These days I'm taking a more "study" approach to my Bible study. I'm focusing one chapter at a time of one book at a time. The trouble is always where to begin so, Ummim and Thummim style, I put the books of the Bible on little bits of paper and drew one blind out of the bunch leaving it up to the LORD. I have to admit when I drew I Kings I was less than enthused. Why? Because Numbers was a breeze, Leviticus gave me a sense of accomplishment having read every "begat" and such, but the Kings and Chronicles? That was a hard slog. Basically it's reading the same dry commentary twice and it was so hard to get through with no real sense of accomplishment at the end. It felt like I was being finally let out of detention. I was tempted, sorely tempted, to draw again but I submitted...and as a result I have been quite blessed.
There is a lot of good stuff to be had so far. I've gone full Bible Nerd on my wife geeking out about what Abishag means to the story of David's end, how Solomon got elements for the temple from as far away as India, etc. But the biggest mind crack so far was this...
The Temple Means Nothing.
We are all familiar with the wisdom of Solomon, how he prayed as a young man not for riches or fame but for wisdom, how he was blessed with peace on all sides, and ushered Israel into the Golden Age (literally...this guy put so much gold on everything that I couldn't help but think of Pre-President Trump's pictures of his apartment) where silver was so plentiful it was regarded the same as stones in worth. As God promised David, his son would be allowed to build a temple to "house" the name of the Lord.
Solomon begins the project and the Lord appears to him and says "Regarding this temple you are building..." and then speaks not on the Temple but about Solomon. The LORD tells him the deal is still the same as with his father; you follow the commandments, don't chase after other gods, you walk in my ways and do the right thing and I will bless you.
There's a lot of impressive words about how much goes into the temple, how ornate and glorious it is, etc and then Solomon completes construction of the temple, dedicates it, blesses the people, and the Lord appears a second time. The Lord addresses the occasion, says that as He promised His name will live there for all time, but then it's back to the "But IF..." And it's at this point I realize something that hopefully will change me forever. The temple means nothing to God.
He even tells Solomon that if he doesn't walk after Him, if he turns to other gods and doesn't walk in His paths then He has no problem pulling that temple down stone by stone till it's rubble, a proverb, a byword that makes other nations marvel and say, "This is what happened when the people of Israel rejected their God."
By many accounts the Temple was one of the single most expensive projects ever conceived and constructed. It was a feat of engineering, fine craftsmanship; just getting the supplies from place to place had to have been an undertaking of massive proportions. One would think that God would have been impressed or at least flattered, but no. Every step along the way from Adam to now the refrain has been essentially the same.
"I want your heart."
What kind of god is that? It is one far different from any one that has ever been recorded. He doesn't care about the gold, the ivory, the silver, the massive scale, and even when we get to the end of Solomon's life God still wasn't impressed with the Temple. It still meant nothing to Him.
Near the end of Solomon's days he has clearly screwed up. His love for his wives turned his heart from god. He even sets up a high place to Molech...freaking Molech...the one who demanded babies as sacrifices. Yeah. Well, I guess whatever you have to do to get that sweet Ammonite booty, eh Solomon?
God's anger gets into the red and He appears to Solomon for a third time and tells him that He is going to rip the kingdom from out of his hands...all except one tribe. He does grant the king a mild reprieve. He promises not to take it from Solomon but from his son. And that reprieve, the one tribe and after Solomon's death, is not because of Solomon's riches, not because of Solomon's deeds, certainly not because of Solomon's fame and renown, not because of Solomon's wisdom (which has clearly failed him at this point I'd say...willfully), and not because he built the LORD a temple... It's because of Solomon's DAD. It's because of the deeds, the heart, and the passion David had for the things of the LORD. Sure David messed up, sure he had a man killed so he could get the guys wife, but every time conviction came aknocking he proved he was still that shepherd boy on the hillside singing songs to the LORD when no one else could hear. And that, not the glorious temple precious to so many, was what earned Solomon a minor reprieve from outright destruction of him and all that would come after and screw up the Davidic dynasty again...and again...and again...
The application is pretty clear. He doesn't care about who you are, what degrees you have, what you've done or have committed to doing for Him. He isn't impressed with how eloquent your prayers are, if you're going to the "right" denomination's church or not, or how many Charles Spurgeon books you've read. He doesn't even love you for what you could do for Him. He wants what He's always wanted from the very beginning...your heart. He wants you to listen for Him, talk to Him, walk in the ways He has set out for you. When He says "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength," it's about relationship and experiencing life with Him and through Him. There are a lot of things that we do in response, but at the Separation of the Sheep and Goats He says to those trying to impress Him with the deeds and wonders, "I never knew you." You can't do enough because He didn't set it up that way, with things to be done to earn His affection; temples to build, churches to franchise, or nations to convert.
From the dedication of the temple to the words of Jesus it reveals the same heart of the same God. "Walk with me. Listen to my knock. Invite me in and I will eat with you."
Such a God unlike any other.
No wonder we call Him "Holy".
Pax,
W
