Heifers, Temples and Poker Players

A recent poker tournament which we mentioned here got into an unusual subject - heifers.  It happened not because we're in Kansas and play with cattle ranchers, but because someone at our table dared to call the female dealer a heifer.

Women have been called by that label far longer than you might think.  In fact, there's a case in the Bible where it happened:

Samson said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle." - Judges 14:18b

Samson described his wife this way -- during their wedding feast!  But this is clearly a figure of speech.  Samson's wife had been threatened with death by some people at the feast, because they didn't want to pay up by losing a bet (verses 12-15).  The chapter ends with Samson giving up his bride, and 30 people killed (verses 19-20).

This case shows how unethical and mean-spirited some people can be when a big bet is involved.  Stories of the American "Old West" are filled with poker games leading to drawn guns and serious threats.  So it's no wonder poker still has a negative stigma with some people.

But our recent post also mentioned how red heifers are considered important by some religious for cleansing - such as removing sin from a temple.  You may be insulted by the thought of being called a heifer.  But have you ever been called a temple?

Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days".... the temple he had spoken of was his body. - John 2:19, 21

Jesus referred to Himself as a temple.  And that comparison clearly stuck in the brains of New Testament writers:

Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? - I Corinthians 3:16

The ancient Jews relished worshiping God in a specially-built temple building.  Some churches and synagogues today have the word "temple" in their names.  But the apostle Paul makes it more personal than that.  You are supposed to be a temple - a place where the Holy Spirit of God dwells.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you.... Therefore honor God with your body. - I Corinthians 6:19-20

Maybe we don't need to build a new temple in Jerusalem.  Maybe we all need to become the "temple" God desires us to be - people which honor God in our lives, whether we're at a poker table or other places.