God’s House, God’s Glory, God’s Mission | 1 Kings 6–8

We find ourselves picking up where we left off last Lord’s Day in 1 Kings chapter 6. As you’re finding your way to the text that you’ll be reading a section of today, let me just give you the big idea. Here is the central claim that we’ll be seeking to make today: because Jesus Christ is the greater Solomon, who faithfully builds God’s dwelling place, God’s people must devote themselves to God’s kingdom rather than building a name for themselves.

Days before the Lord Jesus was murdered on a cross, he rode on the back of a donkey on his way into the city of Jerusalem. And the people met him there with palm branches, declaring him to be their Savior and their King. And as soon as Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem, he went straight to the temple, the central place of the worship of Yahweh on earth. And there the Lord Jesus saw men buying and selling, changing money, extorting others, turning the worship of God by foreigners into a money-making business. And Jesus drove out all who bought and sold in the temple. He overturned their tables and completely disrupted their economy.

And here’s what he said about that: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations, but you have made it a den of robbers.” It’s a somewhat curious indictment when you think about it. No mention of greed, no mention of extortion. Jesus understood the greatest sin to be the co-opting of the purpose of God in the temple.

The other sins were being committed there, but the greater sin was hindering the nations from coming to the Lord. God had commissioned the Jews to build a house for his name. They were to be a light to the nations. They were to be a city on a hill. They were to facilitate the teaching and the worship of Yahweh. They were to build God’s kingdom. And when they did, the nations of the earth would see and would come, and they would learn about the Lord, and they would find peace in the Lord, and they would find peace with one another.

But in Jerusalem, these Jews had repurposed the house of God. They had turned its purpose in on themselves. They had perverted the purpose of God. Rather than building a house for God’s name, they used their privileged position to build a house for their own name. And Jesus, zealous for the glory of God, overturns their tables and ruins their economy.

The Scripture gives us a window into the many failures of Israel. And the more that we look through this window, this glass becomes a mirror, and eventually we see their sin in our hearts. We see how we too have been turned in on ourselves, that we too have co-opted God’s plan for our lives, and we see how we have sought to build a house for our own name. And Jesus Christ, still zealous for the glory of God, comes to us today as he did way back then. And he will upset the economy of human pride.

Today’s passage, 1 Kings chapter 6 to 8, is the construction of and the dedication of the temple of God. And if you read this section of Scripture before you came to worship today — which I hope you did, which, by the way, we put in the worship guide each week at the bottom of the back side so you can see what text is coming up next week (the purpose of that is so that you can read it beforehand and prepare your heart for worship) — so if you read 1 Kings chapter 6, 7, and 8, then you know part of it is, well, let’s just be honest, it’s a bit boring. It reads like assembly instructions for IKEA furniture. And there are words and phrases used in this section that might as well be in Swedish — like, what the heck is a cubit? And a knave? You wonder why sections like this are even in the Bible.

And it is difficult to see how it is relevant to our lives. And so as we study this section of Scripture, let us remember that the Bible was not written to us. It was written for us, but it wasn’t written to us. The author of Kings has written this book long after the events that are described in it — long after the destruction of the temple that is built in this text. This book is written to the people who endured the destruction of that temple, the destruction of that city — to the people who are, at the time of their reading, sitting in exile in Babylon, wondering, “How did we get here?” And so as we peer through the glass on this section, I think you will find, actually, that this passage is quite relevant to our lives today, if not even somewhat convicting.

I wish we could read it all, but for the sake of time we will only read a section. 1 Kings chapter 6, verse 1: “In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord. The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.”

Let’s pray. Father, teach us from your word to be that house of prayer for all the nations. And spare us, O Lord, by the power of your Spirit, from ever becoming a den of robbers. Place your name here in this place and exalt your Son in us and through us. For the grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of our Lord remains forever. Amen.

1 Kings 6:1 — 500 Years in the Making

1 Kings 6:1 is the culmination of 500 years of Israel’s history. The phrasing of verse 1 indicates that there’s more going on than it first appears. If you didn’t read the text before you came here today, let me just fill in some of the details that are happening in chapters 6 and 7.

Solomon, the son of David, was foretold long ago that he would sit on David’s throne. And God entered into an agreement with his people — a covenant — that the son of David would build a house for the name of the Lord. Chapter 6 tells us that God has kept his promise to his people, and the work on the house of the Lord has begun. The Lord reminds the king in chapter 6 that if he is faithful to the covenant, the blessing of God will fall on him. And because the blessing falls on the king, it will flow out from the king to the people. This one verse is 500 years in the making — well, long before even that, actually.

Long before God spoke to David, the Lord appeared to a man called Abraham and promised him that, though he was old and childless, God would make his descendants into a great people, a great nation, as many as the sand of the sea. And out of Abraham, one of his descendants would be the one who would reverse the curse of sin, who would bring peace on the earth. God kept that promise. Abraham’s descendants did become a great nation, the twelve tribes of Israel.

