1 Kings chapter 8. 2 weeks ago we went through the whole chapter and I feel like we went through it, well there's a lot there so we didn't have a whole lot of time to spend on application. So I want to draw out several lessons from 1 Kings chapter 8. Remember the specific context, it's the dedication of the temple. And the temple section or the temple narratives begin in chapter 5. and carry through chapter 8.

Essentially what we have is the preparation to build the temple in chapter 5 and then the actual construction of the temple in chapter 6 and 7. Remember the temple is the place where God meets with Israel. It is that place of sacrifice where the Holy of Holies is, where that atoning sacrifice is offered so that God and His people can dwell together. And last time when we looked at chapter 8, we noticed that the section or the chapter breaks down into five sections.

First, the ark was brought into the temple in verses 1 to 13. Secondly, the words of thanksgiving expressed by Solomon in verses 14 to 21. and then the prayer of dedication specifically in verses 22 to 53, and I'll read that in just a moment, and then the benediction, fourthly, pronounced on the assembly in verses 54 to 61, and then the dedication of the temple proper in verses 62 to 66. So it's a long chapter, but the thrust or the purpose or the focus is that the temple has been built and Solomon is dedicating it now for use unto the God of Israel. So I'll begin reading in verse 22.

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like you, who keep your covenant and mercy with your servants, who walk before you with all their hearts. You have kept what you promised your servant David, my father. You have both spoken with your mouth and fulfilled it with your hand, as it is this day.

Therefore, Lord God of Israel, now keep what you promised your servant David my father, saying, You shall not fail to have a man sit before me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before me as you have walked before me. And now, I pray, O God of Israel, let your word come true, which you have spoken to your servant David my father. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built.

Yet regard the prayer of your servant in his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which your servant is praying before you today. that your eyes may be open toward this temple, night and day, toward the place of which you said, my name shall be there, that you may hear the prayer which your servant makes toward this place. And may you hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Here in heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. When anyone sins against his neighbor and is forced to take an oath, and comes and takes an oath before your altar in this temple, then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

When your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against you. And when they turn back to you and confess your name and pray and make supplication to you in this temple, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land which you gave to their fathers. When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you afflict them, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, that you may teach them the good way in which they should walk and send rain on your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. when there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, when their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities, whatever plague or whatever sickness there is, whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone or by all your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart and spreads out his hands toward this temple, Then here in heaven, your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways. Whose heart you know, for you alone know the hearts of all the sons of men, that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land which you gave to our fathers.

Moreover, concerning a foreigner who is not of your people Israel, but has come from a far country for your namesake, for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your outstretched arm. When he comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, that all peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel. and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by your name. When your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever you send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city which you have chosen and the temple which I have built for your name, then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication and maintain their cause. When they sin against you, for there is no one who does not sin, and you become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, Yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive and repent and make supplication to you in the land of those who took them captive saying, we have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness.

And when they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive and pray to you toward their land which you gave to their fathers, the city which you have chosen and the temple which I have built for your name. Then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. And forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against you. And grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them.

For they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, that your eyes may be opened to the supplication of your servant and the supplication of your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to you. For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your inheritance, as you spoke by your servant Moses when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God. Well, as we look at this particular prayer, just quickly by way of review, we notice in the first place the foundation of Solomon's prayer. He begins with God.

We call this theology proper. It's the study of God in particular, and that is precisely where Solomon begins. in verses 22 to 30, before he goes into petition, he spends time to consider who God is. This is the same order or the same priority that our Lord instructs us in in Matthew chapter 6 with reference to prayer. Before we get into petitions asking for our food or asking for our forgiveness or asking for our protection, we are told in the first place to pray that God's name would be hallowed, to pray secondly that His kingdom would come, and to pray thirdly that His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.

So Jesus conspicuously teaches us that prayer begins with a consideration of who God is, and that is precisely what Solomon does in verses 22 to 30. Secondly, we'll notice the petitions of the prayer and how forgiveness is a central theme. Solomon is not an idealist. Solomon is a realist, and I'm not speaking philosophically.

I'm speaking practically. He knows that Israel is going to sin. He knows that Israel is always going to stand in need of forgiveness. In fact, that was the central function of the temple of God.

It was the holy of holies. It was that place of sacrifice, that place of atonement, that place wherein God or God would cover the sins of the people based on the sacrifice received. So Solomon prays, and a central theme in terms of the petition of the requests is forgiveness. But we noticed that he asks in the first place for the adjudication of civil matters in verses 31 and 32.

Now Solomon would ultimately serve as the high court in Israel. There would be lower courts to be sure, but there would be those cases that would be presented to Solomon. In the display of wisdom previously in First Kings, Solomon's display of wisdom, remember that he adjudicated with reference to those two prostitutes. The one son died and they had a problem about it and they took it to Solomon.

So Solomon would certainly function as the high court, but even Solomon and all of his wisdom realized that he was not fit for the task exhaustively or comprehensively, And that's the focus in verses 31 and 32. He asks God to intervene in the land and specifically so that the righteous would go unmolested, so that the righteous would be able to conduct himself in righteousness and as well that the wicked would be condemned. Solomon understands that a proper civil society has law and has one to enforce that law such that the wicked are punished and the righteous are allowed to flourish. The second request or the second petition is in verses 33 and 34.

