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Genesis 1-3 – God’s First Temple
What is the first temple? Jews today speak of Solomon’s temple as the first, and Herod’s as the second, either ignoring Zerubbabel’s or else combining it with Herod’s. So Solomon’s is the first? Not quite. The tabernacle is also called a temple (1 Samuel 1:9; 3:3). So the tabernacle is the first temple? Hold on. Defining a temple, it is simply a dwelling place for God, or a god. So what is the first dwelling place of God on earth? The earth! Remember Jesus said heaven is God’s throne and the earth is his footstool (Mt.5:34-35). God’s palace is God’s temple. It is intriguing to view Genesis 1-3 as a temple motif. God created His temple, and then rested. While rested means to cease work, there is something else going on. What happened when Moses rested from building the tabernacle? God came down. What happened when Solomon rested from building his temple? God came down. What happened when God rested from building the earth? God came down. God walks in his temple meaning He dwells there too (Gen.3). The Garden of Eden, maybe the entire world, is His first physical dwelling place. Then when Adam and Eve are removed, God sets up as guards His cherubim, the same angelic being on the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle and Temple. So the first temple is the earth! Jesus comes to this earth, this temple and tabernacles with us (John 1:14). His body is a temple (John 2:19-22). Our bodies are called temples (1 Cor.6:19) and tabernacles or tents (2 Cor.5:4). The church is God’s temple today (1 Cor.3:16). What keeps happening to God’s temples? They are defiled by sin, so God curses or destroys them. Understanding the first temple to be the earth, and how God’s temples keep getting defiled by sin, helps us make the connection as to why the earth will be set free from corruption (Rom.8:18-22). The earth is God’s temple. Habakkuk 2:20 (HCSB) But the LORD is in His holy temple; let everyone on earth be silent in His presence.
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