The concept of “building back better” is not a new one. We find it also in the Bible.
Man has often equated building bigger buildings as an offering to God. Unfortunately the glorious artifices are often torn down or they become used for other purposes. For example, the greatest building in the early church was St. Sophia’s in Constantinople. After the incursion of the Muslims, this greatest of Christian buildings which still exists became a mosque.
Jesus warned his disciples not to be too carried away with glorious buildings. But more about this in a minute.
As we look back at Jewish History the life-spans of the First and Second Temples are instructive.
The First Temple also known as Solomon’s Temple is thought to have been constructed by Solomon in about the 10th Century B.C. It was a glorious temple. However, by 926 B.C. , Pharaoh Shishak of Egypt had despoiled the Temple of the treasurers of Solomon and the golden shields in the Temple had to be replaced by brass shields. Further, high costs and labor involved in building the First Temple probably contributed to the division of the Kingdom between the 10 Northern Tribes of Israel and the two southern tribes called Judah. By 587, the First Temple was destroyed under Nebuchadnezzar II.
The Second Temple was then constructed. This construction is associated with the Edict of King Cyrus and leaders such as Ezra and Nehemiah. This construction began about 516 B.C. It was time to “build back better” By the first century before Christ, the Second Temple was being refurbished under Herod the Great.
The apostles of Jesus Christ were amazed at the beautiful Second Temple. In Matthew 24, they pointed out its beauties and wonders to Jesus. Matthew 24:1 says, “Jesus left the Temple and was walking away, when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. Do you see all these things, he said. Truly, I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another, every one will be thrown down.”
Jesus was right. By 70 A.D., the Romans had razed Jerusalem and not one stone was left on another.
Our great efforts at building often come to naught. Like Babel they at one time or another fall down into ruins. Buildings disappear or they are repurposed. It is time for the church to focus on building true stones (believers) for the building and those stones are the people of God. The building of great edifices may be equated to building the Kingdom of God in our eyes but they are not the same in God’s eyes. God has a better building in mind. Bigger buildings do not always equate to increases in the Kingdom of God.
