Today's Reading - 1 Kings 7-8, 2 Chronicles 4-5
Background
The readings today examine the finishing of the Temple and its dedication to the glory of God.
Devotional - The Presence of God
Solomon built a magnificent structure. The temple in Jerusalem was by all accounts among the more impressive buildings of the time. And Solomon was clearly among the most impressive people. His fame spread far and wide. He was rich, powerful, honored, the wisest man on earth.
And this magnificent temple was his creation. His people did the work. What part had God played in it all? Scripture records no miracles during the building. It did not spring suddenly from the earth. There was no divinely empowered reversal of Jericho - where the walls came a tumbling UP! No, it was hard work - the blood, sweat, and tears of thousands of nameless men who produced this house of worship.
And yet, as it was being completed, Solomon prayed a prayer in which he sought God's blessing and gave God credit. In 1 Kings 8:15 he says,
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father.
He is giving thanks to God and praising him. He continues throughout the chapter to give honor and glory to God for all that he has done. Why is Solomon so careful to give God credit for that which he himself built? He realized something important.
He understood that ultimately, the temple's design was initiated by God for the purposes of God. This was something that originated in the heart of God. The only projects in life worth doing are those that originate in the heart of God. He only blesses that which he begins. Solomon knew that the temple was a GOD-project and that even though his own labors had contributed, ultimately it was something that was birthed in the heart of God.
The things you are doing, the goals of your life, your purposes, and projects - where did they begin? If they are your own, they will have no eternal impact or import. Only that which begins in the heart of God is significant.
Solomon also understood that his project was worth nothing unless God inhabited the temple. As the glory of the Lord dwelt in the Tabernacle, he desired that the fire would fall on the temple. As with Moses and the tent in the wilderness, he did everything "just as God commanded." And in this passage, he seeks the blessing and presence of God to come among his people and to guide them. And we will see that God does, in fact, send his glory into the temple.
God sends his presence and power among the obedient and accomplishes his will through them. Is God's power and presence dwelling among you? Are you walking in submission and obedience that he might use you in his work?
When our lives are lived on God's agenda and we are walking in obedience to him, the glory of the Lord descends upon us and we are changed, empowered and used for his purposes. As God inhabited the Temple in Jerusalem, may his glory inhabit and empower us.
This is what Solomon knew that caused him to seek God. Yes, he built the temple. But he knew that without the presence of God, without the glory of the Lord, it would all mean nothing.
Father, fill me with your glory as I walk in submission to you!
Think and Pray
Do you walk in obedience to God and in the power of God?
Do you give God full credit, even for the work you do?
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