Lessons in Temple Building
Lesson #4
Preached at the Laurel Church of Christ
On May 25, 2003
The concept of building is nothing new. Seeing a structure begin with the foundation and rise to become a building is commonplace. A short drive of ten minutes would show an immense amount of construction. It is probable, that all of us have been a part of a building project. Whether we were remodeling our home, starting from scratch, or been a part of business renovations. With our first hand experience we can understand fully the process of building. There is one finishing touch, though I have had a difficult time of understanding in the past, which is the building dedication!
A building dedication is nothing new under the sun, but I really have struggled with knowing just why these occur. We immediately think that the dedication is publicity stunt. “Look, everyone, and come see our new and fantastic building.” Is this the only reason or is there another?
In our study over the past few weeks we have concerned ourselves with the Lord’s temple. It is the Lord’s Body, church, and family of God; but it is also our individual body that holds within it a very precious commodity - the Holy Spirit. “And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit (Eph 2:22).” We have studied about the planning, accumulation of material, and the labor that is necessary.
Solomon rightfully questioned whether God would dwell in a building made by the hands of men. “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) Will God dwell in the temple crafted by the hands of men? Absolutely! He will do it not because he can be contained in a building, but because he had made a promise he would keep; and God fulfills his promises. The only thing left to happen before God would dwell within the walls is the temple must be dedicated to God! Solomon’s dedication was something beyond compare, so he must have understood the importance of dedication.
Today, men and women dedicate buildings with either a bottle of champagne or a ribbon cutting ceremony. For Solomon though, such a practice would not be enough. This was not just an ordinary building but the temple of God. This is the place where sacrifices for sins would occur. This is where the holy ark of the covenant would lay within the most holy place. This is where the priests would converse with God. This was not an ordinary building dedication, but the dedication of the Lord’s temple.
In 1 Kings 8:5 the author says, “And King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.” He continues in verses 23-53 to describe the prayer Solomon offered before God, and verse 50 summarizes the intent of his prayer. “Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.” Then immediately following his prayer he stands and blesses the whole assembly beginning in verse 56.
If this is the extravagant Solomon’s temple, how much more then should the dedication of our bodies and this church be? The dictionary has two definitions of dedicate. The first is to set apart for a special use. The second is to commit oneself to a course of action. These definitions of words, though, do not help us understand what it means to dedicate ourselves to the Lord. We each have heard sermon after sermon; year after year; and maybe week after week, but we are not compelled to commitment. So just how does dedication show itself?
To see dedication in action one does not have to look very far. Matter of fact, you can step just outside this back door and scan across the yard and see a building synonymous with dedication, commitment and pride. Yes, it is the fire department. No one really understood how far the dedication of firefighters went until “9-11,” but now we are fully aware of their dedication. A good firefighter understood before stepping into the twin towers that it was a good possibility that the building would collapse, but that has never stopped a firefighter before. They looked danger in the eye and worked beyond their fear, because they are dedicated to saving lives. What is dedication - a fireman!
Still further, dedication can be seen from the front steps of this building on a regular basis. As the car drives by, each of us cannot fully comprehend what these men and women give in dedication. In the inner cities they flee the safety of their home to enter for all purposes a domestic war zone. It is filled with drugs, liars, prostitutes and the like. Why do they go? They are dedicated to saving lives.
Even further, we can sit here and scan this assembly room and see faces of men who have went to fight for our freedom. Dedication! We see women encouraging their husbands who are risking their lives for this country. Dedication! Why do they go? They are dedicated to saving lives. All of that is well and good, and without it we wouldn’t feel safe to walk down the street or even meet together in this building each first day of the week. What about spiritual dedication? In today’s world it is a fleeting commodity, that most everyone including Christians deem is not in their realm of life. Subconsciously we tell ourselves that spiritual dedication should be found only in the lofty ivory towers, but never enter our homes. Even as Christians, we look oddly at anyone who is outgoing spiritually. We may even go to the extreme to say they are a Jesus freak. Why do they do it? They are dedicated to saving lives.
Solomon describes where real blessing flows. These blessings each come from the spiritual dedication of the temple. There is an old story about Augustine. Early on in his life, he was intensely absorbed in the writings of Cicero. And around this time, he had a dream that he had died. And now he was standing at the pearly gates. And the keeper of the gate said, “Who are you?” And he said, “I’m Augustine.” Then the keeper said, “What are you?” And he replied, “I’m a Christian.” The gatekeeper said, “No, you’re not a Christian. You’re a Ciceronian!” Augustine said, “What are you talking about? I’m a Christian!” And the gatekeeper said this, “All souls on earth are judged by what dominated their interests. In you, Augustine, it was not the Christ of the gospel. It was the Cicero of Roman literature. You are not a Christian. You cannot enter here!” Augustine was so startled that when he woke up, he resolved then and there to be fully committed to Jesus Christ for the rest of his life. I wonder what we might be called at the pearly gates: Workaholics, Preacherites and etc. Where does our dedication lie? Does it lie with the preacher, paper you read, the job you hold, the literature you enjoy, the video game, the movie? Our dedication had better lie with Jesus.
