1 Kings 8
McGeeCHAPTER 8THEME: Dedication of the finished templeIn the chapter before us the ark of the covenant is brought into the completed temple, the Shekinah glory fills the house of the Lord, and Solomon gives his message and prayer of dedication.
1 Kings 8:1
When the ark is brought from the tabernacle and installed in the place prepared for it in the holy of holies, the glory of the Lord fills the temple.
1 Kings 8:10
In Solomon’s message of dedication he gives proper credit to David.
1 Kings 8:17
The desire for a permanent structure to house the ark of God originated in the heart of David, as we have seen in 2 Samuel 7. Solomon merely executed David’s plans. I think it should be called David’s temple rather than Solomon’s temple. In Solomon’s prayer of dedication he says that this temple is to be a place for the name of God, and a place where God’s people are to approach Him. It is not a pagan temple in which there is an idolnor in which God lives. Solomon understands that the temple is, as David had said, the footstool of God.
1 Kings 8:27
It was merely a place for man to come and bow before Him and offer his sacrifices before Him. It served as an approach to God. It is a pagan notion to think that God can dwell in a house down here. Solomon said, “The heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee.” God is omnipresentHe is everywhere. He is also transcendent, above His creation. Now here is a section that is quite interesting. It looks forward to the day when Israel would sin against God and be sent into captivity.
1 Kings 8:46
This, by the way, is God’s estimate of you and me"there is no man that sinneth not." Don’t tell me that you don’t sin. God says you do.
1 Kings 8:47
This is what they are to do when their temple is destroyed and they are captives in a strange land. This is exactly what Daniel will do over in Babylon. He will open his window toward Jerusalem and pray toward that temple, confessing the sins of his people and his own sins.
1 Kings 8:49
As we shall see, God will answer this prayer.
1 Kings 8:54
There has always been a question about the proper posture of prayer. Should you stand, kneel, get down on all fours, or prostrate yourself before the Lord on the ground? Solomon knelt when he prayed. Although no particular posture is essentialyou can pray in most any positionthis is where the posture of kneeling is mentioned. I think it was Victor Hugo who said that the soul is on its knees many times regardless of the posture of the body. It is the posture of the heart that is important.
1 Kings 8:63
Obviously, the altars in the temple could not accommodate all the animal sacrifices mentioned in this passage. Therefore temporary altars were erected to handle the large number of animals which were sacrificed at this time. I think that these altars reached all the way up north to Hamath and all the way south to the river of Egypt. After the animals were offered, they were taken off the altars and divided among the people. It was a time of great celebration and picnicking, you might say.