Year 7, Day 349: 1 Kings 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here

When I read this chapter, I can’t help but feel the tension between my inner skeptic and my inner pragmatist.  First, hear from the cynic.  Is all of the sacrificing and the glory of the temple really necessary?  Is that what God truly desires?  Second, hear from the pragmatist.  Simple math shows that even if they were able to accomplish 1 of the 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep sacrifices per minute around the clock then the sacrificing would have still take almost 99 days of sacrificing!  Not that this is impossible, mind you.  But it does help us frame the scope of the event.

I’d like to look at each of these questions that I’ve raised.  First of all, there is the issue of the glory and the splendor of the temple.  Just how necessary is it?  The reality is that it isn’t necessary.  It isn’t wrong, mind you; it just isn’t necessary.  Even when Solomon is consecrating the temple, look at Solomon’s owns words.  Solomon knows what it is that will draw the Lord’s forgiveness.  When the people sin, it isn’t the splendor of the temple that will catch the eye of the Lord.  The people’s repentance and acknowledgement of what they’ve done is what will trigger the Lord’s forgiveness!

Next, look at the massive amount of sacrificing happening.  Is all of that necessary?  Again, look at the prayer that Solomon lifts up.  When he speaks about the people and their sinfulness, is there any word of sacrifice that plays a part of their forgiveness?  Of course not.  Again, it is the repentance of the people that will trigger the Lord’s forgiveness.

What purpose does the splendor of the temple and the massive amount of sacrificing serve?  It serves a penultimate purpose.  The purpose of the splendor and the sacrifices is a demonstration of our gratitude towards the Lord.  The splendor of the temple doesn’t make God forgive them more.  The massive sacrifice doesn’t make God love them more.  What it does is to remind us and each other just what the Lord means to us.  This chapter isn’t about appeasing God at all.  It is about reminding us, who are likely to lose focus and forget, about the God who loves us and cares for us.

<><