At one point in their history, they went down into Egypt during a famine, and in a couple of generations were turned into slaves in Egypt. There they languished. They cried out to the Lord, who delivered them through a man called Moses, who saved them out of Egypt. God promised that he would bring them into his land, that he would give to them, that they would be his people and they would prosper in that place. And through them, God would reveal himself and his glory to the nations of the world. God would dwell among his people. God would live with them.

And the presence of God among his people is both a wonderful and a terrifying thing, because Yahweh is unbelievably holy, and humans can’t just live with holiness in their midst. Their sin and God’s holiness is incompatible, and so they would be destroyed. And so, on the way to the promised land, the Lord commissioned Moses to build a tabernacle — a tent where the sin of God’s people would be atoned, where the glory of God could be contained and veiled, and where God would dwell among his people and meet with them.

The presence of God on earth was located in its most concentrated form above something called the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant was the holiest object on earth. It was an ornate golden box, and the lid over this box — into this lid were molded two angels called cherubim, who would face one another, their wings outstretched toward one another.

The tabernacle in the wilderness was temporary. It was portable, because when God’s people finally arrived in the land and settled there, and the kingdom was established, and God’s king was on the throne, the permanent place of worship — the permanent dwelling place of God on earth — would be built: the temple. And if the king was faithful to the Lord, then God would bless the people of the Lord, and the nation would see those blessings, and they would come to Israel to learn about God, to learn his word. And by being made right with God, they would have peace with God, and they would have peace with one another, and therefore the kingdom of God would expand all across the world.

King David desired to build this temple, but the Lord said that it would be David’s son who would build the temple. Solomon is David’s son, and he — as we saw last week — was blessed by God with incredible wisdom, and therefore incredible riches. He begins the work on the temple of God in the 480th year since they left Egypt. That’s why verse 1 is worded as it is. God is fulfilling his promise that he made all the way back in the garden — to Adam, and to Abraham, and to David, and to Moses. It’s a big deal.

Not All Is As It Should Be

The author goes on to tell us about the materials and the designs that are made by Solomon in this temple, and none of these designs and none of these materials are random. Solomon is not being creative. He is following a pattern. The temple would be modeled after the tabernacle in the wilderness, and the temple would carry echoes of Eden.

I wonder if you’ve noticed this when you read it. I would encourage you to read this section of Scripture again this afternoon and take note of all the mentions of the trees, and of flowers, and of fruits, and of gold, and of precious stones. Take note of the direction that the temple faced — the temple faced east. Take note of the mention of cherubim.

Actually, if you have your Bible open, skip down to verse 23 — chapter 6, verse 23: “In the inner sanctuary, that’s the most holy place, Solomon made two cherubim of olive wood.” Two cherubim, with the temple facing east — where have we heard this before? In Genesis chapter 3, when the first man and first woman sinned against God, and the Lord drove them out of Eden, the place where God dwelt, the place of eternal life. The Bible says this: “At the east of the garden of Eden, Yahweh placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.” The temple is built to be the way back to God, the way back to eternal life. And so, yes, it is a big deal. The people work hard, and they get the work done.

Let’s skip down to verse 37. 1 Kings 6:37: “In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.” Chapter 7: “Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house.”

Now, chapter divisions were not inserted by the author of Kings. Chapter divisions were added many years later to help us read it. So putting chapter 6, verse 38, next to chapter 7, verse 1, seems to suggest the phrase that we’ve been using in this series: not all is as it should be. Solomon was seven years in building the house of God, and almost twice that in building the house of Solomon.

Here is one of those places where the window into Israel’s history becomes a mirror to our own lives. If you are a Christian, then you recognize that the goodness of God is primary, the worship of God is primary, the kingdom of God is primary in your life. You believe that God is essential in your life and he is first in your life. This is just what it means to be a Christian. But I wonder, practically speaking, if that is how you live.

Do you live like God is most important? Do you live like the kingdom of God is of greatest importance to your life? PBC, would you say that the kingdom of God is the organizing center of your life? Or would you say that you tend to give God what is his and then just sort of move on to other things — you do the church thing and then you get on to real life? Is the kingdom of God central in your life, or is it more of a side project?

Those of you who are brave enough to do such a thing, hold the text in front of you as a mirror and let it exegete your own heart. For you are building a house with your life. And the question is: that house that you are building with your life — to whose name is it being built? To your name, or to God’s? For whose glory is this house being built — for your glory, or for the glory of Yahweh? If you opened up your calendar and your bank statements and your conversations and your prayers and your thoughts and your anxieties for examination, would anyone conclude that the kingdom of God is central in your life? Be honest in your self-evaluation.

