7:1 - Hmmmm...he spends 7 years on building God's house and 13 building his...anything wrong with that picture? How often do I give more priority to my stuff than God's?
7:22 - What do the pillar names mean? Jachin means "it is firm," which I thought was a pretty good name for a pillar and it also most likely represents the solidarity of God's kingdom in Israel (When they are being faithful anyway). Boaz means "in strength," which again, is another great pillar name - I would want strong and firm pillars in any building I was hanging out in! This is probably also a challenge to the kings of Israel to rule with strength. We live in a crazy tempting world and it would do us all some good to remain firm in the will of God and depend on His strength instead of our own. We should have people or things in our lives that will remind us of this truth like Solomon had.
7:26 - This huge bowl would have contained about 12,000 gallons of water! 12,000!!! It is the big bowl in the picture of the temple I posted yesterday. So why did they have this thing in the temple courtyard? Well, they needed a lot of water to clean up all the blood and guts from animal sacrifices, but this bowl was too massive and impractical for that kind of use. This huge "sea" represented God's rule over all creation and stood as a huge reminder of the power and sovereignty of God. (Th smaller bowls described on the wheels would be the ones they used for cleaning the courtyard.)
8:8 - Why is this random info about the poles sticking out thrown in? Well it seems that the poles that were used to carry the ark around were so long that they stuck out the sides of the curtain around the holiest of holies. That means anyone who entered into the temple would be able to know for certain that the ark was still there. They know that God is with them. This is significant for you and me because we also have a reminder that God is with us...it is called the Holy Spirit of God that is living and active within the lives of believers. You and I can be confident that God is with us because His Spirit is inside of us - the counselor, the teacher, the inspirer - within us! That is so cool!
8:27 - Solomon understands that the creator of the universe cannot be housed within a human made temple...he knows that and states it here. His point in this passage, is that this temple carries the honor of the Name of the Lord. This temple stands as a testament to the Name and power of God for all the world to see. Today you and I are the temple of God...Christians of this world of the representatives of God's Name in this world - what message are you sending?
8:56 - "Rest" here means that the people of Israel finally have the place of peace and security that God promised them - The Promised Land...they are home!
8:61 - Solomon closes his dedication speech by begging the people to remain always loyal to the way way of God. Unfortunately, Solomon himself and the rest of Israel do not even honor this charge in his lifetime.
9:4 - We see the covenant continue to be passed down. We saw it passed from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob...now the Israelites have the Promised Land and God passes the covenant of David on to Solomon. If you remain faithful to my Name, there will be a descendant from your family on the throne forever. Even after the unfaithfulness of the Israelites - God in His great mercy sends Jesus, the Son of David, to bring a kingdom of mercy to earth that will reign forever! Praise be to Go!
9:9 - There are always dire consequences when you break a covenant with God. Here it is made clear that if the people of Israel turn away from God, the whole world will know of their folly. I know some Christians that cannot understand why God allows them to go through the consequences of their actions after they have asked for forgiveness. But because of His great love for us, He allows us to experience some of the pain our choices bring to our lives so that we will throw ourselves always on His mercy.
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