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

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,

Starting point is 00:01:03 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, but that's never been God's plan.

Starting point is 00:01:21 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 Gentiles like me. He wants all the people of the earth to know God's name and fear him.

Starting point is 00:03:04 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, 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.

Starting point is 00:03:44 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. In 1 Kings 827, Solomon says, But will God indeed dwell on the earth?

Starting point is 00:04:24 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 captive screen, 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. [♪ music playing, music personal sized version of the Bible recap book yet?

Starting point is 00:04:47 If so and you're loving it, we want to hear about it. We would love for you to leave a review of the book on the platform where you purchased it. Those reviews are super helpful for us but mostly for future purchasers. Five Star Reviews are obviously our favorite. If you haven't grabbed a copy of the book yet, you can order one at Amazon, Bakerbookhouse.com, or our website, thebibelrecap.com. We'll also post a link for you in the show notes. I recently put my Bible knowledge to the test in a game called This or That, and I had

Starting point is 00:05:16 a blast doing it, kind of made a fool of myself as well. You can guess along with me as I try to tell the difference between Bible names and Disney characters. Now, I've never actually seen a Disney movie, but fortunately, it had a lot of help from Pastor Chad of the Prayer Wall. If you want to watch it, text the word Disney to 67101 or click the link in the show notes. you

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

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