This sermon was delivered on August 22, 2021 at the weekly service at the Kensington in Galesburg, IL.
templToday we’re going to dive into first Kings and the construction of the first temple. The building of the first temple is a major event in the biblical narrative and in the history of Judaism.
Until this event, Israel worshiped in a tabernacle- which sounds fancy if you think about the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but that is not what Moses’ tabernacle was. It was small, portable, and consisted mainly of an altar and a curtained off holier than holy place where the ark of the covenant was kept. It was not a permanent structure, but that makes sense. Until after the events of Exodus and the claiming of the “holy land” the Israelites weren’t permanent settlers anywhere.
Eventually there would be some smaller sanctuaries that held more permanence, and the ark of the covenant would be periodically moved among them. But,it wasn’t until the occupation of Jerusalem that a Temple would finally be built. A variety of sources say this temple was completed in 957 BCE during the reign of Solomon.
The building of the first temple would have been a HUGE deal at this time. It represented a permanent home for the ark of the covenant and therefore a permanent dwelling place for God. The location and the specifications are drawn from other places in the biblical narrative, and the temple site itself is said to be the location where Abraham had built the altar on which he almost sacrificed his son Isaac.
Much of 1 Kings is dedicated to the description of the temple and how it was built. Much of this description is also echoed in Chronicles (Kings and Chronicles tell the same stories from two different historical perspectives). Based on these descriptions, people have tried for years to create an accurate rendering of what the temple must have looked like- you’ll see one such rendering on the font of the bulletin this week.
Finally, after approximately seven years of labor, the temple was complete. And so Solomon came to the temple to dedicate it to God. And that’s where today’s reading picks up. Before the dedication, the leaders of all the tribes of Israel gathered to carry the ark of the covenant and other holy items out of the tabernacle and into the temple.
They sacrificed sheep and oxen along their journey and the priests and the Levites took the ark into the inner sanctuary of the newly built temple. There it would rest beneath the wings of cherubim. As the priests exited the inner sanctuary, a giant cloud filled the temple, and the priests declared that the glory of the Lord had filled the new temple. God had officially moved in.
And so Solomon begins his dedication of the temple. He begins by recounting his own heritage- that he’s the son of David and that building the temple was a promise to both David and to God. And then after some ritual, Solomon offers a long and heartfelt prayer where he lays out the role of the temple.
The temple is a place of forgiveness, safety, and welcome. Those who pray for forgiveness will be granted it. Those who need protection will be given it. And those who come from other lands will be loved and welcomed.
Now I find it really interesting that this is all said as a prayer, because I’m guessing that God doesn’t need to be reminded that God’s job is to forgive, protect, and welcome. So why would Solomon feel the need to offer this prayer?
My guess is that the people gathered needed to be reminded that the temple wasn’t built to be a home for territorial disputes or holier than thou attitudes. Solomon is reminding those gathered that there are certain attitudes and behaviors expected of those who would use the temple. Forgiveness, Safety, and Welcome.
The temple will be a place of forgiveness. Solomon’s prayer makes it clear that the final arbiter of this forgiveness is God. There isn’t a judicial system set up here, nor are there lawyers or judges. Someone comes to the altar, makes a sacrifice, prays for forgiveness and then it’s up to God. Now I’m sure God already knows this process, but Solomon is saying it outloud where everyone present can also hear it? Why?
To remind the people that they are not in charge of forgiveness in the temple. The people don’t get a vote here. To be clear, I’m not saying there isn’t a place in the world for judges and lawyers and a judicial system. But that place isn’t in the temple or the church.
There may be human judgement and consequences in accordance with law, but that’s not what Solomon is talking about here. He’s talking about when it comes to what God will forgive. That’s not up to humans to decide- no matter how much we want to interpret scripture or commandments, we still don’t get to decide who God loves and who God forgives.
The temple will be a place of safety. The temple will serve as refuge during famines, plagues, blight, mildew, locusts, caterpillars, sickness, war. Solomon makes it very clear that those experiencing these hardships need to “stretch out their hands toward this house.” Now clearly, God doesn’t need to be reminded that people should seek help and safety in the temple, so who is Solomon telling?
Again, to remind the people of the role of the temple. It isn’t supposed to be just a building on the hill, but rather it’s supposed to be a place of refuge and help. This is one of the reasons that I always say, “We offer ourselves as answers in part to the prayers we have offered.” I say this because I don’t expect that God is going to use some magical zapping finger to just fix things.
I think God expects us to help answer the prayers that we can. If we are praying to end hunger but not doing anything to help the hungry? We’re not doing our part. I know we can’t do everything and that we are not God, I think Solomon’s prayer here is the same kind of reminder- We can reach out for help when we need it and we should reach out WITH help when we can. The outstretched arms go both ways- and this prayer from Solomon reminds the people of their roles.
The temple is also a place of welcome. Solomon’s prayer continues with foreigners who are “not of your people, Israel” who might come because they have heard of the good things and generosity. Solomon asks God to accept these people. Again, Solomon isn’t speaking to God.
I don’t think God needs any reminder to accept people, because God loves and welcomes all. That’s the very nature of God. So who is Solomon really talking to? The people again. Solomon is reminding all who are present that they don’t get to control who enters the temple or who worships there. If someone feels like God has called them to the temple, they are welcome. Period.
This is a big one for me- I don’t believe that humans should get to gatekeep for God. We shouldn’t get a say in who is and isn’t welcome in a church or at communion. Solomon was using this moment to remind all those present, that the temple isn’t their property and they don’t get a say in who is allowed inside.
Solomon understands that this grand temple that he spent 7 years and so much money on doesn’t belong to him. It doesn’t belong to the people. It doesn’t just belong to Israel. Solomon understands the temple as God’s home among God’s people. This prayer then, is about the people’s role in the temple and that role has nothing to do with control. In fact, we will find that as people get more and more caught up in the rules and regulations and gatekeeping, the more trouble that will come to Israel.
Kings is part of the books in the bible that we call the Deuteronomistic History- these books: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and 1 and 2 Kings were all written down retrospectively during the Babylonian Exile. These books are an attempt to figure out exactly where Israel went wrong- and how they could have ended up in Exile instead of in Jerusalem.
Essentially, it goes like this. God says “don’t do that thing” the people do the thing anyway, they end up conquered and in exile and then they have to start over and figure it out again. Over and over and over the cycle repeats itself to some degree. God says don’t do the thing, they do it, consequences, forgiveness. Repeat.
Looking back on this event in particular, the Israelites in exile would of course have thought carefully about Solomon’s words, and perhaps they would have even thought “why didn’t we listen more closely to our leader?” This is a hindsight understanding of the events of the temple’s dedication and hindsight makes it really clear where things went wrong.
And of course, hindsight is 20/20. It’s super easy to look to the past and see where things went wrong. It’s much harder to see it when it’s actually happening. But that’s why this story makes such a good reminder.
Even if the lesson wasn’t learned in the moment, it was eventually learned and remembered. And Israel can build on that experience moving forward, but we too can build on that experience and learn something.
And that’s the good news- that we get to learn from others’ mistakes rather than make our own. So the big lesson here? God’s house is about Forgiveness, Safety, and Welcome. Whatever form that house takes- whether it be temple or tabernacle, cathedral or community room. We are reminded that God’s love is bigger than any human rules we could possibly make. We are reminded that gatekeeping isn’t our job. And we’re reminded that we’re supposed to be part of the answer to the prayers we offer. It’s not really a lot to remember, but it’s an important lesson to not forget.
Amen.