The Daily Dose - June 11 Celebration 1 Kings 8 The job is finally done. The great Temple is finished. A dream has been crafted into reality. Prayers and festivities appropriate to the occasion are all in place and ready for delivery. It is all a sight to behold. But the crowning moment for the Temple is not anything that Solomon did or said or that the people worked hard to achieve. That moment came when the glory of the Lord filled the Temple and overshadowed everything else--including this magnificent structure. Nobody could work. No one could speak for a while. Kinda put things in perspective, didn’t it? Solomon saw the significance of God’s presence at the Temple when he said, “The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud . . . But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” Yet Solomon was encouraged to pray that his temple would be “a place for You to dwell forever.” Why would Solomon pray that while knowing that God does not dwell on earth? This is what Solomon also knew: God had made himself known to his people Israel in an unshakeable, written and personally delivered verbal covenant. That covenant included the stipulation that God would forever dwell with his people, wherever they are. In this case, at the heart of the temple, in the center space of the center room, stood the ark of the covenant, with the tablets of the covenant in its heart. Solomon’s prayer reflects that covenant. He appealed to the One who had promised mercy to be merciful to his people when they screw up and then come to grips with their waywardness. Solomon was simply taking God at his word and applying it to the needs of this amazing nation that he governed. That’s how all of us should pray. As God has promised, so we ask for his promises to be fulfilled in our needs. He’s glad to answer. Pastor Russ
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 01:06:55 +0000
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