“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”
1 Kings 8:27 (NIV)
As I read verse 13 I marvelled at the pride contained in Solomon’s words and wondered if he had a correct understanding of the Presence of God in their midst. He had just witnessed the cloud – the glory of the LORD - enter this new structure, this building called the temple, and in contrast to the tabernacle this building must have seemed very permanent to them. Yet when I get to the words of Solomon’s prayer in verse 27 I realized that Solomon had a very correct view of the Presence of God in their midst. God doesn’t live there in the same sense we live in our houses, nor in the sense of how people think idols live in their temples. God is too big for that, actually, God is too big for all creation. God’s Presence among His people is purposeful, and those purposes can be discerned by reading the entirety of Solomon’s prayer, but can be summed up in the words “my house will be called a house of prayer”. He dwells among us on the face of the earth so that we can be sure that He will answer our prayers, forgive our sins, and heal our lives. His Presence is a guarantee of His blessing as we humble ourselves before Him. We can read the history of Israel and their temple- which is why I called Solomon’s words in verse 31 pride- they refused to humble themselves despite the very Presence of God in their midst and He removed Himself. What a wonderful gift we have from God in the Presence of the Holy Spirit in our earthly bodies. May each of us fulfill God’s purpose in putting His Spirit within us, may we be a “house of prayer”.
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