Dedicating God’s Temple Today

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

In 2 Chronicles 6:12-42 we have the content of the prayer of Solomon as he stood before the altar of the Lord. The whole nation of Israel was present and waited anxiously to hear what he would say in his prayer as he dedicated the temple they had built as directed by God.

 

As everyone watched Solomon knelt down before the Lord and raised his hands in an act of submission and praise.

 

He praised God with such words as “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth — you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.”

 

He proclaimed how God had kept His promise by saying, “You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it — as it is today.”

 

Again he praised God by stating, “The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” Then he petitioned God to hear his plea, “Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place.”

 

He then asked for forgiveness when any of God’s people approached Him in repentance, “Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.”

 

He also prayed that God would discern between those who had done wrong and those who were innocent and that He would judge appropriately, “Judge between your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence.”

 

He prayed for deliverance from hardship in the form of drought and famine. He prayed that if Israel were to sin, that God would teach them the right way to live and have mercy when they repented of such sin.

 

He prayed for God to, “Forgive, and deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of men), so that they will fear you and walk in your ways all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers.”

 

He prayed that God would be known among all the earth and everyone would know His name and fear him.

 

He prayed for victory in battle against the enemy and that God would grant victory to them as a nation because they served Him.

 

As if to remind himself and the nation, he prayed yet again for forgiveness of sins when acts of disobedience were committed, “When they sin against you — for there is no one who does not sin — and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.”

 

Then Solomon requested God to take residence in the temple and to be among His people. “Now arise, O LORD God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, may your saints rejoice in your goodness.”

 

I am sure when Solomon finished his prayer you could have heard a pin drop. All Israel were probably bowed in submission before their mighty Lord and God. This probably made what happened next even more earthshaking and surprising.

 

In 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 we are told the following, “When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, ‘He is good; his love endures forever.’”

 

As I read this account of Solomon’s prayer at the temple dedication I thought of how similar it is to the dedication of a person’s life to Christ as their Lord.

 

When a sinner realizes the extent of their sin and the need to repent of it, they are overwhelmed by the greatness of God, His holiness and the need to have a relationship with Him. In their sinner’s prayer they desire for God to forgive them and judge them fairly for what they have done. They admit their failings and sins and trust God’s love will grant them not only mercy and grace but forgiveness. They realize that they must not only receive His Son as Savior, but also dedicate their whole being to the God who saves.

 

In several passages we are told that when we accept Christ as our Savior we become the dwelling place of the Lord. We become living temples within which God’s Holy Spirit resides (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Much of Solomon’s prayer reads like a sinner’s repentant prayer before God comes to dwell in His temple. The process and method of how this happens is a mystery. How can an omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent God take up residence not just in one person but all those who have and ever will accept Jesus as their Savior? We can break brain cells trying to figure this out and so, as with numerous issues in life, we must trust God’s Word that it does take place as it states. We know it happens, for each of us who has accepted Christ as Savior know we have become new creations. We sense a presence of God we never had before. We seem motivated to serve others, minister to those in need and sense a hunger for God’s Word like we never had before. The Holy Spirit who now resides within us, God’s temple, stimulates these motivations and convictions.

 

In 2 Chronicles when Solomon finished his prayer a fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices. In Acts 2:1-4 a similar incident occurred when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. Tongues of fire appeared above their heads and they spoke in languages they did not know as they honored and praised God. This established God’s church on earth and dramatically verified the beginning of the experience all future believer’s would have, the indwelling of God’s Spirit within those accepting Jesus as Lord, Master and Savior. While tongues of fire do not appear above our heads when we accept Christ and not all of us speak in tongues, we can rest assured that God’s promise of sending His Comforter (John 16:8-11), the Holy Spirit, does take place when we accept Christ as Savior and become a servant of God’s Son. The Spirit baptizes us into the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). He seals us as belonging to God (Ephesians 4:30. He lives within us (John 14:17). He also fills us with power as needed when God uses us to minister (Ephesians 5:18).

 

Have you prayed a prayer like Solomon about giving your life to God so that He can dwell in you and change your dead life into a living spiritual temple? If not I encourage you to do so.

 

Have you prayed this prayer but have let God’s temple turn into a place where false God’s are worshipped? I encourage you repent, stop grieving the Spirit and let Him once again fill you to overflowing.

 

God wants a relationship with you. He wants you to experience His grace and mercy.

 

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?…for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”