When the Lord’s temple is dedicated to God it is filled with praise! Praise is a natural response to what God is given us. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Eph. 1:3) Paul says, praise your God for he has blessed you with spiritual blessings in Christ. When the temple is dedicated to Christ it will see these spiritual blessings. Christ gives us love, peace, joy, forgiveness, freedom, purpose and the like. The blood of Christ frees us from our sins (Revelation 1:4-6). Praise God for his righteousness and forgiveness. Solomon said it like this, “Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.” (1 Kings 8:56)
Maybe if there is no praise to God, the temple is not dedicated. We come together each first day to sing praises to our Lord. “…Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph 5:19-20) Praise him with your heart through the dedication of your soul. You must have something for which to praise Him.
Anthony Campolo wrote, “One year, my best friend and I devised what we thought was a brilliant and creative plan for mischief. We decided to break into the basement of the local five and dime store. We did not plan to rob the place (Sunday school boys would never do that sort of thing); instead, we planned to do something that as far as the owner of the store was concerned, would have been far worse. Our plan was to get into that five and dime store and change the price tags on things.” We imagined what it would be like the next morning when people came into the store and discovered that radios were selling for a quarter and bobby pins were priced at five dollars each. With diabolical glee, we wondered what it would be like in that store when nobody could figure out what the prices of things really should be.”
Sometimes I think Satan has played the same kind of trick on all of us. Sometimes I think that he has broken into our lives and changed the price tags on the principles of our lives. Too often, under the influences of his malicious ploy, we treat what deserves to be treated with loving care as though it were of little worth. On the other hand, we find ourselves tempted to make great sacrifices for that which, in the long run of life has no lasting value and delivers very little gratification. Sometimes I think that one of the worst consequences of being fallen creatures is our failure to understand what really is important in life. Praise is a by-product of having our ducks in a row.
Blessings come from the priceless temple of our Lord, through our whole-hearted obedience. It is relevant and essential for each of us to recognize the worth of that which God has granted you. Solomon recognizes that just a stone building should direct the people to more important things. “May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.” (1 Kings 8:58, 61)
The greatest thing you can give your family, friends and loved ones is wholehearted obedience to the Lord. Nothing else will reap eternal benefits. Nothing else will truly encourage your family. In American families, time for household conversations has decreased by 100%, despite other studies showing that such conversations are the number one preventative of “at risk adolescent” behavior. Could this be true? In a national pole conducted in 2000, educational issues tied with “not having enough time together with parents” as the chief concerns among teenagers. According to a 1997 study by the International Labor Organization, Americans work more hours than anyone else, even the Japanese.
And if this is the case with our families, just how terrible is our relationship with God. Jesus said the greatest command was to love the God with all your heart, soul and mind. And the second is like it; love your neighbor as yourself. God is to have the first place in everything, not our jobs. We need to wholeheartedly obey the form of teaching with which we were entrusted. That is Jesus was the messiah who died was buried and raised on the third day; shedding his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. We all want to give our best to our families, and if you truly believe that the best for your family is giving you whole heart to God.
Solomon continues to teach us that blessings come from sacrifice. “Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the LORD: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the Lord.
Why did Solomon kill all of these animals? Was it just for media attention? No, he was establishing fellowship with God. Notice Hebrews 10:3-10 “But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, “Here I am -- it is written about me in the scroll -- I have come to do your will, O God.” --- And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
In temple dedication there are two sacrifices required: Christ and People. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2) Christ has called us to be suffering servants of Him, being molded into his likeness each day he has given. Jesus marching orders came from Heaven. This is where we should find ours. Blessings come from sacrifice.
“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) He surely dwells here on earth, and he does it in you. Are you looking and searching for God. Look in the heart of a Christian and you will find him there. How glorious this Lord’s temple that we have within us, because God is the craftsman of it. He is slowly molding and crafting it into a perfect temple. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
God can do amazing things. He changes lives. Harold Miller wrote of the change that God brought to the natives in the Peruvian Amazon. He wrote: “Just one generation ago these were fearful, aggressive, and animistic people; all their contacts with outsiders were marked by violence. But now they’ve been transformed. One missionary writes that since embracing faith in Christ, the men of those tribes are tenderer with their wives and children. The native believers have problems like Christians anywhere else, but they, more than most, can appreciate the difference between “before” and “after” Christ. An anthropologist recently visited a Bora tribe and started criticizing the missionaries. He said, “Christianity is for the white man. You people should go back t your old religion and your old ways.” One of the tribal church leaders looked at the anthropologist for a moment. “Yes and if we did, you’d be the first one in the pot.” The glorious gospel of Christ does amazing things.
Dedicated temples are filled with praise, obedience and sacrifice. I encourage you to fully dedicate your temple for your sake and your family’s sake. To faithfully dedicate your temple you need: 1.) Appropriate time with your God; 2.) Appropriate time with your family; 3.) Appropriate time with your spiritual family.
