David De Lacruz

THE UNEVEN STEPS TO THE TEMPLE

Recently, I returned back from a trip to the Holy Land. I was able to take in so many of the most important sites in the story of the Bible including the Sea of Galilee, Bethlehem, Jericho and so many others. But I spent most of my time in the city of Jerusalem where I visited many of the same places that the people of the Bible visited.

One of my favorite places is a little known spot called the Southern Steps or the Rabbi Steps. These steps were used by the hundreds of thousands of Jewish pilgrims who would visit God’s temple each year for the various holy days and festivals. As I walked this area and mediated on the structures these 3 spiritual truths jumped out at me.

#1 We must be cleansed.

The Mikva’ot or purification pools: before you walked up the steps to approach the temple it was required that you purified yourself in one of the dozens of Mikvahs or cleansing baths that surround the southern wall. It’s a reminder that we can only approach God when we have been cleansed and purified. The guidelines were clear: you didn’t cleanse one limb at a time, but through full immersion. This is a reminder that we are only clean when we allow God to clean all of who we are: our hands, hearts, and head must be continually and completely cleansed in order for us to approach God with the freedom and confidence that he desires.

#2 God wants our focus.

The uneven steps: the walk up the southern steps to the temple grounds are amazingly uneven. Some steps are 12 feet deep while others are closer to 36 inches. When we read the Bible, God is so precise in his measurements for the temple, the makeup of its furnishings and the rituals associated with its proper usage. Yet here, these steps demand your full attention. The worshippers could not approach the temple distracted by conversation or with their minds elsewhere. If they wanted to avoid tripping or falling down, they had to be intentional about each step and focus their attention on the approach to God’s presence.

#3 God is welcoming.

The wide roads: These were not narrow roads and steps but wide staircases and gates because God’s invitation to his presence is wide. He invites us to come to him and come with our spouses and our children. He wants us to approach him in community and with others. There were Psalms, called the Psalms of Ascent (i.e. Psalm 125) that were sung by these worshippers together as they approached God’s house with joy and expectation. The temple, city and crowds of people all served as a vivid picture of how God surrounded his people even as they surrounded His holy temple.

THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE

“What God has joined together, let not man separate.” Matthew 19:6

Today’s culture has invented all sorts of new institutions in an attempt to replace marriages.  Cohabitation, domestic partnerships, common law “marriages,” along with polyamorous relationships have all been touted as a alternatives to traditional marriage. But these relationship schemes all fail to provide the one thing that a marriage was meant to provide for the man and a woman.

When a man marries a woman, it’s a significant picture of two individuals coming together to form a new unit, a family.  Children may be the fruit of that coming together, but they don’t define the family. The family begins when the man and woman commit their lives to one another.

God declared “…a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen 2:24).  The act of leaving his family is significant.  He is retreating behind his past identity and family ties to create and commit to a new family.  “One flesh” signifies the unity and oneness that the man and woman would create.  They would be weakest when apart but strongest when they were indivisible.

Jesus affirmed the goal of marriage when he declared that the man and woman, “are no longer two but one flesh. What…God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:5-6).  God’s desire for every marriage, first and foremost, is to protect its unity and mature into oneness.  There are many things that can divide a couple. In Genesis, it was selfish ambition and pride.  When Jesus taught on marriage, he warned that adultery or sexual sin could wound a marriage beyond the ability to heal.   

From Genesis to Jesus, the number one objective of marriage is to protect and pursue unity and oneness.  The wedding day will formalize this unity, but you will spend every day of your lives together fulfilling that vow.  

To the single men: Watch who you hitch your wagon to.  As you look for a spouse, make sure you’re willing to share every part of who you are with that woman.  There’s no undoing the blending that happens within a marriage.

To the married men: Protect the “togetherness” of your marriage.  Take seriously the call to pursue oneness and unity.  What things in your life or heart are hindrances to the unity that God wants you to enjoy with your spouse?  What can you do today to strengthen your bond with your wife?

SEE WHAT COULD BE & DEVELOP A VISION FOR YOUR LINEAGE

“Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come….” Genesis 49:1

Men love to name things. I named my first car Betsy. She was a 5-speed Toyota Celica from 1986. She was rusty, had no grill, and leaked mysterious fluids all over my driveway. When I bought her, the car was listed for $600. But the seller felt so bad asking that much that he dropped the price to $450. Despite all her flaws, that car was mine. She belonged to me, and I made sure she passed inspection. I loved that car, and for the next couple of years, I made many great memories with friends and family with Betsy.

There’s something to naming a thing or a person. You see it all over the Bible but most profoundly right in Genesis. In the early chapters, we read that God named Adam, and he named his wife, Eve. Then, in Genesis 17, God renames Abram to Abraham and promises him blessing, lineage, and authority. And in Genesis 49, Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, gathers all of his sons together. Though Jacob is about to die, his last act is to call his sons together by name and confirm their value, identity, and futures. He speaks prophetically and truthfully about what kind of men each of these men would become.

In the 18th century, Jonathan Edwards, America’s greatest revivalist, theologian, and pastor, would do the same thing. He famously devoted himself to his church and its members but never neglected his home. Edwards and his wife Sarah were blessed with 11 children. Of course, they had named their children, but Edwards also invested his time in cultivating each of their identities. He made the time to pray individually, read with them, and speak deeply about the Lord and his works. The results are astonishing. Nearly 200 years later, Jonathan’s children, grandchildren, and progeny would become exceptional. His family’s fruit includes dozens of pastors and missionaries, 13 university presidents, 65 college professors, 1 United States vice president, many judges, US Senators, Governors, and military officers. Why? I believe it’s because Edwards understood his unique role as a man, father, and husband to confer identity and release a person into their potential.

When you pray with your family or talk to your children, know that you are in a God-assigned position to shape lives and build others up. Like Jacob and Jonathan Edwards, what we say matters. Our words have prophetic potential and will shape not only the lives of others but even generations to come.

What is the vision you have for your own life? Where do you see God leading you?

If you are married or with children, what potential do you see in your spouse or children that need to be cultivated and encouraged? How can you do this positively?