Dwelling Place for God or for Evil

Author: Joseph

Date: August 2, 2020

People need God in their lives, but sadly many of them instead turn to other things during their search for fulfillment. God is still merciful, however, and extends His hand to them in one way or another. Yeshua, speaking to the Pharisees listed two examples of this occurring before His ministry. The people of Nineveh repented when Jonah spoke God’s words of judgment against them and they sought God eagerly (Matthew 12:41). The Queen of the South sought the wisdom of God, as gifted to Solomon, and blessed God thereafter (1 Kings 10:1-9; Matthew 12:42). God has many ways of reaching out to people, but they must respond with openness if they want to receive His merciful presence.

The Pharisees that Yeshua encountered responded with closed minds and hardened hearts to His preaching and His actions. Yet, either out of mockery, pride, or both they asked for Yeshua to perform a “sign” for them (a miracle that would prove He was who He said He was). They did not trust enough in His righteous deeds nor in His testimony and they seemingly ignored any previous miracles He performed. Yeshua had done and said plenty for them to trust in Him and to repent of their sins. His response to them reveals just how far they had gone with rejecting everything He had done as a testimony for them and all the people, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet” (Matthew 12:39). He would not give them any sign except for His resurrection from the dead, which would occur later in His ministry.

But what were the self-inflicted consequences of the Pharisees rejection of Yeshua? Spiritually, they were creating a dwelling place for evil within them.

Yeshua described them as homes from which an evil spirt wanders away from looking for a place to rest, but then returns and finds them empty just as they were when they left. Their homes are orderly and neat when the evil spirit returns, but still unoccupied (just as the Pharisees cleaned up their appearances and appeared to be righteous men, but were spiritually empty and lacking God’s presence. Although Yeshua had knocked on their door and appeared to them, they did not let Him in). The evil spirit returns peacefully, without any resistance, and so then the evil spirit brings along seven more spirits worse than itself (without God’s presence, evil is allowed to reside and occupy as much space in someone’s life and being as it pleases).

"...if that home opens its doors to Yeshua, He will protect that home..."

Anyone that rejects God’s presence in their life is like an empty home, vulnerable to any evil that wishes to enter it. Unlike God, evil does not require permission to enter the home because it has first rights to that home (through sin). Evil freely enters, multiplies itself, and abuses the home it dwells in until the home is old and eventually falls apart, eternally condemned. But if that home opens its doors to Yeshua, He will protect that home and cast out any evil that tries to enter it (cf. Matthew 12:29).

When we accept God’s merciful presence and allow Him to enter our home (our life and being), we are eternally secured. Yet, if we reject His invitation, we remain empty, unable to resist evil and unable to turn away from eternal condemnation.

If you have not accepted His merciful presence in your life by accepting Yeshua, now is the time. Your life will never improve without Him and will only get worse before leading to its destructive end. Unlike the Pharisees, be open to His words and His testimonies; they are provided for you to put your faith in Him. If you desire this for your life, this moment of your life now is Him knocking on your door. Open up to Him and let Him dwell and rule in your life. Only His presence can save you from eternal condemnation.

For those who have already accepted Him, do not be tempted to reject Him in order to allow evil into your life again. If He dwells in you, there is no place for evil and you must live intentionally that way. Do not attempt to compromise and open the door to evil thinking that evil can dwell alongside Him in you. God has no companion with evil, nor does He dwell in a house of wickedness. Be a dwelling place for Yeshua and His righteousness alone.

Matthew 12:38-45

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB). Copyright by The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org).