April 14 | Luke 19:45-48

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DAILY READING

Luke 19:45-48

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REFLECTION

Love the Lord or Love the Religion

By Dave Mann

Sadly, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day had come to trust in the ceremony and the structure of the Temple instead of in the Lord.  Still, in our day, it is very possible to trust in one’s religion more than to trust in God.

Some people trusted in the Lord and yet lived in other regions.  They would come to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices and to celebrate the holidays at the Temple, the prescribed location.  However, those people arrived with the foreign currencies they used for their day-to-day financial activities.  To have acceptable sacrifices for the ceremonies, they needed to exchange their tender for the Temple currency to purchase their sacrificial animals.  One can only imagine how those coming from foreign lands were vulnerable to exploitation.

Seeing that the Temple was becoming a locale for financial gain for the insiders, Jesus quotes from both Isaiah 56 and Jeremiah 7.  God’s original intent was that his chosen people would be the avenue through which his steadfast love would reach the people groups all over the world.  However, just the opposite was happening – God’s people had become an obstacle to his purposes.

Read what Isaiah and Jeremiah wrote about the purpose of the Temple structure and ceremonies.

Isaiah 46:6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord    

to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,    

and to be his servants,

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it    

and who hold fast to my covenant—

7 these I will bring to my holy mountain    

and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices    

will be accepted on my altar;

for my house will be called    

a house of prayer for all nations.”

Jeremiah 7:11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?

God desired to reach out not just to the people of Israel but through them to claim the world. Here are a few other passages in the Old Testament in which it is clear from the beginning that God had plans for the entire world to have a place in his kingdom:  Genesis 12:3; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 19:24-25.

We also in our day are called to love the Lord and to connect with outsiders as a demonstration of God’s love for the world.

PRAYER

Lord, your love for the world is amazing.  Please help me to be so overwhelmed by your mercy that I would resemble your love to all people, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DAVE MANN

I am a Pastor for Internationals (retired) in the UALC community. I am married to Pam, father of four, and grandfather of six. Pam and I have lived twenty of our years in other countries including France, Cameroon, Haiti, and Morocco. In retirement, we continue to enjoy writing devotionals, learning languages, and teaching English to internationals.

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