1 Kings 8:1-66 (assorted verses…)
Solomon builds the temple, places the Ark of the Covenant within it, and prays a prayer of dedication. Solomon’s prayer helps us to understand the call to Israel, and to us all, to look to our way, walk in God’s ways. Solomon’s prayer lifts up the reality of God’s steadfast love, and the necessity that we connect with God in our hearts and our actions. The temple and the ark are fundamentally, solely, about who God is and who God is calling us to be. The building only has meaning, the ark is only of consequence, because of God’s character and God’s covenant with us. How can we be challenged and encouraged to work so that people and not places; relationships and meanings, not rafters and mortar are our primary focus. Notice the references to “hearts.” God’s primary dwelling place in peoples’ hearts affects attitudes, actions, and the future of God’s people. How might we focus our worship not upon buildings and objects (which is the definition of idolatry), but on the living God who steadfastly loves and redeems creation?