When we pray, how can we ensure we are heard? When we speak to God, what can we do to be confident he’s listening? In short, how can we have a real relationship with the Lord?
Today we come to the second week in our short series looking at the life of King Solomon. After hearing about his wisdom last week, this morning’s passage is all about King Solomon’s most famous construction project – the building of his great Temple in Jerusalem. And as we look at the historic function of King Solomon’s Temple, we’ll be reminded how we can truly know God today.
The splendour of Solomon’s Temple
Today’s reading from 1 Kings began with these words: “In the four hundred and eightiethyear after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the Lord.”
In other words, King Solomon believed the time was now right for God’s Temple to be built. But why?
- Firstly, because the nation of Israel was now securely established in the Promised Land. The exodus from Egypt was now a distant memory, the wanderings in the Sinai were well past, and the land of Canaan had been successfully conquered. By Solomon’s day, Israel was settled, secure and dwelling in safety. And so Solomon judged it was high time for God himself to ‘settle down’ and dwell permanently in the midst of his people. No longer would God’s reside among his people in a temporary tent, a mobile tabernacle tent – now it was time for God to reside in a stone Temple, a stationary abode for his presence and glory.
- But secondly, and most significantly, Solomon knew the time was right because God himself had said so. Solomon’s decision to construct the Temple complex wasn’t simply based on Israel’s geo-political circumstances or his assessment of the security situation. No, it was God’s word that made Solomon sure the time was right. If we turned back in our Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 7, we would see that God had spoken to Solomon’s father, King David. And God had told David that his son would build his Temple. And so, after his father’s death and having ascended to the throne, Solomon knew what he had to do – the Temple building work began!
This is all neatly summed up in 1 Kings 5:4-5, when Solomon says: “the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster. I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.’”
1 Kings goes into exceptional detail in its description of the Temple’s construction. It mentions the quality of the building materials used – stone, cedar and olive wood, bronze – and gold, LOTS of gold! Even the floor of the Temple was covered with it! We are also given an idea of the scale of the Temple and the skill of the craftsmanship involved. And once complete the Temple was furnished with precious treasures and elaborate ornaments, including the Ark of the Covenant. In the days before photographs, the words of 1 Kings chapters 6 to 8 attempt to convey the splendour of this magnificent building.
The significance of Solomon’s Temple
We are also told the sombre reverence with which the Temple was constructed, because this splendid building had immense spiritual signiificance. Here was God’s house, the place where his presence on earth would dwell, the place where his glory would now reside. And sure enough, 1 Kings 8 tells us that once the Temple was completed and consecrated, the glory of God descended upon it. Like a great cloud, the glorious presence of God filled the Temple. The Creator of the cosmos had now become especially present here on Earth. What an awesome moment that must have been! We’re told that the priests on duty at the time had to just stop and stare, “for the glory of the LORD filled his Temple” (8:10-11).
Once the Lord had ‘moved in’, ‘settled down’ and ‘taken up residence’ in his Temple, it began to serve two vital functions. Two essential activities that sustained the relationship between the people of Israel and their God.
- The first was sacrifice. The Temple replaced the old Tabernacle tent as the place where sacrifices were now offered for sin. Animals were offered at altars to take away the people’s guilt before God. The shed blood of bulls, goats and lambs were understood to achieve ‘atonement’ – union between fallen, fallible people and their perfectly good God. Sacrifices were required for this relationship to be sustained.
- But secondly, the Temple opened up a communication channel with God. Prayers made at the Temple were sure to be heard. One commentator compares the Temple to a giant gold telephone – it was the instrument by which God could be reached, it was the communication device that connected people to the divine. God promised his people that prayers directed towards the Temple would be heard by him. Even if they dwelt in a distant region or in a far country, prayers facing towards the Jerusalem Temple would be received.
With the Temple functioning the people of Israel’s relationship with God remained open. Their Lord was accessible as long as the Temple stood. The Temple served as a golden telephone to God, as a location where forgiveness could be found. No wonder it occupied such a central place in Jewish life and faith. No wonder psalms were composed and sung, thanking God for the Temple (e.g. Psalm 84).
The successor to Solomon’s Temple
So what does this all mean for us today? After all, Solomon’s Temple no longer stands in Jerusalem. Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC, and its successor was pulled down by the Roman army in 70AD. If you visit Jerusalem today only the Western Wall of the Temple mount remains.
But Solomon’s Temple continues to teach us. It reminds that a relationship with God requires a sacrifice for sins and a correct communication channel.
And as Christians we believe that a true successor to the Temple has come. In the person of Christ, God has come and dwelt with his people. In and through Jesus, God has provided both a perfect sacrifice and a clear communication channel through which we can relate to him.
We believe this for at least two reasons. For a start, John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus described his body as a new Temple (Jn 2), the place where God’s presence now dwelt and resided. As we celebrate every Christmas, he was God’s Word made flesh, who dwelt among us. And secondly, as we heard in our Gospel reading from Mattthew, Jesus referred to himself as “greater” than Solomon’s Temple – his face was now the place where God’s glory was most manifest.
The implications of this are immense. Because it means that:
– Jesus is the place where God can now be worshipped, the one to whom we should direct our prayers. No one comes to the Father except through him. Prayers uttered in Jesus’ name will undoubtedly be heard.
– And Jesus’ body, not Solomon’s Temple, was the place where a final, all-sufficient sacrifice would be offered. The place where sins would be paid for once and for all. The place – indeed, the person – from whom God’s forgiveness flows. Christ’s death on the Cross accomplished what animal sacrifices on a Temple altar could never accomplish –the true and lasting forgiveness of everyone who trusts in him. A true and lasting forgiveness that remains on offer to every human being to this day.
Conclusion
So as I finish this morning I hope today’s passage has impressed us with the splendour and spiritual significance of King Solomon’s Temple.
But above all, I hope it has taught us that the place where heaven has most fully touched earth was not in Solomon’s magnificent Temple – but in the person of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. And so today:
- When we come to Jesus we encounter the glory of God.
- When we pray in his name we have access to his Father.
- And when we ask God for forgiveness, we benefit from Christ’s perfect sacrifice.