Dedicating God's Temple Today
By Michael
K. Farrar, O.D.
©
September 5, 2006
In 2
Chronicles 6:12-42 we have the content of the prayer of Solomon as he stood
before the altar of the Lord. The whole nation of Israel was present and waited
anxiously to hear what he would say in his prayer as he dedicated the temple
they had built as directed by God.
As
everyone watched Solomon knelt down before the Lord and raised his hands in an
act of submission and praise.
He praised
God with such words as “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in
heaven or on earth — you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who
continue wholeheartedly in your way.”
He
proclaimed how God had kept His promise by saying, “You have kept your
promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and
with your hand you have fulfilled it — as it is today.”
Again he
praised God by stating, “The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot
contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” Then he petitioned God to
hear his plea, “Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for
mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying
in your presence. May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this
place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer
your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplications of your servant
and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place.”
He then
asked for forgiveness when any of God’s people approached Him in repentance, “Hear
from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.”
He also
prayed that God would discern between those who had done wrong and those who
were innocent and that He would judge appropriately, “Judge between your
servants, repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has
done. Declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence.”
He prayed
for deliverance from hardship in the form of drought and famine. He prayed that
if Israel were to sin, that God would teach them the right way to live and have
mercy when they repented of such sin.
He prayed
for God to, “Forgive, and deal with each man according to all he does, since
you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of men), so that they will
fear you and walk in your ways all the time they live in the land you gave our
fathers.”
He prayed
that God would be known among all the earth and everyone would know His name
and fear him.
He prayed
for victory in battle against the enemy and that God would grant victory to
them as a nation because they served Him.
As if to
remind himself and the nation, he prayed yet again for forgiveness of sins when
acts of disobedience were committed, “When they sin against you — for there
is no one who does not sin — and you become angry with them and give them over
to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; and if they
have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and
plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, 'We have sinned, we have
done wrong and acted wickedly'; and if they turn back to you with all their
heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray
toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and
toward the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling
place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive
your people, who have sinned against you.”
Then
Solomon requested God to take residence in the temple and to be among His
people. “Now arise, O LORD God, and come to your resting place, you and the
ark of your might. May your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, may
your saints rejoice in your goodness.”
I am sure
when Solomon finished his prayer you could have heard a pin drop. All Israel
were probably bowed in submission before their mighty Lord and God. This
probably made what happened next even more earthshaking and surprising.
In 2
Chronicles 7:1-3 we are told the following, “When Solomon finished praying,
fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices,
and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the
temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. When all the
Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple,
they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped
and gave thanks to the LORD, saying,
‘He is good; his love endures
forever.’”
As
I read this account of Solomon’s prayer at the temple dedication I thought of
how similar it is to the dedication of a person’s life to Christ as their Lord.
When
a sinner realizes the extent of their sin and the need to repent of it, they
are overwhelmed by the greatness of God, His holiness and the need to have a
relationship with Him. In their sinner’s prayer they desire for God to forgive
them and judge them fairly for what they have done. They admit their failings
and sins and trust God’s love will grant them not only mercy and grace but
forgiveness. They realize that they must not only receive His Son as Savior,
but also dedicate their whole being to the God who saves.
In several
passages we are told that when we accept Christ as our Savior we become the
dwelling place of the Lord. We become living temples within which God’s Holy
Spirit resides (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Much of
Solomon’s prayer reads like a sinner’s repentant prayer before God comes to
dwell in His temple. The process and method of how this happens is a mystery.
How can an omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent God take up residence not
just in one person but all those who have and ever will accept Jesus as their
Savior? We can break brain cells trying to figure this out and so, as with
numerous issues in life, we must trust God’s Word that it does take place as it
states. We know it happens, for each of us who has accepted Christ as Savior
know we have become new creations. We sense a presence of God we never had
before. We seem motivated to serve others, minister to those in need and sense
a hunger for God’s Word like we never had before. The Holy Spirit who now
resides within us, God’s temple, stimulates these motivations and convictions.
In
2 Chronicles when Solomon finished his prayer a fire came down from heaven and
consumed the sacrifices. In Acts 2:1-4 a similar incident occurred when the
Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. Tongues of fire appeared above their heads
and they spoke in languages they did not know as they honored and praised God.
This established God’s church on earth and dramatically verified the beginning
of the experience all future believer’s would have, the indwelling of God’s
Spirit within those accepting Jesus as Lord, Master and Savior. While tongues
of fire do not appear above our heads when we accept Christ and not all of us
speak in tongues, we can rest assured that God’s promise of sending His
Comforter (John 16:8-11), the Holy Spirit, does take place when we accept Christ
as Savior and become a servant of God’s Son. The Spirit baptizes us into the
Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). He seals us as belonging to God
(Ephesians 4:30. He lives within us (John 14:17). He also fills us with power
as needed when God uses us to minister (Ephesians 5:18).
Have
you prayed a prayer like Solomon about giving your life to God so that He can
dwell in you and change your dead life into a living spiritual temple? If not I
encourage you to do so.
Have you
prayed this prayer but have let God’s temple turn into a place where false
God’s are worshipped? I encourage you repent, stop grieving the Spirit and let
Him once again fill you to overflowing.
God
wants a relationship with you. He wants you to experience His grace and mercy.
1 Corinthians
3:16-17
“Don't you know that you
yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?…for God's
temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”