Solomon requests forgiveness when the people of Israel have been defeated by an enemy. And remember that so much of what he prays here is consistent with the curses of the covenant in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. God there tells Israel that when they go into the land, if they are unfaithful, they will reap the curses of the covenant. And so Solomon is saying, when these things occur, please hear from heaven and then forgive the sin of your people Israel.

In the third place, He prays that God would hear when they cried out after having felt the pain of drought. Drought in verses 35 to 36. Essentially, again, forgive them, send rain, and correct this particular problem. The fourth has to do with famine and pestilence and other disasters in verses 37 to 40.

And then, excuse me, in verses 41 and 42, Solomon looks forward to the New Covenant era, the inclusion of Gentiles with Israel's God. Notice in verse 41, moreover concerning a foreigner who is not of your people Israel, but has come from a far country for your namesake, for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your outstretched arm. when he comes and prays toward this temple here in heaven, your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, that all peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by your name." This is somewhat equivalent to the Great Commission in Matthew 28. Jesus says, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Solomon looks beyond the confines of Israel to the covenant blessings of God being applied to the Gentiles, to the nations of the earth.

It truly is an amazing statement that he utters here by way of petition. He then prays specifically in the sixth petition for the presence of God in battle, verses 44 and 45. Now as the king in a theocracy, that means a state or a government ruled ultimately by God, Solomon knew it was crucial to have Yahweh's presence when they went into battle. If they would go into battle on their own, they would certainly lose.

And so we see the specific request there in verses 44 and 45. And then the final petition has to do with the prospect of exile. The prospect of exile in verses 46 to 51. Again, a curse connected with breaking the covenant, was that if they went into the land and they lived like the Canaanites, they would be expelled from the land, they would go into exile.

This happened in the 8th century B.C. It happened again in the 6th century B.C. to Israel in accordance with their having broken covenant with God. Remember that we have noted that the books of 1 and 2 Kings were written and the audience was those in the Babylonian captivity. So no doubt those persons reading this book or hearing this book initially would have been caused or brought to the point of repentance as they are rehearsing Solomon's prayer and considering the fact that they're sitting in Babylon because they had been unfaithful to the living and true God.

So that's just an outline, a bit of the prayer. The conclusion of the prayer is in verses 52 and 53, basically God's goodness and the reality that God did indeed bring his people to this particular place. So as I said, we looked in detail at the actual passage two weeks ago. Last week was still part of what Cam called Snowcopolis, I think, or Snowmageddon, or whatever it was.

So that was the night of the ice, too, as Thursday came and everything was a sheet of ice. But we were here two weeks ago. We went through all of chapter 8. So I do want to draw out several lessons from chapter 8, not just the section we read.

I will note the passages when we get to them.

Covenantal Faithfulness of God

In the first place, we ought to appreciate the covenantal faithfulness of God toward His people. the covenantal faithfulness of God toward His people. In many respects, what we find here at the temple, at the dedication of the temple, is several streams of covenant theology coming to fruition. Remember in the first place that God promised Abraham land. God promised Abraham land, specifically in Genesis 12, Genesis 15, Genesis chapter 17.

God said to Abraham, I will make of you a great nation, I will give you a great posterity, and I will give you this particular land. In fact, that was essential to the Abrahamic covenant was this land promise, the idea of rest in the land. We'll note specifically in verse 56. While Abraham is not mentioned, I think the concept of the covenant with Abraham is everywhere behind 1 Kings 8.

Notice in verse 56, blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel. excuse me, according to all that he promised. So this idea of rest, the reality that the temple is in the land, makes us see and appreciate God's promise to Abraham had come to pass. Secondly, another stream of covenant theology that finds its realization here at the temple is the faithfulness of God toward Moses. And when I say Moses, I mean Moses as the mediator of the old covenant.

God used Moses to lead his people out of Egypt, ultimately to come into the land of promise so that they may have the land, they may have this rest, and they may enjoy the temple and all that it brings in terms of blessing. Well, this faithfulness of God toward Moses is highlighted in several places. Notice in chapter 8, verse 9. This is when the ark was moved to the temple itself.

Verse 9, nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt. This covenant is referred to, or at least this act of Exodus is referred to in verse 16. Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house that my name might be there. And then again, we see this in verses 21 and 56.

In fact, look at verse 56, because we might add Joshua to this promise or covenantal faithfulness to Moses. Look at verse 56. B, it says, there has not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised through his servant Moses. Now, there wasn't a specific covenant made with Joshua, but he carried on the work of Moses.

And interestingly, Joshua, at the end of his life, says something very much the same. In Joshua chapter 22 and verse 45, he says, "...not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All had come to pass." And then the third stream that lands us into this temple is the covenant made with David. Of course, that is all throughout 1 Kings 8.