Whose kingdom are you building? Where do you find your mind going in the quiet? What is it that you’re planning for when you think about the future? Is God and his kingdom and his church the principal thing in your life? Or is it more like a room in your house that you visit on occasion? Well, the Lord knows which it is. And in his zeal for his Father’s glory, he will come to you as he came to the Jews in Jerusalem, and he will overturn the economy of self-glory.

The Lord came to one church and listen to what he said to them: “I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! Because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth.” PBC, there are some of us that I am profoundly worried about. Coldness I can handle — I know how to deal with coldness. But you’re not even cold. “You think that you are rich, but you are poor. You think you have no need, but spiritually speaking you are wretched, and pitiable, and blind, and naked” — and you are wasting your life.

If you cannot say honestly that God and his kingdom and his church are the controlling center of your life, friend, repent of this sin and turn to the Lord, who is happy to forgive you and restore you to himself and give you the true purpose of your life. It has pleased the Lord to connect your alignment to his purpose in your life to your fulfillment and joy. If you feel aimless, it is the kindness of God, most likely, telling you something’s off. Align yourself with the priorities of God’s kingdom and God’s church, and God will give you the desires of your heart and fulfill you.

You’re building a house with your life. What matters is for whose name. There’s only one house that God will endorse with the presence of his glory, and that is the house that is built to his name.

The Ark Comes Home

Skip ahead to chapter 8, verse 1: “Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark, and they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent — the priests and the Levites brought them up. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who had assembled before him were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.

“Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside, and they are there to this day.”

Verse 9: “There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.”

Five hundred years waiting, and now the day had come. The city of God was established. The king was on the throne. The temple of God was built. The Ark of the Covenant was settled in its permanent home. The way back to Eden was laid out. And most important of all — God showed up.

This is one of the highest points in the history of Israel. They had been climbing this mountain for centuries, and now you read: “The glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.” Here God will place his name. Here God will give his endorsement. Here God’s promise was fulfilled. God’s temple was built. God’s presence drew near. God took up residence in Jerusalem and dwells in the midst of his people. It’s just impossible for me to overstate just how massive this is in Israel’s history. God’s kingdom has come. God’s will has been done.

“Forever”

And the king speaks, giving praise to God for his faithfulness, reminding his people that their God keeps his covenant. Look at verse 13. Solomon says to the Lord, “I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell —” what does your Bible say? “— forever.”

Now let’s not forget to whom this book was written. Hearing the word “forever” would have been gutting. It’s not that different from a heartbroken husband whose wife left him for another man, watching the video of his wedding, where his wife is making her vows to him, saying, “forever.” It’s gutting, because it’s not forever. That temple is destroyed. That city is demolished. The ark is gone. The king is deposed. “I’m languishing in Babylon — what do you mean, forever?”

They know, and we know, that God’s king did not keep God’s covenant. They know, we know, that God’s people would break God’s covenant. They know, we know, that the blessings of obedience were lost and the curses of disobedience had fallen. They know, we know, that the glory of this temple would be undone by the king’s compromise, by human selfishness, by greed, by men and women building a house to their own name. This God kept his covenant. The human partner in this covenant did not.

The Purpose of the Temple

In the dedication of Solomon’s temple, the purpose of Solomon’s temple is revealed. The purpose of this temple is to tell the world of God’s mercy and grace — that God is a king who rules well over his people through his king, who stands in their place and prays for them. In the prayer of their king, they are reminded that even when they sin, they only need turn to the Lord, who will hear their confession and forgive.

Let’s pick up reading in verse 27, and hear God’s king praying for God’s people. Verses 27 to 30: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built. Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place where you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place, and listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.”

This is the purpose of the temple. God’s house is a house of prayer. God is a God of mercy who hears prayer and forgives sin. The king goes on to outline seven scenarios in which God is revealed as merciful. We don’t have time to read them all — let me just explain them.

• Verses 31–32: when sin is committed and justice is needed, God’s people pray, God will show mercy, God will hear, God will give justice.
• Verses 33–34: when sin is committed and deliverance is needed, God’s people pray, God will show mercy, God will hear, God will forgive, God will grant victory.
• Verses 35–36: when Israel turns from God and he sends a drought to turn them back to him, God’s people pray, God will show mercy, God will hear, God will forgive, God will give rain.
• Verses 37–40: when God’s people sin and the wages of sin are death and disaster, God’s people pray, God will show mercy, God will forgive, God will heal.

The next scenario is particularly interesting. Let’s read it — verse 41: “Likewise, Solomon prays, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.”

Even the foreigner who hears of God’s great name and mighty hand comes in praise. And the Bible promises that God will show mercy, God will hear, and God will act — and the purpose is that all the peoples of the earth may know God’s name and fear God. So God’s house is not just a house of prayer; it is a house of prayer for all the nations.

