30 More Days... Day 15

1Kings 8:22  Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven;
1Kings 8:23 and he said: “LORD God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You,
1Kings 8:28 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today:
1Kings 8:29 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, “My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place.
1Kings 8:30 And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.
1Kings 8:54  And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the LORD, that he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.
2Chr. 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2Chr. 7:15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.

For a children’s book it is a truly momentous event. Bob the builder may be sick but the tractors and trucks have succeeded in getting the road open on schedule. All the vehicles line up at the side of the road as Wendy takes the scissors and proclaims the main artery into the city open for use! The tractors are euphoric. They completed their work. They did an excellent job. It is time to celebrate.

For 7 years Solomon and the people of Israel have been involved in a momentous building project. It is a bit bigger than getting the road through town built. It is the temple! Solomon’s temple. It is one of the Wonders of the Ancient World. So much mastery and excellence have been poured into this building and no wonder. It is the house of God.

Therefore, the ceremony of dedication must be no less excellent and splendid. There is a great feast. There are many people gathered for the event. There are sacrifices. So many sacrifices that they can’t be counted. The ark and all the furnishings of the Tabernacle are brought up by the Levites and all the people in a kind of holy parade. These things are brought into the new Temple and put into their places. The Lord comes and fills the Temple. The priests can’t go back in to continue their ministry. God is there. Solomon steps up and blesses the people and then in their sight he kneels and prays, arms stretched up to heaven.

It is a prayer of dedication. He is praying for everything that he hopes that this temple will be and symbolize to the people. That this is only a symbol is clear from the opening paragraphs of the prayer, but all the same this place is to have an important role and place in the lives of the people of Israel. Solomon may have spent years building this building. He may have spent millions and hundreds of millions in gold, silver, bronze, precious materials, labor, wood and much more. However, the place this building is to have in the hearts, minds and lives of the people is much more than the cost of the materials and labor. It is much more than artwork and craftsmanship. It is much more than aesthetics or serene environment. It is the place that God dwells among the people. It is the place that God will put His name. Now it is time for Solomon to dedicate it to use and as he does there are ideas he wants to convey. There are dangers that he sees. Most importantly God must ultimately agree to be there or it is just a pretty, empty building.

As he prays he begins by affirming that this project was not their idea. Had it been then they would most certainly have been expecting a lot from God to come and put His “stamp of approval” on it. The only reason that they could build this house is because God had okayed the work. David had desired. God had said no! But then, He went on to make a promise to David about his family. He blesses David and then confirms that you will not build this house, but your son will. Ultimately, this is a God initiative, done by God’s allowance. So really He is only asking God to bless what He has already said they could do.

The second thing that he prays is about the building itself. It was important to the dedication. This building was to, practically, become the center of Israel. The Israelites would be so proud of this (and later) temples. It was to become a part of their national identity. So deeply was it engrained into that identity that 2000 years after its destruction in 70 A.D. the people and the land still suffer from its loss. They long for the day when it will be built again. However, the danger was that this building would become more important than the one to whom it was dedicated. Solomon prays knowing, that for all its beauty and greatness, it is nothing compared to God. It could not contain, encompass or even begin to express the greatness of God who places His name there.

Solomon prays, despite all this, that God would still pay attention to this humble shack and listen to the prayers offered there. After this much of the rest of the prayer is focused on asking God to hear. Many times throughout his prayer Solomon asks that God would hear from heaven, His dwelling place, and answer their prayers. He realizes that God will not dwell there. It is not a house for God. God will still reign from heaven, not from this house. He simply asks that God be attentive to the prayers made in this place. However, he goes beyond that. He realizes that, unlike the pagan gods, God is not confined to the area of a temple or land. So Solomon asks also that God would be attentive to prayers prayed in this place, toward this place and also in other lands toward this place. He knew that God would dwell among His people and go with them always. The people should not think that God would not hear them because they were far away. However, remembering and praying toward the temple would help them remember who their God is, what He desires and requires.

Solomon realizes that this temple is a picture of forgiveness for sin that is available to all who will turn to God and call on Him. Over and over he prays that God will hear prayers and forgive sin. The temple was a picture of all that Christ would do in the heavenly tabernacle not built with human hands. The gift of God through faith. Forgiveness to all who turn in faith to God. Notice that Solomon did not pray for God to pay attention to the sacrifices offered in or toward that place. He asks God to hear the prayers. It was not so much a house of sacrifice, as it was to be a house of prayer. It was something that the people failed badly to understand. So Solomon dedicates and intercedes that God would now, as He promised, place His name there and that it would be a house of prayer to seek God’s face.

As we think about dedication of ourselves and things in our lives we have some wonderful guidelines for seeking God’s blessing... for dedication to Him

First, we can only expect God to bless that which He has ordained and ordered. It is His will we need to be seeking. If He has not “built the house, they labor in vain that build it” Every part of our lives can be praise to Him, from eating and drinking to corporate worship - every part.

Second, God is bigger and wiser than our prayer and dedication. We can actually limit God in our prayers by placing Him in a “building” the size that we can understand and see the ends of. We have heard it time and again but “God is able to do more than we ask or think”. Unfortunately, we can get to the place where we limit God to a place, a time, a way of working, a will to work in miraculous ways and so forth. God is bigger, indescribable, uncontainable.

Another thing we can do is forget that God is a God who dwells among His people. Sometimes we feel extremely limited in how we can pray if we are in the wrong place or the wrong situation. Solomon’s prayer reminds us that it is not our place or circumstances that are important in God hearing us. It is important that we turn to Him and pray to Him.

Finally (for us today) is that God is not looking so much for our sacrifice. He is looking for our prayer. He doesn’t need anything from us, but He wants our hearts. He looks for us to turn to Him, humble ourselves before Him, to be obedient to Him. Then He is happy to hear, forgive and heal. The best part about all this then is that for us God’s temple is not a building that stands in some physical location. We are the temple of God and His eyes and ears are open and attentive when we call to Him.

Prayer Request
* Zoran, Nada and Indi. Friends of ours that we have spent time with and gotten to know. We have a good relationship with them and they are very dear. Nada has even gone to church with Olya once. They are super people! They come from a catholic and orthodox background but don’t go to church at all. They are always ready to help and just good folks all around. Pray for their salvation and open doors to share the gospel with them. Pray for hearts ready to listen to God’s voice calling to them.