Year B, Proper 16 (Complete).

1 Kings 8:1, 1 Kings 8:6, 1 Kings 8:10-11, 1 Kings 8:22-30, 1 Kings 8:41-43, Psalm 84:1-12, Joshua 24:1-2, Joshua 24:14-18, Psalm 34:15-22, Ephesians 6:10-20, John 6:56-69.

(A) THAT ALL PEOPLE MAY KNOW THY NAME.

1 Kings 8:1; 1 Kings 8:6; 1 Kings 8:10-11; 1 Kings 8:22-30; 1 Kings 8:41-43.

The bringing of the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple in Jerusalem was a monumental moment in the history of God’s people (1 Kings 8:1; 1 Kings 8:6). Yet all the skill and ingenuity of the builders and artificers was unable to contain God, and paled into insignificance in the presence of His glory (1 Kings 8:10-11). Even “heaven, the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee,” admitted Solomon, “how much less this house that I have built” (1 Kings 8:27).

There had been appearances of the glory of the LORD before, and there would be again. The LORD had been as a pillar of cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night to guide the children of Israel in all their wanderings. The LORD had been as thundering and lightnings and as a mighty earthquake at the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.

The LORD would yet appear to Isaiah as ‘high and lifted up, and His train filled the Temple,’ surrounded by heavenly beings crying ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ - and the posts of the door moved, and the house was filled with smoke (Isaiah 6:1-4). The glory of the LORD was seen in the Person of Jesus by Peter, James, and John in the mount of Transfiguration. ‘And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth’ (John 1:14).

After turning and blessing the people (1 Kings 8:14), Solomon next stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of the people, and spread forth his hands toward heaven (1 Kings 8:22). The King then uttered his all-encompassing prayer of dedication of the Jerusalem Temple, which occupies much of the remainder of this chapter. Then he blessed the people again (1 Kings 8:55), before dismissing them (1 Kings 8:66).

As we enter into the prayer, the posture is significant. To bless the people Solomon had faced the congregation, but now to pray he lifted up his hands towards heaven. The audience was no longer the people, although the people could no doubt hear what he was saying, but the prayer was addressed to the LORD.

The prayer consisted first in praise, then in acknowledgement of God’s covenant faithfulness (1 Kings 8:23-24). We might suggest that the first petition of the whole prayer was that the LORD would continue His covenant faithfulness (1 Kings 8:25-26). However, Solomon was immediately aware that the God whom we worship cannot be confined to any building of man’s making (1 Kings 8:27)!

The next petition was that the transcendent God would hearken to the prayer which Solomon was directing towards Him, and that His “eyes” would be open towards the Temple of which He had said, “My Name shall be there” (1 Kings 8:28-29). So, whereas the LORD is in heaven, yet Solomon prayed that His Name would be made immanent in the place of His choosing, and He would “hear” those who prayed towards this place, and hearing forgive (1 Kings 8:29-30).

Solomon next made seven major petitions, outlining different situations in which people might legitimately pray to the LORD. However, these are not only for Israel, but also have an evangelistic emphasis (1 Kings 8:41-43). The inclusion of the “stranger” has always been on the agenda (cf. Genesis 12:2-3).

There was no doubt that the great name of the LORD would become known, even among the Gentiles, and, argued Solomon, if they should happen to “pray towards this house; hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place and do according to all that the stranger asks: THAT ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH MAY KNOW THY NAME” (1 Kings 8:42-43).

Now, how do we come to know the LORD in this personal way? It is only through our Lord Jesus Christ, a greater than Solomon (Matthew 12:42) who also declared Himself to be ‘greater than the Temple’ (Matthew 12:6). The earthly Temple was only ever temporary, as implied in Jesus’ words to the disciples as He left the Temple for the last time (Matthew 24:1-2).

Jesus did not come to abolish the sacrificial system, but to fulfil it, and to offer Himself as the supreme and final sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 9:25-26). When Jesus’ work upon the Cross was finished, the veil in the Temple was rent in two, from the top to the bottom (Matthew 27:51). Although the Temple rituals continued for a transitional period, the need for sacrifice had been met in His death. He is none other than the One who inhabits the Temple (Matthew 23:21) - for who else could be greater than the Temple?