The Place To Which We Can Always Return
The Temple is finished and it is dedication day for Solomon and the nation of Israel in 1 Kings 8. Solomon begins praying in this long chapter, giving thanks to God for fulfilling His promise to the nation and also to David, his father.
Then, after all the work that was done on the temple and in the midst of the great coronation event Solomon considers something important:
1 Kings 8:27–30 (ESV) “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
Solomon is indeed wise beyond his age. All other pagan nations had "houses" for their subpar "gods". Solomon knows the God of Israel is THE God, the Lord of heaven and earth and he cannot be contained by a structure no matter how impressive it may seem.
We know in the New Covenant that the Temple the Son of David is building is His Church - the true Temple of the living God.
1 Corinthians 3:16 (ESV) Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
To be the temple of God, then is informed by 1 Kings 8 and Solomon's prayer regarding the Temple of Israel. For this temple simply foreshadows the Church of Jesus. Solomon will spend the bulk of this chapter praying for all people to come to this house and find restoration and healing from the wounds of sin and the shame of guilt.
Notice how Solomon runs down the spectrum of human events in regard to sin and how THIS HOUSE would always be a house of mercy and grace for them:
When they suffer defeat, the are to come home to this house and seek God:
1 Kings 8:33–34 (ESV) 33 “When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, 34 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.
When they suffer drought and environmental calamities:
1 Kings 8:35–36 (ESV) “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.
Then, after all the work that was done on the temple and in the midst of the great coronation event Solomon considers something important:
1 Kings 8:27–30 (ESV) “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
Solomon is indeed wise beyond his age. All other pagan nations had "houses" for their subpar "gods". Solomon knows the God of Israel is THE God, the Lord of heaven and earth and he cannot be contained by a structure no matter how impressive it may seem.
We know in the New Covenant that the Temple the Son of David is building is His Church - the true Temple of the living God.
1 Corinthians 3:16 (ESV) Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
To be the temple of God, then is informed by 1 Kings 8 and Solomon's prayer regarding the Temple of Israel. For this temple simply foreshadows the Church of Jesus. Solomon will spend the bulk of this chapter praying for all people to come to this house and find restoration and healing from the wounds of sin and the shame of guilt.
Notice how Solomon runs down the spectrum of human events in regard to sin and how THIS HOUSE would always be a house of mercy and grace for them:
When they suffer defeat, the are to come home to this house and seek God:
1 Kings 8:33–34 (ESV) 33 “When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, 34 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.
When they suffer drought and environmental calamities:
1 Kings 8:35–36 (ESV) “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.
Solomon even prays that FOREIGNERS will come to this house to find the Lord's goodness:
1 Kings 8:41–43 (ESV) “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake 42 (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.
He continues to speak of the people's need for military victory (Verses 44-45), those captive in sin (Verses 46-51). In other words, the house of God in Israel was to be a house of restoration for the damages done by sin and those who suffer them.
What a picture of the church! We are the new Temple where God dwells. Are we open to the sinners? Are we friends to the foreigners? Are we getting our strength from gathering in the house of God to face the battles of our lives?
This is what Church is meant to be. Not religious ceremony but life-giving and empowering - open to all who come for help - and sharing the grace and goodness of God.
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