The Bible Recap - Day 164 (1 Kings 8, 2 Chronicles 5) - Year 4

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible recap. Yesterday, Solomon finished building the temple and now he needs to furnish it. Today, he and the Levites move all of the Holy Furniture, including the Ark of the Covenant, from the Tabernacle to the Temple. There's a good chance he's heard stories about the time his dad David caused a man to die while moving the Ark improperly, so he makes sure to transport it according to God's laws, on poles carried by priests. The priest deposit the Ark in the Holy of Holies and pretty immediately God's cloud of presence

Starting point is 00:00:41 swoops in and fills the place. As the priests are trying to leave the temple, they're falling over because they can't even stand in the midst of such a heavy concentration of God's presence. Even though God is everywhere, he can certainly dial up the saturation when he wants to. Then Solomon offers up a blessing, praising God for fulfilling his promise to David, and he also says, the Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever. We kind of have to cut Solomon off right there because technically, no. It's a nice thought that God would live in this particular house forever,

Starting point is 00:01:20 but that's never been God's plan. God never said that. Okay, moving on. In 1 Kings 829, Solomon makes an interesting statement. He says, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, my name shall be there. There are two things we need to address in this verse. First, he says God's name will be in the temple. Not God himself, just his name. Here's what we need to know about this. It was likely Solomon's helpful way of clarifying that God was not contained in this house.

Starting point is 00:01:51 By saying his name was there, kind of like God had said about Jerusalem at large, he was saying God's character and blessing and presence would be evident there, but that God wasn't confined by those four walls. And the second thing to notice is that Solomon himself clarifies this exact idea earlier in the verse. He says, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house. He clarifies here that even though God is inside it, he's also outside it. Just like time, God transcends location too.

Starting point is 00:02:25 Solomon asked God to be attentive to everything from the smallest matters of Man to Man's in, to the largest matters of humanity to Man's in, and to act with justice and mercy since God alone knows the hearts of all mankind. Solomon anticipates a day when Israel will sin against God, and he knows that when they do sin, they need both God's forgiveness and God's direction, so he asks God for both. In 841-43, Solomon prays a blessing for most of us. He asks God to spread his fame beyond Israel and transform the hearts of foreigners, of

Starting point is 00:02:58 Gentiles like me. He wants all the people of the earth to know God's name and fear him. He knows that God is the best, and He wants word to get out about it. Then He blesses the people, and in 8.57 to 58, He offers this really beautiful benediction. The Lord our God be with us as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us or forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. Solomon first reminds them of the blessing of God's nearness,

Starting point is 00:03:35 and then also of the blessing of God's work in that nearness, that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways. God doesn't come near to condemn. He can do that from afar. He comes near to change hearts. Then Solomon dedicates the house and they offer so many sacrifices that they overflow the altar. Afterward they have a week-long feast. Then the chapter ends by saying they went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people. What was your God shot today in this beautiful moment of promise fulfillment? Mine was for a promise that hadn't yet been fulfilled.

Starting point is 00:04:17 In 1 Kings 827, Solomon says, but will God indeed dwell on the earth? Oh, Solomon, you have no idea. He's coming, and he's healing the blind, and he's feeding the hungry, and he's setting the captives free, and he's raising the dead. And if you think you know joy now, buckle up, because it's about to go from zero to 100 in the blink of an eye. He's where the joy is. Did you know we have a printable version of our whole reading plan? Many of you use our plan on the Bible app and a few of you use our daily posts on Instagram

Starting point is 00:04:51 stories to keep up, but you can have your very own printout or even just download the PDF if you don't have a printer. That way if Instagram ever gets glitchy, you'll still know what chapters to read next. Just go to the BibleRecap.com, forward slash start, and look for the printable plan in step two. The Bible Recap is brought to you by D-group, discipleship and Bible study groups that meet in homes and churches around the world each week.

Starting point is 00:05:20 you

The Bible Recap - Day 164 (1 Kings 8, 2 Chronicles 5) - Year 4

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