Wow!

I Kings 8

Can you imagine seeing this temple in person? People from the nation of Israel gathered together to consecrate this new temple, most seeing it completed for the first time. Now, here it is, in all its glory! The tall white building in the back is the temple proper where the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was located.

I could spend a week writing about this chapter. It is jam packed with information and important concepts that we could mine. However, I am going to try to give a highlight of some of those key concepts. I encourage you to dig into this deeper on your own.

David called for all the men of Israel to come to this consecration. This occurred during the month Ethanim (September/October). The purpose was to consecrate the new temple and to place the Ark of God in the temple. There would be massive amounts of sacrifices and prayer, led by King Solomon. Also, important to note is, when the Ark was placed in the Holy of Holies, the staves were taken out of it because it had found its resting place.

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I Kings 8:10,11  And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

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This was God's stamp of approval on the Temple. Can you imagine the relief this must have brought (along with fear). When we read in Exodus about the building of the Tabernacle, God himself gave very specific guidelines for the building of the Tabernacle and all of its components. We do not find that in the building of the Temple. If I were Solomon, I would have worried "Is this good enough?" "Will God be pleased?" "Am I doing this right?" When the cloud and light filled the temple, I would have sighed with relief. Next, Solomon makes a proclamation to the people. He told the people that God had laid it on David' heart to build the temple. However, God had told David that his son, who would sit on the throne after him, would be the one to build the temple. He reminds the people that God had promised that the throne of David would be a unending dynasty. All through his proclamation, he speaks of God's integrity in keeping his word and doing what he says he will do.

Verses 22-53 are Solomon's prayer of dedication. He begins with praise in verses 22-27. Solomon's temple was destroyed. Yet, looking at the artists rendition above, can you imagine such a massive and magnanimous structure? I have seen a scale model of the city of Jerusalem during the time of Christ and with that a model of Herod's Temple. From what I read, Herod's Temple paled in comparison to Solomon's. In the scale model, there was no missing the temple because it was the largest structure in the city, by far. And yet, Solomon says that his Temple is inadequate to house God. Solomon prayed, "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?" (I Kings 8:27). Next, Solomon prayed for God to hear the prayers of Israel. Not only the current prayer, but the future prayers of this generation and all generations to come (verses 28-32). Many times we become so flippant in our prayers that we do not ask God to hear us. We just spout our wish list, say amen, and walk away. Sometimes we invoke the name of Jesus ("in Jesus name I pray") as though that somehow obligates God to do what we ask, or demand. Here, Solomon spends 5 verses asking God to simply hear his prayer. He knows that he is not entitled to anything from God, so he comes to him humbly an audience. As a king himself, Solomon was familiar with this scene. People came to him begging for an audience. He had the authority to grant them an audience or to turn them away without hearing their petition. If he, a worldly king, had such authority, how much more would the creator of heaven and earth have the authority to do so?

The rest of Solomon's prayer breaks down as follows:

* Hear our prayer, forgive, and heal when we lose in battle (v. 33-34)

* Hear our prayer, forgive, and heal when we are in a drought (v. 35-36)

* Hear our prayer, forgive, and heal when we are afflicted with famine, infestation, attacks from enemies, and plagues and sickness (v. 37-40)

* Hear the prayer of the stranger when he comes to Jerusalem and prays towards the Temple so that all may know you are God (v. 41-43)

* Hear our prayer, forgive, and heal when we are in exile because we have turned away from you (v. 44-53 )

After praying, Solomon blesses the people. He reminds them of God's faithfulness. He states that he has prayed for God's continued faithfulness. He reminds them of God's love for them. Then, he tells them to be perfect before God. Perfect here does not mean sinless, but complete. They are to do their very best to live right before God, but when they sin ("for there is no man that sinneth not" v. 46). they are to repent and seek God's forgiveness.

Finally, Solomon offered a peace offering to God. The number of animals sacrificed were, 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. Can you imagine? I am so glad that we live on this side of the cross and no longer have to offer animal sacrifices. This was all hands on deck. The task was so large that Solomon had to hallow the courtyard for sacrifices to be offered in as well. The area around the brazen altar was not big enough.

The last thing I want us to consider from this text is the Gospel in Solomon's prayer. Solomon prayed that all men are sinners in verse 46. He said "for there is no man that sinneth not". The Apostle Paul said "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). That is the whole idea behind the Temple. Man is separated from God because of our sin, but God comes and dwells among us. We cannot approach a holy and righteous God without there first being the shedding of blood (a sacrifice). Solomon said in verse 43, "Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name." While the context of this verse is for gentiles, we are all strangers from God before we accept Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins. He is our peace offering to God. It is his blood that was shed on Calvary to pay the price of our sins and that was offered on the mercy seat in Heaven to reconcile us to God. When we come before God in prayer, asking that the blood sacrifice of his son cover our sins, God hears our prayer. Have you prayed and confessed Christ as the risen sacrifice for your sins? If not, why not? Solomon prayed that God would hear such a prayer from you.