We have rehearsed it many, many times such that I hope you'd be able to recite it by now. 2 Samuel 7, God covenants with David that there would be a son of David who would rise up and sit upon the throne over Israel. Now Solomon functions to fulfill that specifically, but even then Solomon is functioning typologically. He's pointing forward to the one who is ultimately greater than Solomon, the one who sits upon David's throne and whose kingdom will have no end. So we ought to appreciate here in 1 Kings chapter 8 the covenantal faithfulness of God toward His people.

And when we understand that, it's not just an old covenant concept, but as well it transfers and translates into the new covenant people of God. God has entered into covenant with us by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. If He has forgiven us of our sins, He has given us faith, He has given us repentance, He has brought us out of darkness into marvelous light, He is not going to abandon us. He is not going to turn away from us.

He is not going to forsake us. He is our God. We are His people. And there is nothing that can damage that relationship.

And that is something we as the people of God ought to appreciate. I think very often in our church, because we like covenant theology, we talk a lot about covenant theology. But I think at times people have this idea that it's just this heady sort of thing, and it's a way to sort of connect the dots in the Bible. It is intensely practical.

Understanding what God does covenantally for His people is enough to take your breath away when you consider His faithfulness to Abraham, to Israel, to David, and in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. Not to mention the Noahic Covenant, the reality that God is never again going to destroy the earth. He's not going to send a universal flood and destroy every living being. God is faithful to His promises, and 1 Kings 8 preaches that to us, and we need to listen.

Presence of God Among His People

A second thing we need to consider in 1 Kings 8 is the presence of God among His people, because that ultimately is what temple is about. Remember, Tabernacle was the sort of mobile temple. It was when Israel was in her wilderness or her wandering phase. She didn't have a land.

She didn't have rest. She didn't have, you know, peace from her enemies all around, so she didn't have a temple. But prior to that temple, she had a tabernacle, and it was roughly the same in terms of its construction, at least the main parts of it, this holy place and then this holy of holies. Tabernacle means dwelling place.

Temple has the same concept or the same idea. And what we find in tabernacle and temple is God in the midst of his people. Remember, Exodus ends with the tabernacle having been built and God comes in his Shekinah glory and he dwells in the midst of Israel. And yet he's dwelling in the midst of Israel and Moses himself cannot enter into the house of God.

He cannot enter into the tabernacle because Moses is a sinful man. This is the rationale for the book of Leviticus. It provides the answer as to how that dwelling place of God becomes a meeting place with the people. And the way that the people of Israel meet that God who dwells among them is through sacrifice.

It's through a bloody knife and a smoking altar. That's the only way sinful men will ever stand before a holy God. And so all those themes converge for us here in 1 Kings chapter 8. In the first place, we ought to appreciate that His presence, dealing with the presence of God among His people, His presence promotes reverential awe.

God's Presence Promotes Reverential Awe

His presence promotes reverential awe, or we might call this fear, because ultimately isn't that what the fear of God is? It is reverential awe. It is respect. It is esteem.

It is understanding who He is and who we are relative to Him. Notice in chapter 8, specifically in verses 10 and 11. Here is where I suggest we ought to appreciate that God's presence promotes reverential awe. Verse 10, It came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

They couldn't stand in the presence because of His glory, His majesty. There is a reverential awe whenever the people of God come near to the God of the people. And that seems to be somewhat missing or lacking or absent in our day. Now we don't have tabernacle.

We don't have temple. We don't have that elaborate structure. We don't have a priesthood who when we bring our lamb to him, we cut its throat and we turn it over to him so that he can go burn it and offer it up to Yahweh. We don't have all of that, but we have the same God.

And we ought to remember this reality when we enter into the house of the Lord on the Sabbath day. We are approaching the same God. This same One who has, in the New Testament Scriptures, told us that His special dwelling place in this new covenant era is the church. And if that God is presence among this people, there ought to be a reverential awe.

There ought to be a fear. There ought to be an esteem and a respect. In the second place, we learn, with reference to the presence of God among His people, His holiness necessitates sacrifice.

God's Holiness Necessitates Sacrifice

His holiness necessitates sacrifice. We saw that specifically in verse 5. When the people are transporting the Ark of the Covenant, what are they doing? They're not only carrying that sacred object, but they're offering up sacrifice.

Why? Because you don't stand in the presence of God apart from sacrifice. We don't come into the throne room of heaven without the mediatorship of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then at the end of this temple dedication ceremony, specifically in verses 62 to 64, what do they do?

They offer sacrifice, a great number of sacrifices, to be sure. And remember, the great number can be explained by the reality that it was a 14-day feast. It was a 14-day celebration. And they did, in fact, offer up a lot of sacrifice.

But the point is, God's holiness necessitates sacrifice. In fact, look back to a particular instance where the people of God forgot that. Notice in Leviticus chapter 10, Leviticus chapter 10, I've explained that the purpose or one of the purposes for the book of Leviticus is to explain how sinful man dwells in the presence of a holy God. Right?

That's the point. When you read Leviticus, you need to think God's holy, I'm not. How do I get near him? That's what the book of Leviticus answers.

