Solomon dedicated the house of the LORD

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 8.

And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD (1 Kings 8:63).

Solomon’s dedication of the temple included lavish peace offerings. Notice the vast numbers: 22,000 oxen! And 120,000 sheep! Can you imagine the noise? Have you ever been to a livestock auction and heard the sounds of even a small number of animals. If so, then imagine the fear and death cries of these sacrifices, and the rivers of blood that flowed at the temple dedication!

What an amazing spectacle this dedication of the temple was! It must have been an overwhelming visual, emotional, and spiritual experience.

But this temple was later destroyed (by the Babylonian in 586 BC), rebuilt, and destroyed again (by the Romans in AD 70).

What is there here then for new covenant believers to grasp?

First, we are reminded that God dwells now among us not in the ark of the covenant, but in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word who was made flesh (John 1:14).

Second, Christ accomplished what the blood of thousands of oxen and sheep could not. Through his death on the cross, the just for the unjust, a once for all sacrifice was made for sin. Christ died for sinners. And three days later he was gloriously raised from the dead, was seen by his disciples, sent them out to make new disciples and ascended into heaven till he comes again.

Every sinner whose heart is changed by the power of God so that he repents of his sin and turns in faith to Christ will be saved.

Third, we now worship not by offering the sacrifices which Solomon did, but by offering spiritual sacrifices.

Hebrews 13:15 exhorts, “let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name” (v. 15). And it continues: “But to do good and to communicate (NKJV: to share) forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

And consider Paul’s words in Romans 12:1: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Paul said we must present our bodies, our whole selves, to God so that we become a living sacrifice to him.

Let us then dedicate our lives to Christ!

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (7.19.19): So Solomon built the house

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 6.

So Solomon built the house and finished it (1 Kings 6:14).

We are continuing our study of 1 Kings, the first part of which (1 Kings 1—11) concerns the reign of King Solomon, known for two things: (1) his wisdom; and (2) building the temple.

Five of these first 11 chapters are devoted in part or whole to the temple:

1 Kings 5: Preparation

1 Kings 6: Building

1 Kings 7: Furnishings

1 Kings 8: Dedication

1 Kings 9: Blessing

In 1 Kings 5, we saw Solomon’s preparation. The temple would not just pop out of thin air, but he has to make the plans, procures the materials, and provide for the labor to fulfill this goal.

Now, in 1 Kings 6 we see the fulfillment of those plans. If 1 Kings 5:5 is the key verse for the “preparation” chapter (“And , behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God…”), then 1 Kings 6:14 is the key verse for the “building/fulfillment” chapter (“So Solomon built the house and finished it.”).

We no longer have or need a physical temple, because Christ is our temple and our once for all sacrifice. These chapters are then perhaps most helpful in that they address the centrality of worship in the life of the believers. Solomon knew that his most important duty in the sphere of influence the Lord had given him as king was to lead his people rightly to worship the Lord.

A spiritual lesson to be learned: We do not need merely the desire or the plan to serve the Lord, but we need also the resolve to see it through. This means we must finish what we start. We must persevere as the Lord completes the good work he has begun in us (Phil 1:6).

In Luke 14 Christ taught his followers to count the cost of discipleship. He compared the commitment to become a disciple to being like a man who intended to build a tower and who first had to sit down and count the cost “whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish” (vv. 28-30).

May the Lord give us the grace to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow him.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision: I purpose to build an house

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 5.

“And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God….” (1 Kings 5:5a).

Solomon is known for two key things:

First, he was a man of great wisdom (see 1 Kings 3—4).

Second, he built the temple in Jerusalem.

This second great achievement begins to be described in 1 Kings 5 (the preparations for building) and continues in 1 Kings 6 (the completion of the building), 1 Kings 7 (the vessels and furnishings of the temple), 1 Kings 8 (the dedication of the temple), and even in 1 Kings 9 (the blessing that comes to King Solomon by building the temple).

If you’ve ever built a house or had a house built you know the excitement of looking over the plans and imagining what it will look like. And you likely also know the less exciting but necessary part of making a financial plan to be able to secure the realization of the project. And for the physical builder, he also has to assemble the materials, be they blocks, lumber, plywood, sheetrock, etc. to complete the project.

A house does not just pop up out of thin air. And Solomon’s temple did not just materialize out of nowhere. The Lord was pleased to use means. He made Solomon the chief instrument to bring about the construction of this place of worship.

Overall, this passage teaches us about the importance of worship. Consider these four points:

First: Worship must be a priority in the believer’s life.

Solomon’s first priority as a leader over Israel was to make provision for worship, to build a central place of worship.

Worship must be a spiritual priority for us as well. This includes not only private worship but especially public worship.

Second: Worship must be regulated not by the preferences of men (“will-worship”) but by the design of God.

The detailed and orderly construction of Solomon’s temple reflects the Regulative Principle of worship.

True worship is not that which comes from human whims and imaginations, but it is giving to the Lord that which he desires from us.

Third: True worship requires proper preparation.

Notice the intentionality and the preparation of Solomon. Such is also required of us. We must order our lives aright.

Fourth: True worship now comes not in a place but in a person.

The temple that Solomon built would be destroyed by the Babylonians, rebuilt by the exiles who returned led by men like Ezra and Nehemiah, refurbished by Herod, and destroyed again by the Romans in AD 70, and there has never been another temple built to replace it.

The early Christians were considered strange, because they had no physical temple. They looked not to a place but to a person: the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is indeed our temple. Let us worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (6.28.19): Ask what I shall give thee

Image: CRBCers visiting residents at Epworth Manor last Sunday afternoon and handing out potted plants with Scripture verses made at VBS (6.23.19).

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 3:

1 Kings 3:5: In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

1 Kings 3:9: Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

1 Kings 3:10: And the speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing.

The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night (v. 5a) and says to him, “Ask what I shall give thee” (v. 5b).

Solomon offers a prayerful response. One commentator observed: “we may rightly take Solomon’s prayer as instructive in the art of prayer” (Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Kings, 34).

Solomon begins by rehearsing the Lord’s goodness in fulfilling his promise to David his father, that he would have a son sit on the throne of Israel (vv. 6-7a; cf. 2 Sam 7:12ff).

We also see Solomon’s humility as he says, “and I am but a little child…” (v. 7b). Think of how dependent a child is on his parents to care for him. Such was Solomon’s dependence on the heavenly Father.

Solomon further notes the honor of his having been set “in the midst” as king among God’s people (v. 8).

Solomon then asks the Lord to give him a heart of understanding (or, a “hearing heart”), so that he might judge the people and discern between good and evil (v. 9). The word “heart” does not have the sentimental meaning of modern usage, but it refers to the seat of the intellect, affection, and will.

Solomon was asking not how he might be served but how he might serve God’s people through obedience.

This pleased the Lord (v. 10). We want to be God-pleasers and not man-pleasers. We want to have the smile of God on our words and deeds. Solomon had this peculiar favor!

Now consider how you might respond should the Lord say to you, “Ask what I shall give thee.” What do you need or want most from the Lord? Would you ask for something that merely pleases the flesh? Or, would you ask the Lord to give you an understanding heart, so that you might best serve him and his people?

Consider James 1:5: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle