I Kings 8; II Chronicles 5
Remember how David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem with great fanfare? (See the April 7 post and I Chronicles 16.) Solomon now takes the next step and brings the Ark out of the tent that David had pitched for it and into the newly built Temple, which acts as a permanent replacement for the Tabernacle that Moses made. He apparently even brings the Tabernacle itself and presumably stores it safely away in one of the Temple’s side chambers. (I Kings 8:4; II Ch. 5:5) The priests place the Ark into the new Most Holy Place under the large cherubim. As with the consecration of the Tabernacle before it (Ex. 40:34; see the January 29 post), the LORD fills the Temple with a cloud of His glory (I Kings 8:10; II Ch. 5:11-14), thereby affirming His presence and His approval of the Temple.
In dedicating the Temple, Solomon prays thus:
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that Your servant prays before You this day, that Your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which You have said, “My name shall be there,” that You may listen to the prayer that Your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive.
I Kings 8:27-30
Solomon acknowledges that although the Temple is seen as God’s dwelling place on earth, it is impossible for this building to contain Him. Yet he asks that the LORD would nonetheless stoop down and give heed to the prayers offered in (or even toward) the Temple. And listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive. Solomon goes on to repeat this pattern seven times: If (or when) [anyone turns toward the Temple], then hear in heaven and [answer their prayer]. (I Kings 8:32,34,36,39,43,45,49) Yet in each case it is not merely the orientation of one’s body in relation to the physical Temple that matters, but the orientation of one’s heart, whether there is repentance and a seeking of the LORD.
As we have mentioned before, the ultimate Temple is not this structure built by Solomon but the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we all thus turn toward that True Temple in full repentance, seeking the LORD where He surely dwells, in Christ our Lord.