2 Chronicles 24:4-5 , 2 Chronicles 24:13
Consider what reason we have for regarding a place of Christian worship with peculiar reverence.
I. The Biblical history of a place where God is worshipped represents it as one of peculiar and awful sanctity.
II. The Bible represents the building and repairing of the Lord's house as acts of eminent piety. The historian says of Joash in the context that he was a godly man as long as he had the guidance of the celebrated priest Jehoiada. Yet the only thing thought worthy of mention in that part of his reign is that "he was minded to repair the house of the Lord."
III. It is the instinct of a devout heart everywhere and always to revere the house in which God is publicly worshipped.
IV. The associations of the Lord's house are an incalculable help to the culture of religious character. We are creatures of association. We are moved more profoundly than we think by our surroundings. The recollection of our experiences in the house of God may be among the most precious treasures that memory hoards.
V. A Christian church is the most significant emblem that we have of heaven. "This is the gate of heaven," said the astonished patriarch. He had seen angels. Heaven seemed very near to him.
A. Phelps, The Old Testament a Living Book,p. 67.
Reference: 2 Chronicles 24:8-10. Sermons for Boys and Girls,p. 221.