Our text is 1 Kings 1: 1 – 1 Kings 11: 43 – a summary of the life of Solomon
Last time:
1 Kings 7: 1-12 Solomon’s Palace Complex
1 Kings 7: 13-47 The furnishings OUTSIDE the Temple
1 Kings 7: 48-51 The furnishings INSIDE the Temple
Here is the lesson from: 1 Kings 7: 13-51
God requires us to be pure and holy before we come into His presence to worship Him
Today: 1 Kings 8: 1-11
God’s presence indwells the Temple
1-2 After the Temple construction was completed Solomon called the elders and the leaders of Israel’s ancestral tribes to join with the priests in bringing the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to its new location in the Temple
the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant had been temporarily located in the ‘sacred tent’ that King David had made for it in Zion, the City of David
1 Kings 1: 39, 50 1 Kings 2: 28, 30, 34
This event was scheduled for the ‘Festival of Shelters’ – also called the Feast of Tabernacles
(The Feast of Tabernacles is still celebrated in Israel today)
The ‘Festival of Shelters’ was celebrated every year and commemorated Israel’s 40-year journey out of Egypt’s captivity to their new ‘home’ in the Promised Land
Leviticus 23: 33-39 Numbers 29: 12 Deuteronomy 16: 13, 16:16, 31: 10
On their journey, at night, the people would set up their ‘shelter’/tent/tabernacle for sleeping, warmth and safety
Throughout their 40-year journey in the wilderness the presence of God would go with the people, as a pillar of cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night
Exodus 13: 21
3-5 The Ark, the temporary ‘sacred tent’ and its furnishings were brought up to the Temple where Solomon and the people of God made sacrifices to God too many to count
6 The priests then carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the ‘inner sanctuary’ of the Temple and located it between the wings of the golden cherubim
7-8 The comment ‘They (the poles for carrying the Ark) are still there to this day’ tells us that 1 Kings was authored between about 931 BC and 586 BC BEFORE the destruction of the Temple
9 Contained inside the Ark were the 2 stone tablets upon which were written the 10 Commandments that God gave to His people, through Moses, on Mt. Sinai soon after their exodus from Egypt
The 10 Commandments were also called the Covenant
Exodus 20: 1-17
And begins Exodus 20: 1 ‘Then God gave the people these instructions’
Many Christians think that the term ‘covenant’ is the same as agreement
No – An agreement are the terms negotiated by 2 or more parties
Example: Marriage Agreement. ‘We both agree to be faithful to each other in this marriage – if one of us is unfaithful, the marriage is finished’
A covenant is different. There is no negotiation between 2 parties in a covenant; one party decides the terms
Exodus 19:5 ‘Now if you will obey Me and keep My covenant, you will be My own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to Me’.
And, of course, we know that Solomon disobeyed God and was unfaithful to the Covenant
Solomon forgot God and broke the very first Commandment – Exodus 12: 3 ‘You must not have any other god but Me’
1 Kings 11: 4
10-11 ‘the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple’
Here’s the lesson from 1 Kings 8: 1-11
Our limited experience of God’s presence on the Earth is preparing us for the fullness of His presence in Heaven
On Earth, our experience of God’s presence is limited
1/ Graphic: Moses tabernacle in the wilderness
Exodus 13:21 ‘The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night’
2/ Graphic: Solomon’s Temple
1 Kings 8: 11 ‘the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord’
3/ Graphic: The Church throughout the Earth
1 Corinthians 3: 16 ‘Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?’
Only in Heaven will we experience the fullness of God’s presence and glory
Hebrews 8:2 ‘There He (Jesus) ministers in the Heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands’
Hebrews 10:19 ‘And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter Heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus’.
Wow! What an incredible thought – there is a day coming when we all shall enter Heaven’s Most Holy Place, and there, we will experience the fullness of God’s presence
revdotdavid 