Guarding God’s House

Synopsis     1Chron 9:14-25     12/16/2019

The chronicler described which Levite families were living in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. In this portion, he focused on the Levites who were responsible for guarding the gates to the tabernacle and temple.

Guarding God’s House

Guarding God’s house wasn’t always necessary. In fact, the temple guards were established well after the time of Moses. Specifically, Samuel the prophet and King David were credited with instituting this position of trust.

While it’s not specifically stated, this was the time right after the Ark of the Covenant had been captured by the Philistines. So, it may be that the guardians were established among the Levites to ensure the security of the Ark.

Guard God’s House

God’s dwells in me. But it seems obvious enough that there’s stuff in this world that estrange my relationship with God. So, if my relationship with God is important, then I need to prevent this estrangement.

I need to guard my heart.

But, I have to be clear. While I certainly need to avoid all kinds of evil, the greatest challenge of purity is my own behavior. Jesus once said, “It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.” Matt 15:11

The truth is, I can see a lot of evil in this world. But nothing defiles me as much as when the evil in this world comes out of my mouth. 

“With all vigilance guard your heart, for in it are the sources of life. Dishonest mouth put away from you, deceitful lips put far from you.” Prov 4:23