God intends for our lives to bring honor and glory to Him. He knows that we are reflection of our God. Either people will see us and be impressed with our God, or they will watch us and come away thinking less of Him. That is why God will not allow you to treat Him lightly or disrespectfully.
Solomon had constructed the most magnificent worship center in the known world. He lavished it with gold and offered thousands of sacrifices, yet God warned that should a day come when the king and his people turned their hearts from Him, judgment would surely follow. Even the glorious temple would not be exempt from God’s wrath.
Instead of people seeing the temple and being moved by its grandeur, visitors would view the temple’s carnage and be filled with disgust. The Israelites would become a lesson of warning rather than an attractive example.
For those who visit the temple mount in Jerusalem today, there is no temple to view. Instead, there are two mosques. By 10:00 each morning, non-Muslim visitors must leave the area because Islamic services begin. One can only imagine the glory that once was. Judgment came, just as God foretold. Oh that our lives would never serve as a deterrent to others because of how thoroughly God dealt with our sin.