By Dennis Pollock
Today, I want to consider the dedication of the temple that Solomon built. This was probably more of a project of David than it was of Solomon. It was David who first thought of building this temple, and it was David who laid aside all kinds of gold and other items for it. And David was the principal architect under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us: “Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, treasuries, upper chambers, and inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit” (1 Chronicles 28:11-12). And in his old age, David made it clear to his son that this temple project was to be the top priority in his new administration.
As a dutiful son, Solomon had the temple built. Finally, it was time to dedicate this beautiful structure, this house of God. And this was centered on bringing the ark of the covenant, which until then had been housed in a tent, into its permanent place in the temple, in the holy of holies. The Bible says:
Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, in Jerusalem, that they might bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD up from the City of David, which is Zion (2 Chronicles 5:2).
The temple was special, not just because it was a place where sacrifices would be made, but because it would serve as the home of God. Several times in the Old Testament, God was said to dwell between the cherubim, images that stood on the ends of the ark of the covenant. King Hezekiah prayed: “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth” (Isaiah 37:16).
And in Solomon’s mind, once the temple was built, it was time for a major celebration and dedication. Not only were the leaders of Israel invited to participate, but many more ordinary Israelites also attended. Solomon made this ceremony a very big deal, as was befitting this holy temple, which would serve as God’s base of operations on the earth. Musicians were invited to make this ceremony even more special. The Bible says:
…and the Levites who were the singers… stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets–indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD… they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying: “For He is good, for His mercy endures forever” (2 Chronicles 5:12-13).
God’s Glory Appears
This is an awesome, solemn, holy time of worship, praise, and celebration. The singers are declaring the goodness of God and rejoicing that His mercy endures forever. This unique and holy ark of the covenant, representing the presence of YHWH, the God of Israel, has entered its new home. And suddenly the Holy Spirit shows up. The Scriptures tell us: “The house of the LORD was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God” (2 Chronicles 5:13-14).
The glory of God, in the form of a cloud, suddenly appeared and so saturated this new temple that every activity had to pause. The priests couldn’t offer any more sacrifices, and the singers had to stop singing. God’s presence was too strong, too overwhelming, and all men could do was stand in awe. God had appeared in His temple. God was pleased that His people had honored Him with this beautiful edifice. The fact that this temple was expensive and beautiful, and that the leaders of Israel had taken a day off their regular activities to celebrate this special event, was right. To have built this building cheaply or to have gone about their normal business on this day would have been offensive. God is a big deal; He is the biggest deal of all, and anything connected with Him is worth celebrating and honoring.
That temple is long gone today. It was destroyed by the Babylonian invasion of Judah and Jerusalem, around 400 years later. Since then, Herod built another temple, but it too was destroyed. Today, there is no temple in Jerusalem or anywhere else. Well, that’s not exactly true. In the New Testament, we who are in Christ are told that we are the temple of God. The apostle Paul writes: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). In another place he writes: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
As great and beautiful and awesome as that temple of Solomon was, there is a greater temple that God inhabits today. It is within the hearts and bodies of ordinary men and women, and even boys and girls. At the age of nineteen, as a college student living in a dorm, I knelt and surrendered my life to Jesus. Nobody had ever taught me the official sinner’s prayer, but in my own halting, stumbling way, I pledged myself to Jesus. And it apparently took, because here, over fifty years later, I am still loving Him, trusting Him, and serving Him. There was no gathering of thousands of priests and religious leaders. There were no musicians playing trumpets, harps, and cymbals on that day. I was all alone, quietly offering myself to Jesus. But the Holy Spirit entered another human temple and made me a child of God, giving me the gift of eternal life. God had taken up residence in me. There was no cloud of glory, but the Holy Spirit was clearly at work. I had become God’s temple, and this has never changed. In my twenties, I was still a temple. Throughout middle age – still a temple. And today, as a senior, God is still in residence in my life.
And this, of course, was God’s plan all along. He has no interest in living in temples of wood and gold ever again. But He is eager to dwell in human temples. And He does this whenever men and women receive Jesus Christ by faith. Our bodies become a dwelling place for God’s presence.
