Going with Joy

When Solomon finished making these prayers and petitions to the LORD, he stood up in front of the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands raised toward heaven. He stood and in a loud voice blessed the entire congregation of Israel: (1 Kings 8:54-55 NLT)

Sometimes when I think about my walk together with God, there is complete peace.  I’m not thinking about the things God called me to do that I don’t have done yet.  I’m not thinking about how God is going to provide what we need when we need it.  I’m not feeling guilty, pressured, worried, or afraid.  I’m just enjoying the presence of God…and it is good.

"Praise the LORD who has given rest to His people Israel, just as He promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises He gave through His servant Moses. May the LORD our God be with us as He was with our ancestors; may He never leave us or abandon us. May He give us the desire to do His will in everything and to obey all the commands, decrees, and regulations that He gave our ancestors. And may these words that I have prayed in the presence of the LORD be before Him constantly, day and night, so that the LORD our God may give justice to me and to His people Israel, according to each day's needs. Then people all over the earth will know that the LORD alone is God and there is no other. And may you be completely faithful to the LORD our God. May you always obey His decrees and commands, just as you are doing today." (1 Kings 8:56-61 NLT)

The Israelites understood that feeling.  They had just spent seven years building a Temple to honor God, and The LORD was pleased.  They felt it.  They knew it.  They were walking together with God.  This brought them great joy – a joy that went with them wherever they went.

After the festival was over, Solomon sent the people home. They blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad because the LORD had been good to His servant David and to His people Israel. (1 Kings 8:66 NLT)

How about you?  Have you ever just known that you were walking together with God?  Did it give you joy and peace?  Do you feel that now?  Will you go everywhere today with joy?

Draw Near to God

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the entire community of Israel. He lifted his hands toward heaven, and he prayed, "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like You in all of heaven above or on the earth below. You keep Your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before You in wholehearted devotion. (1 Kings 8:22-23 NLT)

The Temple that Solomon built is meant to honor God.  God accepts this building as an honor, but also warns that there is far more to this Temple than an extravagant act of love and devotion.  Our lives need to reflect that love and devotion.  When we don’t walk with God in this way, the Temple becomes a reminder of another part of our relationship with God: forgiveness.

May You watch over this Temple night and day, this place where You have said, 'My name will be there.' May You always hear the prayers I make toward this place. May You hear the humble and earnest requests from me and Your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where You live, and when You hear, forgive. (1 Kings 8:29-30 NLT)

Solomon asks God to be faithful to forgive people who have strayed.  This forgiveness is offered to everyone involved in sin against God or people.  Solomon pleads the case of both the accuser and the accused (1 Kings 8:31-32), those defeated by their enemy attackers (1 Kings 8:33-34), the times when drought (No Rain) (1 Kings 8:35-36) or famine (No Food) (1 Kings 8:37-39a).  Solomon pleads on behalf of God’s chosen people, Israel (1 Kings 8:39b-40), and for the foreigners (1 Kings 8:41-43) who hear about The LORD.  God promises to forgive all who want to draw near to God.

"If they sin against You--and who has never sinned?--You might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to their land far away or near. But in that land of exile, they might turn to You in repentance and pray, 'We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.' If they turn to You with their whole heart and soul in the land of their enemies and pray toward the land You gave to their ancestors--toward this city You have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor Your name--then hear their prayers and their petition from heaven where You live, and uphold their cause Forgive Your people who have sinned against You... (1 Kings 8:22-53 NLT)

How about you?  Do you want to be with The LORD?  Are you willing to let go of any rebellion in your heart, mind, words, or actions, and return to The LORD?  Do you want to draw near to God?

Thank God

The entire inside, from floor to ceiling, was paneled with wood. He paneled the walls and ceilings with cedar, and he used planks of cypress for the floors. (1 Kings 6:15 NLT)

Reading about Solomon’s Temple for The LORD, I can’t help to stop and just think about the extravagance of the whole project.  Cedar is not cheap.  Building the walls and ceilings out of cedar not only makes the building smell good, it also communicates just how important this building is, too.

This inner sanctuary was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He overlaid the inside with solid gold. He also overlaid the altar made of cedar. Then Solomon overlaid the rest of the Temple's interior with solid gold, and he made gold chains to protect the entrance to the Most Holy Place. So he finished overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that belonged to the Most Holy Place. (1 Kings 6:20-22 NLT)

I’ve worked on a lot of building and remodeling projects in my life.  I’ve seen expensive wallpaper, siding, and other wall coverings over those years.  I’ve never seen one as expensive as pure gold, though.  Talk about a statement!

Solomon also made all the furnishings of the Temple of the LORD: the gold altar; the gold table for the Bread of the Presence; the lampstands of solid gold, five on the south and five on the north, in front of the Most Holy Place; the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs--all of gold; the small bowls, lamp snuffers, bowls, dishes, and incense burners--all of solid gold; the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple, with their fronts overlaid with gold. (1 Kings 7:48-50 NLT)

My parents generation used to get dressed up when they went to church services.  It wasn’t to show off.  It wasn’t to try and one-up our neighbors.  It wasn’t to make homeless people feel bad about their situation.  It wasn’t meant to distract others from worship.  It was just a way of saying, “God, you deserve our best of everything.  You’ve given us so much.  We want to thank you.”  Solomon’s temple would have fit right in to that mindset.  Only the best of our best goes to God.

So King Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the LORD. Then he brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated--the silver, the gold, and the various articles--and he stored them in the treasuries of the LORD's Temple. (1 Kings 7:51 NLT)

How about you?  Do you see everything you have as a gift from God?  Do you reserve the very best of what you receive to give back to God?  How do you thank God?