Remember, Exodus ends, God's glory fills the tabernacle, but nobody can go in. So in Leviticus 1-9, we have an elaborate, detailed system of sacrifice. God says you need to kill animals, you need to shed blood, and you need to burn them in offering up to the Lord God Most High. I mean, he details it, he goes through it, you know, very, very explicit.

Most English readers get to about Leviticus 4 and they start wondering why they've ever committed to reading the book of Leviticus. These were detailed instructions on how sinful people enter into the presence of a holy God. So they go through this procedure. At the end of chapter 9, they offer up the sacrifice.

The Lord God sends fire down, and He receives that sacrifice, and all the people shout. And the shout was probably a shout of joy and thanksgiving and just absolute exuberance at the reality that God had accepted. And then we enter into chapter 10 and notice, then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. Learn a lesson, brethren.

The way that you worship God is by obeying his commands. Nadab and Abihu wanted to be creative and innovative. Some suggest, or one man suggests, they went into the Holy of Holies. That may very well be the case.

They weren't supposed to go into the Holy of Holies. That then is addressed in Chapter 16. And the Nadab and Abihu incident is mentioned there in Chapter 16, which gives some confirmation to this reality. But whatever it is, Nadab and Abihu, they deviated from the norm.

They departed from what they were supposed to do. Now notice what God says, or God does and then says. It says, So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, This is what the Lord spoke, saying, By those who come near me I must be regarded as holy, and before all the people I must be glorified.

You see, I don't think you would have forgot that lesson that day if you saw what had happened to Nadab and Abihu. Now, I'm not suggesting that I'm hopeful that God will send fire out and, you know, pick off one of our irreverent so-called worshippers someday, so that we'll all learn how to be reverent. But brethren, we have the same God, and He underscores this reality. By those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy, and before all the people, I must be glorified.

You know, one of the most offensive things about the prosperity gospel, or this health-wealth-prosperity approach, or I might suggest any non-reformed approach to who God is, is that it ultimately belittles God. If God only exists to make us happy, if God only exists to give us new cars, if God is only there to make our lives better, that is to belittle God Himself. That is not treating Him as holy, that is not esteeming Him, it is not revering Him, and it is not fearing Him. So any attempt to bring God off of his throne is ultimately rebellion against that God.

And I would suggest that our worship at times, and I'm not saying us specifically, though I think we ought to look at ourselves, but us generically, do not always deal with these passages that highlight the reverence that is due to the living and the true God. Remember the Ananias and Sapphira incident in Acts chapter 5. They lied to the Holy Spirit. And what happened?

God killed them. Perhaps you heard on Sunday morning, I mentioned a particular preacher named Ralph Barnard. I don't know if any of you looked him up, but he's a yeller. He can definitely yell.

I mean, you're going to be turning your radio down, but Josh He listened to a few, and he texted me, and he said, man, this guy's hardcore. And he quoted this one bit, and I remember this, either reading it or hearing from Ralph Barnard. He says, the God of the Bible kills people. That's offensive to non-Christians, and I suspect to some Christians, but it's reality, isn't it?

We're not dealing with Baal, or Dagon, or Asherah, or Mammon. We're not dealing with a god, or an idol rather, that has eyes but can't see, or ears that can't hear, or a mouth that can't speak. We're dealing with the god of absolute unrivaled sovereignty and power, and the god who demands that those who come near him must regard him as holy. That is absolutely crucial.

God's Nearness Fosters Dependence

In the third place, his nearness fosters dependence. His nearness fosters dependence. That's the whole point in the petitions of verses 31 to 50. Solomon wants God near because they are dependent upon him.

This God who is absolutely holy, this God who is absolutely glorious, this God who is approached through sacrifice, is a God who is there for his people. And when we understand His nearness, it does hopefully foster in us this dependence upon God.

God's Presence Produces Joy and Gladness

And then His presence ultimately produces joy and gladness. Notice in verse 66. On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the Lord had done for his servant David and for Israel his people." You see, I've always found this to be most blessed within Christianity. Fear and joy are not enemies.

Trembling and happiness are not enemies. In fact, look at Psalm 2 for just a moment when David bids us to fear the sun. Psalm 2, it's a beautiful statement that combines those elements and we see it in the disciples as well. When they run from the empty tomb, they're trembling and they're joyful.

These are twin blessings that the people of God have because of the goodness of God. Notice in Psalm 210, "'Now therefore be wise, O kings, be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.'" Isn't that beautiful? We can rejoice with trembling.

Dare I say it? We must rejoice with trembling. If we properly understand who this God is in His presence among us, there is going to be reverential awe. There is going to be fear.

There is going to be a degree of trembling. There's going to be happiness and joy. We've been brought nigh through the blood of Jesus Christ. He is favorable toward us.

He is actually present among us. He has called us to be dependent upon Him. If that doesn't make us glad and happy, I really don't know what can. I mean, we are God's people, and let us be like God's people.

As they left the temple on that day, they went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the Lord had done for His servant David and for Israel, His people. Pastor Barcelos texted me this Sunday, and he said, did you guys have services today? Because we didn't the Sunday before, and I said, yeah, and it was great. It's just great to be in the house of God, isn't it?

