1 Kings 5–9: The Temple & Its Dedication

Read the Bible in 2011 ◊ Week 23: Tuesday

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today; that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place. Listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and forgive.”
1 Kings 8:27–30

Tuesday’s Bible reading is 1 Kings 5–9. These chapters record the building and dedication of the temple in Jerusalem by Solomon. In one week the Bible readings have swept from the making of the tabernacle in Exodus, to the building of the temple today in 1 Kings. Chapter 9 contains God’s warning to Solomon of what will happen to Israel if they forsake Him, and last Friday we read of that judgment coming to pass in the destruction of the temple that’s recorded in Jeremiah (compare the picture in that post with the one here). This broad view of history can give us a better understanding of the majesty of God—He is God—and teach us reverence and awe of Him.

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Isaiah 42 Photograph: ChristianPhotos.net – Free High Resolution Photos for Christian Publications
Solomon Dedicates the Temple at Jerusalem, James Tissot: Public Domain.