73.Monday -5th Week: dwell among His people: Mount Sinai: Ark of the Covenant : Building Zion Temple :

You Are the New Temple: From Solomon’s Zion to Catholic Baptism 

Fear of God  > Wisdom > Solomon Building the Temple

David’s desire to build a house for God resulted in God promising to build an everlasting dynasty  for David, securing his royal throne forever.

1 Kings Chapter 6 verse 1, Solomon began to build the house of the LORD.

1 Kings Chapter 6 verse 12,  During the construction of the Temple, God said to Solomon, 'If you walk in my statutes. I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people.

1 Kings Chapter 8 verse  1, Bringing the ark of the LORD’s covenant from Zion. 

Solomon’s construction of the Temple signifies the fulfillment of God’s promise to David. The Lord endowed King Solomon with wisdom, discernment, riches, and glory—everything needed to build the temple. His sole requirement was to walk in obedience to God’s commands.

The Temple was built to transition God's presence from a mobile tent that is Tabernacle to a permanent, stationary home, allowing God to "rest" or dwell permanently among His people. 

God desired to dwell among His people—first on Mount Sinai, then in the Ark of the Covenant, and later in the Temple in Zion.

The Rosary is an effective tool to work with sanctifying grace to build the temple of God, which is the human body. Because Mother Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant—and the Ark was placed in the innermost chamber, the Holy of Holies—she represents the sanctuary within the heart. As we live in the world, the heart can become contaminated, feeling lowly or empty like a manger. However, the constant use of the Rosary ensures Mary's presence. Because she is always in the presence of God, her presence brings God's presence and makes the manger a sacred crib.

The Ark was situated in the "Holy of Holies" or Most Holy Place, the innermost sanctuary, shielded by a veil. Only the High Priest could enter this space, and only once a year on Yom Kippur to sprinkle blood for atonement. It represented the localized presence of God ,the Shekinah glory, dwelling between the cherubim on the "mercy seat" ,the lid. It served as a place of divine communication and prayer, where God met with authorized persons and answered prayers. The temple containing Ark of the covenant., to manifest gods glory  and for any one to pray to God.

 

Once the Ark is in the Temple, it becomes the container of God's glory which gets manifested.

The placement of the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple marked a defining moment in biblical history, serving as the catalyst for the tangible, overwhelming manifestation of God's glory among His people

Psalm chapter 132 verse  8, “Arise, LORD, come to your resting place, you and your mighty ark.

Through Catholic baptism, an indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, theological virtues, and sanctifying grace are infused into the soul.  It is the initial process, similar to the presence at Mount Sinai. For God to live among people, Catholics are called to "build" this spiritual Zion by cooperating with grace, cultivating virtues, and maintaining the state of grace, bringing down His presence into the heart.

1 Kings Chapter 8 verse 6, The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, the inner sanctuary of the house, the holy of holies, beneath the wings of the cherubim. 

Mark Chapter 6 verse 56, Those who touched the tassel on Jesus' cloak were healed. 

Once a Catholic becomes the temple of God, he is a blessing—a carrier of grace who brings healing to his surroundings.

Climbing the holy mountain :  

First stage purification:  Climbing from upwards from ego to heart. 

Second Stage illumination:  Heart upwards to touch Soul and  Soul down wards to join with heart.

Third Stage Union: Union of Soul and Heart. Upward climbing to Presence of Lord.

For a person's body to be the temple of God, one should be after God's heart.

A man after Gods  heart  knows how to please God. This  turns to favor , and favor turns promise or blessing.  The waiting period for a promise to fulfill is the preparation period to forging the character required to sustain the promise. This leads to intense purification process covering the full spectrum of human experience from suffering to triumph. This will make a heart meek and humble.

David’s desire to build a house for God resulted in God promising to build an everlasting dynasty  for David, securing his royal throne forever.

God promised Abraham to make his name great and a blessing to generations, to David a perpetual royal line and Aaron an everlasting covenant of priesthood. The Lord granted King Solomon wisdom, discernment, riches, and glory. All promises in the Old Testament are fulfilled in Christ. Through baptism, Catholics enter this covenant, inheriting this royal, eternal promise. An active Catholic life is the way to live out and fulfill this promise. 

The purpose of human creation is to share in God's love as citizens of the Kingdom of God. Original sin led to a corruption of human nature and creation, resulting in a separation from God. 

The promise is a reunion and eternal life as adopted child with God.

To fulfil this promise God restored this kingdom through Jesus Christ. Baptism begins this process, As the Call to citizenship providing a glimpse of the Kingdom of God. Next a catholic has to grow daily by engage with actual grace for daily blessing and sanctifying grace for purification. Once this response to the baptismal call succeeds, you will be 'Chosen' to partake in the process of purgation and union process to fully enjoy  Kingdom of God's peace and joy.