It's just great to be where God has promised to be with His new covenant people. It's great to worship this God, to sing psalms and hymns of praise to Him. It's great to hear His Word. These are the blessed privileges that we, the people of God, possess in and through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So we see the covenantal faithfulness of God toward His people, the presence of God among His people.

Theology Proper and Right Prayer

The third thing we ought to appreciate is the centrality of theology proper in prayer. I'll unpack these terms. and may stretch some of us a little bit this evening, because I think this is important. As we mentioned, Solomon first speaks of God. Before he asks, he speaks and rehearses who God is.

Specifically, he speaks of God's incomparability. God is incomparable. There is none like Him. Dagon, Asherah, Baal, Moloch, they are not like God.

There is none like thee. Notice, specifically in verse 23, this is how he starts. Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like you. And then he flashes it out or amplifies it to tell us how this is the case.

But this is something we need to appreciate, the incomparability of God. There is none like Him. There is not another being like Him. There is one true and living God who exists eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

There's not a pantheon out there. There's not various gods, Moloch, and Baal, and Asherah, and Dagon, and Mammon today, and whatever else it is that men worship today. That's not God. It's not really God.

It's not like there's, you know, these several deities sort of out there and then Yahweh maintains a place of pre-empt. No, there is no other. God alone is God. Secondly, he rehearses the faithfulness of God in verses 24 to 26.

God is faithful. This is, in some sense, a proof of his incomparability because the gods of the nations were specious. They were arbitrary. They were capricious, not specious, capricious or arbitrary.

They changed their minds. They were not immutable or impassable. They flowed with the times. They changed with the culture.

But God is faithful. When He promises, He carries it out. When He covenants with Abraham, when He covenants with Moses, when He covenants with David, He makes good those promises. Ultimately, they're fully realized in the New Testament in our Lord Jesus Christ.

But Solomon rehearses the promise of God kept in verse 24, and this produces expectation in verses 25 and 26. Notice verse 24, you have kept what you promised your servant David, my father. You have both spoken with your mouth and fulfilled it with your hand as it is this day. Therefore, Lord God of Israel, now keep what you promised your servant David, my father, saying.

You see the connection? Here's what you've done. Continue to do it. Here's how you've acted, continue to act thus.

Davis says, in short, act in the future as you have acted to date. God's fidelity in the past becomes the basis for expecting the same in the future. The way God behaves himself in the past is the way we pray he'll continue on through the future. It's a beautiful thing. the attributes that he celebrates, incomparability, faithfulness, and then he speaks of the transcendence of God.

Verse 27, transcendence, you'll remember, means that God is removed. He transcends this creation. And this is an important qualification that Solomon builds into his prayer, lest anyone start to think that God sort of is like Dagon, or God sort of is like Baal, or God sort of is like Asherah. Because if you went to the temple of Dagon, and you opened the door, there was Dagon.

Such was not the case in the temple of Yahweh. It was the visible expression, or the representation, or the symbol of God's presence among His people. But that temple couldn't house the God of Israel. And this is what Solomon confesses in verse 27.

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven in the heaven of heavens cannot contain you. How much less this temple which I have built! Lest any Israelite would leave that dedication ceremony thinking, is he actually in the Holy of Holies?

Remember, the Israelites as a whole didn't ever penetrate that curtain. It was the high priest one day out of the year. So whatever they knew of the Holy of Holies, it was reported to them. And lest any of them think Yahweh was actually in there, Solomon makes this confession of God's transcendence.

God is removed. He is not this cup. He is not the table. We're not pantheists.

It's not as if we see God in the trees, or we marvel at God in ceiling fans. It's not pantheism. The God of heaven and earth is transcendent. He is removed from us.

But then Solomon goes on to rehearse the imminence of God, and that means God's nearness. It's the beautiful thing in Christian theism. You have both transcendence and imminence. Imminence means that God is with us.

God is present. Again, not pantheistically where, you know, this is God or God is everything. That is a denial. Pantheism is a denial of transcendence.

But this denial of imminence is just as bad. It's what deism does. It says that God made, God created, and then God leaves it alone. That's not true.

God is both wholly removed and wholly present with his creation. And Solomon says that over and over and over again in his prayer. He is in heaven. He sees where his name is according to verse 29, the temple, and he hears prayer and he acts on behalf of his creatures.

And then there's what's called the singularity of God. Notice in verse 60, singularity, God is single. Sort of like incomparability, but notice in verse 60. that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God, there is no other." It's a blessed doctrine, a blessed truth. Now, these are called, or we often call these things in popular parlance, the attributes of God.

Now, this isn't all of the attributes of God. We could see divine omniscience in there as well. In fact, I unfortunately skipped that, but notice divine omniscience in verse 39, for you alone know the hearts of all the sons of men. How could someone know the hearts of all the sons of men?

Well, that someone happens to be omniscient. That means he has all knowledge all the time. But with reference to what's called attributes, we need to understand attributes. It's what we attribute about God, right?

But we need to make sure we understand how these function and realize that God is not made up of his attributes. God is not pieced together by his attributes. God's not 33 and a third percent love, 33 and a third percent holiness, 33 and a third percent justice. Our confession of faith says that God is without body.

