House of Prayer

“My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” Luke 19:46

Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 56:7, “...for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”, and Jeremiah 7:11, “Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?” He was very angry to find that the thieves and robbers which usually infested the dens and caves of Judea were cheating and defrauding people in the Temple area! They were taking advantage of the poor who came to give their sacrifice offerings to God. Their exchange rate was usurious and their doves and sheep were exorbitantly priced. The poor pilgrims visiting the Temple from far away were being cheated. 

If Jesus was zealous about the physical structure in Jerusalem, how much more would He be zealous about the temple of our bodies? “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.” (1 Cor. 6:19)

When Jesus comes to visit, what does He find in our hearts? Is it a house of prayer? Of the study of His Word? Will He be pleased that we love the people He loves, and take care of them, the poor, the hungry, the downtrodden? Or will He react in righteous anger and want to throw out the idols that have replaced Him in our hearts? Will He find that instead of our King and Lord on the throne, we have set up ourselves instead?