Day 164 (1 Kings 8, 2 Chronicles 5) - Year 7
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. Yesterday, Solomon finished building the temple, and now he needs to furnish it. Today, he and the Levites move all of the holy furniture, including the Ark of the Covenant, from the tabernacle to the temple.

There's a good chance he's heard stories about the time his dad, David, caused a man to die while moving the ark improperly. So he makes sure to transport it according to God's laws, on poles, carried by priests. The priests deposit the ark in the Holy of Holies, and pretty immediately, God's cloud of presence swoops in and fills the place.

As the priests are trying to leave the temple, they're falling over because they can't even stand in the midst of such a heavy concentration of God's presence. Even though God is everywhere, He can certainly dial up the saturation when He wants to. Then Solomon offers up a blessing, praising God for fulfilling his promise to David. And he also says, "'The Lord has said that He would dwell in thick darkness. I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.'"

We kind of have to cut Solomon off right there because technically, no. It's a nice thought that God would live in this particular house forever, but that's never been God's plan. God never said that. Okay, moving on. In 1 Kings 8 29, Solomon makes an interesting statement. He says, "...that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, My name shall be there."

There are two things we need to address in this verse. First, he says God's name will be in the temple. Not God himself, just his name? Here's what we need to know about this. It was likely Solomon's helpful way of clarifying that God was not contained in this house. By saying his name was there, kind of like God had said about Jerusalem at large, he was saying God's character and blessing and presence would be evident there, but that God wasn't confined by those four walls.

And the second thing to notice is that Solomon himself clarifies this exact idea earlier in the verse. He says that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house. He clarifies here that even though God is inside it, he's also outside it. Just like time, God transcends location too.

Solomon asked God to be attentive to everything from the smallest matters of man-to-man sin to the largest matters of humanity-to-God sin, and to act with justice and mercy since God alone knows the hearts of all mankind. Solomon anticipates a day when Israel will sin against God, and he knows that when they do sin, they need both God's forgiveness and God's direction. So he asked God for both.

In 841-43, Solomon prays a blessing for most of us. He asks God to spread his fame beyond Israel and transform the hearts of foreigners, of Gentiles like me. He wants all the people of the earth to know God's name and fear him. He knows that God is the best, and he wants word to get out about it. Then he blesses the people. And in 857-58, he offers this really beautiful benediction.

Solomon first reminds them of the blessing of God's nearness, and then also of the blessing of God's work in that nearness, that He may incline our hearts to Him, to walk in all His ways.

God doesn't come near to condemn. He can do that from afar. He comes near to change hearts. Then Solomon dedicates the house, and they offer so many sacrifices that they overflow the altar. Afterward, they have a week-long feast. Then the chapter ends by saying they went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people. What was your God shot today in this beautiful moment of promise fulfillment?

Mine was for a promise that hadn't yet been fulfilled. In 1 Kings 8, 27, Solomon says, but will God indeed dwell on the earth? Oh, Solomon, you have no idea. He's coming and he's healing the blind and he's feeding the hungry and he's setting the captives free and he's raising the dead. And if you think you know joy now, buckle up because it's about to go from zero to 100 in the blink of an eye. He's where the joy is. ♪♪

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