We all appreciate that, right? He doesn't have feet. He doesn't have hair. He doesn't have eyes.

He doesn't have a nose. God is without body. Doesn't Jesus teach us the essence of God in John 4? God is spirit, right?

He is not a bodily being, he is not creature, but the confession also says he's without body, he's without parts, he's without passions. I think we all know, or at least have heard, this idea of without passions. Without passions is the doctrine of divine impassibility. Passions means that God does not increase, nor does he diminish.

In other words, he's unchangeable. Doesn't he say this in the prophet Malachi, I, Yahweh, do not change. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. There is no change, no shadow of turning, no variation with God.

This is James's point in James chapter 1. So without passions means that God is impassable. Now this does not mean he doesn't love, he doesn't have righteousness. He has all that to be sure, but he doesn't increase in them, and he doesn't diminish.

In other words, when he sets his love upon us, when he loves us, That love is good. It's not going to diminish. It's not going to grow because it can't. Confession says he's most loving.

He can't love us any more than he does in Jesus Christ. People say, oh, this doctrine of divine impassibility, what a horrible thing. Horrible thing that my God loves me with most lovingness? How could that be horrible?

But there is between without body and passions this concept of without parts. It's an interesting statement. God is without parts. Well, what it means, the technical terminology for that doctrine is called simplicity.

God is simple. And the idea of simple there doesn't mean he can't figure out 2 plus 2. Simple means he's not a composite being. He is not made up of God parts.

If he was made up of God parts, there would be something pre-God. There would be all these parts out there that existed, and they went into forming God. But that's not the case. God is without parts.

He is without composition. He is not creature. We as creature are composed. We have a material, the exterior, and we have an immaterial, the interior.

We are body. We are soul. There are things that make us up. But that is the order of creature.

When you get to creator, which is a different order of being, God is without parts. So it's not the case that when we talk about these attributes, there are several things that make up God. No. The attributes of God are more for us to understand, to get our minds wrapped around.

It's a way to accommodate the Creator to the creature so that we can understand what it is we're dealing with. But I think at times we get it in our minds, He's a bit of love, He's a bit of hate, He's a bit of holy, He's a bit of... He isn't that. He is all that He is all the time.

This is why John can tell us God is love. God's attributes are his essence. They're identical. They're consistent.

They're co-existent. It's not the case that he's made up of these particulars. We love, don't we? But you can't define us as love.

You can define God as love because he's simple. He is not composite. He is not a composed being. Let me read a couple of good theologians to try and get at this.

Turretin says, the divine attributes are the essential properties by which God makes himself known to us who are weak and those by which he is distinguished from creatures. So again, when we talk about these attributes of God and we sort of run through a list like this that Solomon prays to God, don't think in your head these are the things that make up God. Nothing makes up God. There's no pre-God stuff to make up God.

God has always been, God will always be, and He is without body, He's without passions, and He's without parts. Creator is a different category than creature. I always like to explain it this way. It's not the case that we go worm, we go cat, we go dog, we go angel, we go man, we go God.

God is not man writ large. God is in a different category. Well, we put man, angel, God. He's not in that chain.

He's wholly other. And so we need to get it in our heads that this classification or this idea of the attributes of God are not several things that make up God. They're not several bits and pieces that are God-like and produce the one true God. And this is what Turreton suggests.

The divine attributes are the essential properties by which he makes himself known to us who are weak and those by which he is distinguished from creatures. or they are those which are attributed to him according to the measure of our conception in order to explain his nature." Basically what he is saying is what I said. When we talk about the attributes of God, we need to understand that that is for our benefit. Now that doesn't mean God isn't holy. It doesn't mean that God isn't loving.

It doesn't mean that God isn't incomparable. He is all those things. But I think in our minds at times we start to piece together God. The doctrine of divine simplicity says you don't piece together God.

He's not a quilt. You don't put him together. No one put him together. He has always been, he's always existed as Father, as Son, as Spirit, in perfect glory, power, majesty, and excellence.

And all these several attributes that we say concerning God are God. He is love. It's not that he loves, but he is love. That's what the doctrine of divine simplicity tells us.

Turretin goes on, now the definitions of the divine properties are rather of our conceptions, conceiving God under this or that relation, than of the thing itself, God, which is one and most simple. And then Augustine. If you want to do yourself a favor someday, read Augustine on the Trinity. Realize, though, that when you read Augustine on the Trinity, you'll read a couple pages and you'll soar into the heavens, if you're like me, and then you'll read a couple pages and then think you're reading a Japanese phone book.

What is he talking about? I do not have any concept whatsoever. I took a turn somewhere that was not for good, and then he pulls you back, and it's, wow, this is great. Whoa, what's happening?

But Augustine said this. He says God has no properties but is pure essence. Pure essence. It's a beautiful concept.

God's properties are really the same as his essence. They neither differ from his essence nor do they differ materially from each other. You'll hear theologians at times say God is his attributes. Persons who struggle with that statement do not understand the doctrine of divine simplicity.

