November 7 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Zechariah 6:9–15

Devotional

Christ himself is the builder of his spiritual temple, and he has built it on the mountains of his unchangeable love, his omnipotent grace, and his infallible truthfulness.

But as it was in Solomon’s temple, so in this; the materials need making ready. There are the “cedars of Lebanon,” but they are not framed for the building. They need to be cut down, and shaped, and made into those planks of cedar whose aromatic beauty will make glad the courts of the Lord’s house in Paradise. There are also the “rough stones” still in the quarry; they must be cut out from it and squared.

All this is Christ’s own work. Each individual believer is being prepared and polished and made ready for his place in the temple; but Christ’s own hand performs this preparation-work. Afflictions cannot sanctify except as he himself uses them to this end. Our prayers and efforts cannot make us ready for heaven apart from the hand of Jesus, who fashions our hearts aright.

As in the building of Solomon’s temple, “no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built” (1 Kgs. 6:7). Why not? Because it was all brought already perfectly prepared for the exact spot it was to occupy. So is it with the temple that Jesus builds; the making ready is all done on earth. When we reach heaven, there will be no sanctifying us there. There will be no squaring us with affliction there. There will be no smoothing us with suffering.

No, we must be made ready here. Christ will do all that beforehand. And when he has done it, he will ferry us by a loving hand across the stream of death. And he will bring us into the heavenly Jerusalem, to abide as eternal pillars in the temple of our Lord.

“Beneath his eye and care,
the edifice shall rise,
majestic, strong, and fair,
and shine above the skies.”

[June 22]

Extracted from C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening (public domain), language modernized by Larry E. Wilson.