Honor God

Then the priests carried the Ark of the LORD's Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple--the Most Holy Place--and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. (1 Kings 8:6 NLT)

The Ark of the Covenant was taken into the innermost room of the Temple.  It was called the “Holy of Holies” or “The Most Holy Place.”  This was the room where the presence of God would be felt.  It was the place where God dwelled.  The top of the Ark was called “The Mercy Seat.”  It was the place where God would “sit” and pass judgement on Israel.  It is a good thing The LORD is filled with mercy and grace.  They took the Ark into this most Holy Place.

Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt. When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple. (1 Kings 8:9-11 NLT)

Sometimes we need to just stop what we are doing and allow God to be God.  We get so busy trying to do things for God that we can lose sight of the fact that God is God.  God doesn’t need our money.  God doesn’t need our brilliance.  God doesn’t need our strategies, plans, or excellent workmanship.  God is God and God’s got everything under control.  God is honored, though, when we allow God to be God in our lives.

"As for you, if you will follow Me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all My commands, decrees, and regulations, then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made this promise to your father, David: 'One of your descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel.'

"But if you or your descendants abandon Me and disobey the commands and decrees I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor My name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads in amazement. They will ask, 'Why did the LORD do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?' "And the answer will be, 'Because His people abandoned the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why the LORD has brought all these disasters on them.'" (1 Kings 9:4-9 NLT)

How about you?  Do you honor The LORD? How do you honor God?

Building Takes Help, Teamwork

Solomon has decided to take on a building project.  He will build a Temple for The LORD.  The building isn’t going to be overwhelmingly big, but it will be expensive and labor-intensive. Solomon can’t do this alone.  He will need help.

"Therefore, please command that cedars from Lebanon be cut for me. Let my men work alongside yours, and I will pay your men whatever wages you ask. As you know, there is no one among us who can cut timber like you Sidonians!" (1 Kings 5:6 NLT)

King Hiram responded positively and they began working together to bring all the timber necessary for the building project.  In addition to all the wood, the temple would need lots of stone work as well.  The rock would need to be extracted from the ground, shaped into foundation blocks, and put in place on the site.

So the LORD gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He had promised. And Hiram and Solomon made a formal alliance of peace. Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel. He sent them to Lebanon in shifts, 10,000 every month, so that each man would be one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of this labor force. Solomon also had 70,000 common laborers, 80,000 quarry workers in the hill country, and 3,600 foremen to supervise the work. (1 Kings 5:12-16 NLT)

Building projects are much easier when there are more workers.  Larger amounts of work get done in shorter periods of time.  This was a big project.  Even will all the help and people working together in teams, The LORD’s Temple took seven years to build.  Imagine how long it would have taken without all the help.  Imagine how long if they did not work together as teams.

How about you?  Have you ever tried to do something, only to decide that you needed help?  Have you ever worked as a part of a team?  Was it easier with help and with a team?

The LORD Directs the Building

It was in midspring, in the month of Ziv, during the fourth year of Solomon's reign, that he began to construct the Temple of the LORD. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt.(1 Kings 6:1 NLT)

Solomon is building the Temple of The LORD.  The project is massive.  The details are exquisite.  (You can read about all the details in 1 Kings 6:1-38; 7:13-51.  Another account can be found in 2 Chronicles 3-4.)  All the plans, all the preparation, all the provision, and all the work amount to nothing, though, if God does not want the building to begin with.  But The LORD allowed the building to happen.  Not only that, The LORD told them to build it.  This is The LORD’s building project.  The result?  The building is build.  People have a place to meet with The LORD.

Then the LORD gave this message to Solomon: "Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all My decrees and regulations and obey all My commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David. I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon My people Israel." (1 Kings 6:11-13 NLT)

How about you?  Do you allow The LORD to direct your projects?  Do you let God get in the details of planning, preparation, provision, and implementation?  Do you let The LORD direct what projects you do?  Does The LORD direct your building projects?

Place Fit for a King

King Hiram of Tyre had always been a loyal friend of David. When Hiram learned that David's son Solomon was the new king of Israel, he sent ambassadors to congratulate him. (1 Kings 5:1 NLT)

Now that David has passed away and his son, Solomon, is king, we begin to see a shift in the daily lives of the Israelites.  With David, they were constantly at war with their neighboring kingdoms.  Solomon lead the nation into a time of peace.

Then Solomon sent this message back to Hiram: "You know that my father, David, was not able to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD his God because of the many wars waged against him by surrounding nations. He could not build until the LORD gave him victory over all his enemies. But now the LORD my God has given me peace on every side; I have no enemies, and all is well. (1 Kings 5:2-4 NLT)

When Life Bridge first started up, we were in a basement that flooded all the time.  Every time the heavy rains would come, we found ourselves clearing out the carpet squares in that basement so they could dry out.  When we moved to a building above ground, the water leaks stopped.  It was great!  That first winter, though, we found out that the building was not insulated well at all.  Cold winter air poured into the cafe area and people were wearing winter coats during the worship services.  Once we got that all fixed, it was kind of strange.  What should we do with all this “spare time?”  Solomon and the Israelites must have felt the same way.  All the battles died down.  Now what?  Their answer was simple.  They would build a place fit for a king.

So I am planning to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD my God, just as He had instructed my father, David. For the LORD told him, 'Your son, whom I will place on your throne, will build the Temple to honor My name.' (1 Kings 5:5 NLT)

How about you?  Have you had hectic times of “battle” in your life?  Have you had times of rest?  What do you choose to do with those times of rest?  Do you build, in your life, a place fit for your King?