**Note: A break from the norm (gasp!). In this entry, I'll be interspersing my thoughts in purple.
The Ark Brought to the Temple
Verses 1-11
Solomon spoke to the Israelite assembly, telling them that God had said He would dwell in a dark cloud. (In the last chapter, we ended with the glory of God filling the temple with a cloud. God appeared to them in a cloud, because, as humans and sinners, we cannot handle His glory.) Solomon had built a magnificent temple, in which God could dwell forever. (I'm guessing Solomon said forever, because didn't know about Christ's future death, which would rend the curtain between the Holy Place and Most Holy Place, thus doing away with the old covenant.)
The king turned to the whole Israelite assembly and blessed them. (As Christians, we will desire to share God and His blessings with others.) Solomon praised God, who had fulfilled His promise to David. (God keeps His promises! You can trust Him!) God had chosen Jerusalem for His Name's dwelling place and had chosen David to rule over His people Israel. David wanted to build the temple and God said that that was a good desire for him to have in his heart, but that he was not the one to do it. His own flesh and blood, his son Solomon, would do it. (Just because God says no to you, it does not mean that He is disappointed in you! You could be in great standing with Him. He sees all and may have something better planned. He didn't ignore David because he wasn't the one. God included David for the rest of his life. God has a purpose for you and me. It may not be what we have in mind. But, we are never expendable to Him. We are precious and wanted by Him.)
God kept His promise by making Solomon king and helping him complete the temple construction. This is where Solomon placed the ark with the covenant between God and Israel.
Solomon's Prayer of Dedication
Verses 12-42
Solomon stood before the Lord's altar and before the Israelite assembly. He had made a bronze platform that was 7 1/2ft long X 7 1/2ft wide X 4 1/2ft high (5 cubits X 5 cubits X 3 cubits). It was placed in the center of the outer court. Solomon knelt on it and spread out his hands towards heaven. (If we pray with open hands, we allow God to take and give as He sees fit. Problems? Let them go. Want to be blessed? Open up to God.) Solomon said that there is no one like God in heaven or earth. God keeps His covenant of love and continues in His way wholeheartedly. (If there is anyone that would throw themself fully into keeping promises, courting us, and protecting us, it is God! He died for us! Do you get that?! He died for you. You are worth it! No one is worthy enough to meet perfection and gain salvation, but we are all worth it to God to save us, even when He knows how many times we have and will mess up. He. Loves. Us.)
God fulfilled His promise. (Acknowledge and thank Him when He does. Record it even, so you can remember it when life makes us forget.) Solomon brought up God's promise to always have a king for Israel, if they kept His law. Solomon asked for God to let it come true. (Since God has come through for us in the past, we can walk in faith, trusting and knowing that He will come through for us in the future.) Solomon asked if God would really dwell among men, since the highest heavens could not contain Him. So, how could the temple contain Him? (We must stop defining God by our limitations as humans. Take heart, for He is great and mighty! We are puny next to Him, but He holds us anyway.)
Solomon asked for God to hear His servant's prayer, to open His eyes to the temple at all times. Solomon asked for God to hear the prayers of His people in the temple and to forgive them. (The temple was the place for the atonement of sins. God never expected us to be perfect. He created a system to reconciliate us to Him for every time we screw up. In the new covenant, which involves us, we can come to God directly, instead of through a priest's sacrificial offering. Jesus Christ is our priest and our once and eternal offering. The more we walk and talk with Him, the less we sin. It happens naturally. Now, please do not equate sin with fun. As you come to know God, you will find that He has a sense of humor and He experiences joy when we fellowship with others.)
When a man wronged his neighbor, he was required to take an oath before the altar, at the temple. Solomon asked God to hear the oath, judge between the people involved, repay the guilty, declare and establish the innocent. When Israel was defeated by an enemy, because they had sinned, then turned back to God in prayer, Solomon asked for God to hear, forgive, and re-establish them in the promised land. (God allows us, sometimes, to experience hardship to get our attention. We need to realize that we are out of step with God. He takes us back every time, if we are sincere. However, hardships happen even when we are in step with God. Why? Because the devil dwells on earth and he hates us. Why? Because we are the creation of the One he hates. God is always with us, though. We are being refined. It is never a bad thing to have to lean on God. Watch Him as He fights and wins battles for you, whether it's for finances, health, relationships, whatever. Remember, He will never allow anything too great for you to happen [see I Corinthians 10:13] and trials bring perseverance [see Romans 5: 3-4]. We are currently attaining spiritual fitness.)
When Israel received no rain because of their sin and they prayed, turned away from sin, and confessed the name of the Lord, Solomon asked for God to hear and forgive them. He asked for God to teach them the right way to live and to bring back the rain. For the times of famine, plague, blight, mildew, locusts, grasshoppers, enemies besieging their cities, any disaster or disease, and when they offered up prayers or pleas - Solomon asked that a person, aware of their afflictions, with their hands toward the temple (in our case, heaven) for God to hear them.
God knows all hearts. Solomon asked for God to forgive and deal with each one accordingly. Let us fear God and walk in His ways.
For the foreigners who had heard of God, His mighty hand, and outstretched arm (God reaches for us - all of us), and came to the temple to pray, Solomon asked for God to hear them and grant their request, so that everyone on earth would know and fear Him. (Once again, Solomon wants to share God and His blessings!)
When His people go to war, wherever He sends them, and they pray, Solomon asked for God to hear their prayer and uphold their cause. When they sin, for no one is without sin, incurring God's anger, and He allows them to be overcome by an enemy - when they have a change of heart while captive, they repent, and they plead for freedom, if they turn back to God wholeheartedly, Solomon asked for God to hear them and uphold their cause. He asked for God to forgive those that sin against Him. He also asked for God's eyes to be opened and His ears to be attentive to the prayers offered at the temple.
Solomon invited God to dwell in the temple. He asked for God's priests to be clothed with salvation and for God's servants to rejoice in His goodness. Solomon asked for God not to reject His anointed one (Solomon was the anointed king) and for God to remember the great love He had promised to David, His servant. (I have no doubt that God granted Solomon's request for wisdom. This whole chapter is infused with his wisdom.)
Friends, no matter how far you've gone from God, there is no place you could go that is too far for Him to reach. (See Ephesians 3:17-18) Believe me, I've heard stories of people who were pretty far from God. This woman was so far into the occult, that she had conversations with Satan. After years of service to him and against God's servants, she met one of God's human ambassadors. She decided to give her life to Jesus Christ. He immediately accepted her. He'll do the same for you, no matter where you are. That, my friend, is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Live it!
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