38 - Solomon's Temple

1 Kings 8:1-9:9

His father David had hoped to build it, but now King Solomon builds the Temple for the Lord.  For the architecturally inclined, the design and build are specified in great detail in Chapters 6-7.

First Temple in Jerusalem

The time has come to dedicate the temple.  The Ark of the Covenant, with the stone tablets brought down from the mountain by Moses are placed in the temple.  The presence of the Lord is known by the cloud which fills the precincts.  Solomon blesses the whole congregation of Israel.  He reminds the people of their liberation from Egypt by the hand of the Lord, and the covenants made with Moses and David.

He asks for continued favor for the people, as long as they pray to his name.  His prayer echoes the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah, in which Moses recapitulates the history and laws and covenant. He recognizes that the people may sin and therefore be taken by their enemies, and asks God's mercy if they pray to his name.

God responds, and makes it clear that the Davidic covenant is conditional -- that if Solomon maintains his worship of God alone, and follows the law, then God will maintain his throne.

But...

9 ⁶“If you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, ⁷then I will cut Israel off from the land that I have given them; and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight; and Israel will become a proverb and a taunt among all peoples.

 This is a warning, and a foreshadowing, of what is to come.