When you understand that God is without parts, He is not pieced together, He is not put together, it begins to make sense. God is His attributes. God is love, right? It's not that He loves, but God is love.

If you're interested in this subject, I really recommend that you pursue it, because I think when we get that threefold distinction of what our confessions say, without body, non-corporeality, the idea that he has no body, he's without parts, he's without passions. I think it opens up vistas concerning God that, you know, we don't always enter into. When you start to behold your God as the Bible sets him forth, this is a wonderful, wonderful thing for the soul of men and women. Well, anyways, that was a little theology proper.

Practical Lessons for God's People

Some practical lessons for God's people in the chapter. We'll just quickly run through these, maybe focus a little on one or two of them. There's some practical lessons that I think we find first, and this should probably be the first practical lesson for God's people in any study of Scripture, is the centrality of the Word of God for the people of God.

Centrality of the Word of God

Notice in verse 9, nothing was in the ark except except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt." What was central in Israel's religious life? It was the Torah. It was the law of God. What is central in the Christians' religious life?

It's the word of God. We need to understand how important the Word is. Apart from the Word, we don't know God. We need the Word of God in order to instruct us concerning who God is.

House says, commentator Paul House says, God's presence, God's Word, and God's covenant with Israel are inextricably linked. God's presence, God's Word, and God's covenant with Israel are inextricably linked. You must have those three elements. Secondly,

Obedience from the Heart

an emphasis throughout this particular passage is the necessity of obedience from the heart. Verses 48, 58, and 61. The people of God in the old covenant were supposed to obey God from the heart. So I think we get this idea from the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus says, you've heard that it was said to you, do not murder, but I say to you, whoever hates his brother.

And we pit Jesus against Moses. That is wrong. Jesus has no problem with Moses. Jesus has a problem with Pharisees.

Pharisees said, as long as you don't actually stop someone's heart from beating, you're okay. But the law of Moses always spoke to the heart. I mean, you get out of the Ten Commandments, and what do you see? Or all throughout the book of Deuteronomy, there's an emphasis on heart religion.

Right? This is the whole thing with reference to Micah 6, verse 8. You know, He has shown you, oh man, you're supposed to walk humbly, you're supposed to do justice, you're supposed to be merciful, you're supposed to fear and revere your God. Well, these are heart dispositions, and that's a recurring emphasis throughout this particular passage.

Perpetual Need for Forgiveness

Thirdly, a practical lesson for God's people that I think jumps out, at least from the petitions, is the perpetual need for forgiveness. In some sense, Solomon's prayer is sort of an old covenant parallel to 1 John 1-9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. What's a central theme in Solomon's petitions?

Forgive them. Forgive them, forgive them, forgive them, forgive them. If you would have been standing there, you might think, whoa, whoa, whoa, Solomon, don't you trust us? No, I don't.

God, forgive them. That's the whole point of this temple structure. It's the whole point of the Holy of Holies. The whole point of the sacrificial system is because we sin.

And we need to see that recurring emphasis here, and we need to understand this perpetual need for forgiveness and realize that God did forgive. Sometimes people look at God in the Old Testament and they say, oh, it was wrath and fury and judgment. You know how many hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years God bore with these people? You know how foul and wicked they were and how wretched they were?

I mean, we could probably read 1 Kings through in one night, or 1 Kings, 1 and 2 Kings in just one reading. It covers a lot of years. It's not like, you know, they did one little off-putting thing and God brought the Assyrians in. No, there's a lot of time in there and it shows that God did forget.

It shows that God did bear long with these people.

Usefulness of Afflictions

A fourth lesson, we looked at this just briefly two weeks ago, is the usefulness of afflictions. The usefulness of afflictions. Look at verse 35. When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin...

Why? Because you afflict them. Why does God send drought? because he's just a mean, vindictive God that wants to punish his people? No, afflictions are good for people.

It turns them back to the Lord Most High. You see, I think at times we miss that. The psalmist didn't. In fact, you can turn to Psalm 119.

I'm not necessarily saying go home tonight and get in your prayer closet and say, dear Lord, please afflict me. Give it to me hard and heavy and, you know, just let me have it. But I am suggesting when afflictions hit us, brethren, we need to realize they have remedial value. God uses afflictions in the lives of His people.

Notice in Psalm 119, specifically at verse 67. There are several New Testament passages, but we'll just look at these two in the Psalter. Psalm 119.67, before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. Isn't that a beautiful statement?

Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. That seems to get at what Solomon is saying there in that particular petition. They come back because you afflict them. What happens when God sends drought upon the land?

Lo and behold, the people cry out to Him. What happens when God sends famine in the land? Lo and behold, the people cry out to Him. You see, there are dangers associated with prosperity.

Israel was taught that, Deuteronomy 6, 10 to 13. We see it in Deuteronomy 32, when that sort of pet name is used for Israel, Jeshurun. And she got fat, she got lazy, she got to the point where she forgot God. Prosperity carries with it some potential dangers, and we need to guard against that.

But afflictions bring us to an end of ourselves and put us on the mercy of God. That's why he says, before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. Now notice verse 68, you are good and do good, teach me your statutes. It's interesting, that link there.

