November 24, 2015
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

God at the Center

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, You reign supreme over life and death, frustration and pain, loss and loneliness. I praise You.

Read 1 KINGS 8:1-21

[1] Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. [2] All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month. [3] When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, [4] and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, [5] 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. [6] The priests then brought the ark of the LORD’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. [7] The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. [8] These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. [9] There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. [10] When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. [11] And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple. [12] Then Solomon said, “The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; [13] I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.” [14] While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. [15] Then he said: “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, [16] ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’ [17] “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. [18] But the LORD said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. [19] Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood-he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’ [20] “The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. [21] I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“It is amazing what you can do if you do not care who gets the credit” (Harry S. Truman, 1884-1972). The Christian could adapt these wise words to read, “It is amazing what God can do if we give him the credit”!

Almost every chapter in the story of Solomon has a hidden agenda. For example, did you notice in chapter 5 the references to his forced-labor scheme, which is later pictured as oppressive? But chapter 8, telling of the opening and dedication of the Temple, is different. Solomon is the main speaker and he shows again how much potential he had. The writer’s clear intention is to ensure that the focus is on God himself and on his Temple, but this doesn’t mean that people were irrelevant. All the tribes and families, all the priests and Levites, the whole assembly (14) were brought together to hear what Solomon had to say, first about God and then to God.

Verses 15-21 are a challenging and reassuring call to the assembled people. King Solomon tells Israel to remember–as we should tell 21st-century Christian believers–that God keeps his promises, as he kept his promises to David. God knows what we have in our hearts, as he did with David. God affirms our good intentions but shows that taking us up on these is not always the best way for his purposes to be worked out. David had been told that it was his son, “your own flesh and blood…who will build the temple” (19). David had to learn that it was the building of the Temple and more especially the God of the Temple, not the one who built it, that was really significant.

We may feel sidelined when a task that is close to our hearts is taken over by someone else. It is important to remember that God remains the same and that the ones who have the privilege of completing our project are our brothers and sisters–our own flesh and blood! God’s promises to us about the project are still being kept!

Apply

Solomon speaks of God’s promises being kept (20). Have you seen God’s promises fulfilled in your life recently? When have you been especially aware of God’s holiness, glory or faithfulness?

Closing prayer

Promise-keeping God, indeed, great is Your faithfulness! Thank You for challenges given and promises kept. You are such a great God!

Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.

© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.

Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.

View all readings

Get ENCOUNTER:

in your email:

in Print:

Become a Member | Visit our store