Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Tuesday, November 20, 2012 Read – 1 Kings 7 & 8 Chapters 7 & 8 tell the story of the furnishing of the Temple and its dedication. One thing of special note here is that the furnishings of the Temple follow very closely with the furnishings of the Tabernacle as revealed to Moses in the book of Exodus. The two are closely related. An interesting side comment in chapter 7 is the story of Solomon’s other building projects. It took Solomon seven years to build the Temple. It took him thirteen years to build and furnish his own house. Several other buildings are described as well. Solomon was quite a builder. He became the model for Herod the Great, the king of the Jews when Jesus was born. Chapter 8 tells the story of the dedication of the Temple. This is a very positive chapter and places the Temple and its use in a very good light. This is the Temple at its best and probably Solomon at his best too. One of the things we need to notice is that this Temple, from its very beginning, was meant to be a Temple for all nations and all peoples. In his prayer Solomon invites everyone to look to the God for whom this Temple is built as their source of life. This is a very inclusive understanding of God, Israel, and the nations. It is also important that Solomon realizes that the Temple cannot “house” God. God may fill it and God is to be found there in the Temple, but God is bigger than the Temple. This is a very positive way of understanding things. God people will not always remember either the inclusive function of the Temple or the fact that God cannot be contained there. But for now the Temple become the dwelling place of God amid his people and in fact the whole world. This is the Temple at its best.