See, I think at times we interpret afflictions this way. God has either, A, stopped being good toward me, or he has diminished to some degree in his goodness toward me. Wednesday, everything was great. Thursday, not so great.

God must have been unhappy with me. We interpret affliction as the absence of God's goodness. It is intriguing to me that the psalmist puts two statements together that will not allow us to do that. He says, before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word.

You are good and do good. Never forget that. Never get that out of your head. That's a theological axiom that the people of God must always entertain, is that God is good and God does good. even in afflictions, even in hardship, even in difficulties, even in the things that press us to the point of panic, anxiety, and falling on our face before God and crying out.

That is our Lord, right? Spurgeon says, grace is in that heart which profits by its chastening. It is of no use to plow barren soil. When there is no spiritual life, affliction works no spiritual benefit.

But where the heart is sound, trouble awakens conscience. Wandering is confessed. The soul becomes again obedient to the command and continues to be so. Whipping will not turn a rebel into a child.

But to the true child, a touch of the rod is a sure corrective. He says, before his trouble he wandered, but after it he kept within the hedge of the Word, and found good pasture for his soul. The trial tethered him to his proper place. It kept him, and then he kept God's Word.

Sweet are the uses of adversity, and this is one of them. It puts a bridle upon transgression, and furnishes a spur for holiness. And then notice in verse 71 of Psalm 119. He says, it is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.

It's good for me. Luther said, I never knew the meaning of God's word until I came into affliction. I have always found it one of my best schoolmasters. Amen.

It's a beautiful statement by Martin Luther. And then the last thing, just real quickly, that we saw, we looked at real briefly, I'll just give you a couple texts you can compare later. In 1 Kings 8, 57 and 58, 1 Kings 8, 57 and 58,

God's Presence and Pursuit of Holiness

we need to understand the need for God's presence in the pursuit of holiness. In other words, we're not going to pursue holiness without vital communion with the Lord. If we are pursuing holiness without vital communion with the Lord, we're not pursuing holiness. We might be pursuing behavior modification.

We might be pursuing moralism. We might be pursuing something that, you know, passes for holiness. But without God, there's no holiness. And I think that connection is stressed in verses 57 and 58.

May the Lord our God be with us as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us nor forsake us. That He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and His statutes, and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers." Note the connection. May God be with us.

Why? That He may incline our hearts to Himself. In other words, the absence of God means no inclining our heart to Him. You see, if you're struggling with a particular sin, the problem may be more basic, more foundational, more fundamental.

It may be you're struggling with being with God. You see, once you're with God, then you have the ability and the wherewithal to deal with particular sins. 2 Corinthians 7.1, I think, vitally, vitally underscores this particular theme. 2 Corinthians 7.1 does occur in a context. In fact, this is one of the places where versification, putting in verses, numbered verses, might have been a little off because 7.1 sure seems to go with the preceding context than with the rest. But notice, verse 1, chapter 7, 2 Corinthians.

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. So what's the imperative there? We're to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. We're supposed to pursue holiness.

But notice, therefore having these promises. What promises? The preceding verses. Notice in verse 16, I will dwell in them and walk among them.

I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

Look what Paul does, having these promises. of communion with God, having these promises of God's presence with us, having these promises, therefore, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. So if you are struggling or battling with a particular sin, but your devotional life is non-existent, if you are not gaining the victory over, you know, yelling at people or you know, raising your middle finger at people on the street, or whatever it is, perhaps your devotional life needs to be re-examined. Because when we spend time in the presence of God, that is when He inclines our hearts to follow His law. No God, no holiness, brethren.

And communion with God is the first step to get to be a holy person. But without God, there's not going to be any genuine pursuit of holiness.

Closing Prayer

Well, let's pray. Our Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this dedication, prayer in 1 Kings 8 and all the surrounding context. We thank You that You show Yourself merciful, You show Yourself forgiving, gracious, kind, loving.

All these attributes truly do speak to what a great and glorious God You are. I pray that you would help us to take these lessons, to meditate upon them, may they affect us in a good way, and may you continue with us through the remainder of this week and bring us together on the Lord's Day, that we may worship you in spirit and truth. And we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture References

• Genesis 12; 15; 17
• Leviticus 1-9; 10; 16; 26
• Deuteronomy 6:10-13; 28; 32
• Joshua 22:45
• 1 Kings 5; 6; 7; 8:1-13; 8:9; 8:10-11; 8:14-21; 8:16; 8:21; 8:22-30; 8:22-53; 8:23; 8:24-26; 8:31-32; 8:31-50; 8:33-34; 8:35-36; 8:37-40; 8:39; 8:41-42; 8:44-45; 8:46-51; 8:52-53; 8:54-61; 8:56; 8:57-58; 8:60; 8:62-64; 8:62-66
• 2 Samuel 7
• Psalms 2; 2:10-11; 119:67; 119:68; 119:71
• Micah 6:8
• Malachi 3:6
• Matthew 6; 28
• John 4
• Acts 5
• 2 Corinthians 6:16; 7:1
• James 1
• 1 John 1:9