Theological
Commentary: Click Here
This chapter
is largely about the construction of the temple. At the surface, unless you are an ancient
builder or an interior designer this chapter isn’t all that important. However, there is one really neat set of
verses right in the middle of this passage.
In the midst
of the building process, God comes to Solomon and imparts some wisdom into
him. God says, “If you follow my
decrees, observe my laws, and keep all my commandments and obey them, I will
full the promise I made to David your father.
I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.”
I think
there are three levels of deepening importance to these words. The first level is that God is showing
Solomon what is really important. The
building pales in comparison to the hearts of the people. God doesn’t say, “If you build me the nicest
temple ever” or “If you build me the biggest space.” God says that what will keep Him happy is if
the hearts of the people stay focused upon God and His ways. That’s what is truly important.
Second, we
need to remember our history. The people
don’t stay focused on God. The people
will fall away. God does bring the
Babylonians and the Assyrians to conquer His own people. God does send His own people into exile
because they don’t stay focused upon Him.
God is not a God of threats. He
is a God of promises.
Third, note
that even if we look upon point number two we need to remember that God doesn’t
abandon His people completely. When they
repent, God allows them to return to the land and try again. God is not just a God of promises, He is a
God of forgiveness and repentance. He is
a God who cares more about restoring relationships the right way rather than the
absolute execution of perfect justice.
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