Solomon built a temple for Jehovah because his father, David, was bent on making much of God. So when the temple was finally completed King Solomon dedicated it with great sacrifice and public prayer. 1 Kings 8 is the apex of the history of Israel.
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!
1 Kings 8:27
Knowing who God is – the living, infinite, sovereign Creator – should humble us that he would want to dwell among us. The temple is the place where he makes his presence known, “My name shall be there” (1 Kings 8:29). It is also the place where God would interact with his people by accepting their offerings of worship and hearing their prayers.
…then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act
and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways
(for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind)
1 Kings 8:39
The temple of Jehovah, the God of Israel, was also intended to be a place that would draw people from far and wide because they had heard what God is like because of what he has done.
Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country
for your name’s sake (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…
1 Kings 8:41–42
All the elements of worship in the Old Testament were but a foreshadowing of the good things to come in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10). Now we who are in Christ – we are the temple of the Holy Spirit!
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.
So glorify God in your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20
We are the ones who make God’s presence known and make much of him. We commune with him humbly (he knows our hearts) offering the sacrifice of praise and interacting with him through prayer and preaching. We make him known in a way that draws people in, “that all peoples of the earth may know your name” (1 Kings 8:43).
Jesus prayed to the Father specifically that the unity of his people would be the chief witness to the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ.
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you,
that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
John 17:20–21
The temple of God was an edifice of stunning beauty. Today also, when the church is being the church, she is beautiful and makes Christ attractive. Let’s be the church, and let’s come together tomorrow night (Wednesday, May 3rd at 6:30) for a prayer gathering to seek the heart and desire of God with his people at Vienna Baptist Church.
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