Solomon goes on: verses 44–45, God’s people are assured that when they go into battle and pray, God will hear and God will maintain their cause. Solomon’s prayer then culminates in a prophetic petition, and in reading verses 46 to 53, no doubt the original hearers’ ears would have perked up. Because there we read that if Israel sins — and there’s none who doesn’t sin — if Israel breaks the covenant and the curses fall on Israel and they are carried off as captives to a foreign land, if they repent, God will show mercy, God will hear, and God will forgive.

Those original readers, living in Babylon, who had witnessed the destruction of the temple, the desolation of the city, having watched their king deposed, who were wasting away in exile under the judgment of God for their sins — this would have filled them with great hope. God has not abandoned his people in Babylon. God is a God of mercy. God is eager to forgive.

From Shadow to Substance

Our sins are many; God’s mercy is more. This was true in the tenth century BC. It was true in the sixth century BC. It is true in the twenty-first century AD. Sinner, this same God is eager to hear your prayer and to take you into his arms, to cleanse you of all unrighteousness and to restore you to himself. Whatever you have done, your sin is great — God’s grace is greater still. So when you turn to the Lord in faith, acknowledging your need for mercy, God will hear, God will forgive.

The people in this story, and the people to whom this story was written, knew God was a God of mercy, but they did not know how. They saw God’s mercy in shadows and types, temples and sacrifices. But brother and sister, we see God’s mercy in substance, in full. God the Father sent God the Son. Jesus Christ became man for this reason: the covenant lacked a faithful human partner. Jesus kept that covenant — truly God, truly man. Jesus earned every blessing for covenant faithfulness. Jesus gave his life on the cross so that covenant curses would fall on him. He stood in our place, condemned. The judgment of God for our sins was placed on him, and he died. But Jesus Christ was without sin — death could not hold him. And so he rose from the dead on the third day.

And now all who turn to him in faith are united to him and granted his righteousness. They are treated as if they had kept the covenant, and all the blessing of Christ’s obedience is counted to them. Jesus was the covenant-keeping King who brings about the covenant blessings for the people of God.

When God’s people are in exile, praying to God for mercy, they have no idea how this God will hear them and forgive them and restore them. But we do. We know that God would take on flesh and suffer the curse of sin and show mercy to sinners, and restore them to Eden, and grant them eternal life.

You see, this whole section of 1 Kings points forward to Jesus Christ, who is the greater Solomon — who builds a greater temple. Jesus is the place where God has placed his name. There’s a reason why Solomon told these people that when you sin, look toward this temple and pray. Because this temple was a window through which they were to see the embodiment, the personification, of the mercy of God: Jesus Christ. For Jesus is where God’s people turn to receive mercy.

You Are the Temple

And having been united to Christ, having received the blessing of his obedience, God’s people are filled with God’s Spirit, and they become the temple of the living God. Did you know there is a temple that doesn’t need to be built? It’s already been built. Of course you knew that — if you were with us just a few months ago, 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple?”

Where is the dwelling place of God on earth? Here — the church of the living God. You are the temple of the living God. And this is your purpose, Christian: to be a light to the nations, to be the city on a hill, to facilitate the teaching and the worship of Yahweh to the nations of the earth. You are called to image God, to show the world who he is and what he is like. It’s your delight in him as a witness that he is most delightful. You are that golden temple on a hill, built to his great name. You are the means by which God’s name is known, God’s glory is revealed, God’s kingdom is spread.

You. How did Jesus put it? “Go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

You see, the way you carry yourself in your home and in your workplace — you are revealing who God is and what he is like to those who don’t know him. The way of a husband with his wife, the way of a wife with her husband — this dance they have is revealing the happy glory of this God. The way you speak about your co-workers, about your customers, the way you think about politics and immigration, the way you handle yourself in setbacks and suffering — all of it is meant to teach this world: this is who God is, this is what God is like. What you do on the Lord’s Day, what you do with your money, what you do with a boyfriend or girlfriend — all of it meant to show what is most joyful, what is most delightful, what is most important.

You are the city on a hill, broadcasting the bright glory of God in Christ, who is joy, who is peace for all people. And so you don’t need to bother building a house for your own name — you carry the name of the Most High God. This is your purpose. Here you will find fulfillment. Here you will find peace. Here you will find joy.

Benediction

And because of this, we can take the benediction of King Solomon over Israel a thousand years ago and apply these words to our own life, to our own church. We’ll finish our time together reading the blessing of the king over the people, verses 54 to 61.

“Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with his hands outstretched toward heaven, and he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: ‘Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.'”

Let’s pray. Lord, make it so. Lord, exalt the name that is above all names — Jesus, the Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, the Savior, the Lord. Exalt him here. Amen.