We may be impressed, but He is not.