Casa de Deus: o que a Bíblia diz sobre este lugar
O que a Bíblia chama de casa de Deus
Na Bíblia, a "casa de Deus" não é uma construção física feita para conter o Criador, mas o espaço onde Ele escolhe manifestar a sua presença e se relacionar com as pessoas. Esse conceito se desenvolve ao longo das Escrituras: começa com altares e tendas no deserto, passa pelo templo de Jerusalém e culmina no Novo Testamento, onde a morada divina passa a ser o próprio crente e a comunidade da fé.
A primeira vez que a expressão surge associada a um lugar específico ocorre quando Jacó acorda de uma visão no deserto e chama aquele local de Betel — que significa literalmente "casa de Deus":
And Jacob awakens out of his sleep and says, "Surely YHWH is in this place, and I did not know"; and he fears and says, "How fearful [is] this place; this is nothing but a house of God, and this a gate of the heavens."(Genesis 28:16,17)
Mais tarde, Israel ergueu o tabernáculo móvel e, depois, o templo de Salomão. Ainda assim, os profetas e apóstolos sempre enfatizaram que Deus transcende qualquer espaço construído por mãos humanas:
Thus said YHWH: "The heavens [are] My throne, || And the earth My footstool, || Where [is] this—the house that you build for Me? And where [is] this—the place—My rest? And My hand has made all these, || And all these things are," || A declaration of YHWH! "And to this one I look attentively, || To the humble and bruised in spirit, || And who is trembling at My word.(Isaiah 66:1,2)
The Dwelling Place of the Testimony was among our fathers in the wilderness, according as He directed, who is speaking to Moses, to make it according to the figure that he had seen; which also our fathers having in succession received, brought in with Joshua, into the possession of the nations whom God drove out from the presence of our fathers, until the days of David, who found favor before God, and requested to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob; and Solomon built Him a house. But the Most High does not dwell in sanctuaries made with hands, according as the prophet says: Heaven [is] My throne, || And the earth My footstool, || What house will you build to Me? Says the LORD; Or what [is] the place of My rest? Has My hand not made all these things?(Acts 7:44-50)
O desejo pela presença nos Salmos
Nos Salmos, a expressão "casa do Senhor" frequentemente expressa a saudade e o anseio pela comunhão viva com Deus, e não mero apego às paredes do santuário. Estar na casa de Deus significava desfrutar de paz, segurança e abrigo sob o cuidado do Criador:
One [thing] I asked of YHWH—it I seek: My dwelling in the house of YHWH, || All the days of my life, || To look on the pleasantness of YHWH, || And to inquire in His temple.(Psalms 27:4)
For a day in Your courts [is] good, O Teacher! I have chosen rather to be at the threshold, || In the house of my God, || Than to dwell in tents of wickedness.(Psalms 84:10)
A SONG OF THE ASCENTS. BY DAVID. I have rejoiced in those saying to me, "We go to the house of YHWH."(Psalms 122:1)
Os autores bíblicos usam essa imagem para descrever a estabilidade espiritual de quem confia no Senhor:
Surely goodness and kindness pursue me || All the days of my life, || And my dwelling [is] in the house of YHWH, || For [the] length of [my] days!(Psalms 23:6)
And I, as a green olive in the house of God, || I have trusted in the kindness of God, || For all time and forever,(Psalms 52:8)
O the blessedness of [him whom] You choose, || And draw near, he inhabits Your courts, || We are satisfied with the goodness of Your house, || Your holy temple.(Psalms 65:4)
Jesus e o zelo pelo templo
Nos evangelhos, Jesus trata o templo físico com reverência solene, confrontando os líderes religiosos que haviam transformado o local sagrado em mercado lucrativo:
And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast forth all those selling and buying in the temple, and the tables of the money-changers He overturned, and the seats of those selling the doves, and He says to them, "It has been written: My house will be called a house of prayer; but you made it a den of robbers."(Matthew 21:12,13)
A postura de Cristo ao expulsar os vendilhões cumpriu o sentimento profético registrado nos Salmos sobre o compromisso irrestrito com as coisas do Pai:
And the Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and He found in the temple those selling oxen, and sheep, and doves, and the money-changers sitting, and having made a whip of small cords, He put all forth out of the temple, also the sheep, and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money-changers, and He overthrew the tables, and He said to those selling the doves, "Take these things from here; do not make the house of My Father a house of merchandise." And His disciples remembered that it is written: "The zeal of Your house ate Me up";(John 2:13-17)
For [my] zeal for Your house has consumed me, || And the reproaches of Your reproachers || Have fallen on me.(Psalms 69:9)
Nesse mesmo episódio, Jesus apontou para a transição definitiva: ao anunciar que reedificaria o templo em três dias, Ele falava da ressurreição do seu próprio corpo, inaugurando uma nova forma de encontro com o Criador.
A morada espiritual: a igreja e o corpo do cristão
Com a nova aliança estabelecida por Cristo e a vinda do Espírito Santo, o conceito de templo físico perde a centralidade. A morada de Deus deixa de ser um endereço geográfico e se torna pessoal e comunitária.
Individualmente, o corpo do cristão é santuário do Espírito:
Have you not known that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit in you, which you have from God? And you are not your own,(1 Corinthians 6:19)
Coletivamente, a comunidade dos que creem — a igreja — é a verdadeira família e habitação viva de Deus na terra:
and if I delay, that you may know how it is required to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is an assembly of the living God—a pillar and foundation of the truth,(1 Timothy 3:15)
but Christ, as a Son over His house, whose house we are, if we hold fast the boldness and the rejoicing of the hope to the end.(Hebrews 3:6)
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