We return to an earlier theme which we had left some weeks ago, that of the Messiah and the Priesthood of Israel.
A great change in the worship of YHWH took place after David had conquered the Jebusite town of Jerusalem on the southern slope of Mount Zion. He understood that sacrificial offerings could only be made in the place that the Lord selected, as revealed in the Torah: “Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; but in the place which the Lord chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you” (Deut. 12:13–14). He subsequently understood that Mount Moriah was to be that place (1 Chron. 21:28-22:1). “Then David said, ‘This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel’” (1 Chron. 22:1: See also 2 Chron.6:20; Ps.132:13). So he set in train the arrangements that would result in replacing the Tabernacle with a more permanent building on what was to be known as the Temple mount. While David had the vision to build, it was Solomon, his son, who had the privilege to construct the First Temple.
But continuity is the watchword in the worship of the Lord, so the patterns received by Moses were incorporated in the blueprint for the Temple. Indeed, history tells us that the Tabernacle was disassembled and stored in an underground room beneath the Temple itself, while some of the Tabernacle furniture was absorbed to be used in the Temple services. This preserved the continuity in the worship of YHWH that was required of Israel by maintaining a connection between the Tabernacle and the Temple. As with the Tabernacle, the blueprint for the Temple was provided by God to one of His prophets, namely David. “Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, of all the chambers all around, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things; also for the division of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the articles of service in the house of the Lord. He gave gold by weight for things of gold, for all articles used in every kind of service; also silver for all articles of silver by weight, for all articles used in every kind of service; the weight for the lampstands of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight for each lampstand and its lamps; for the lampstands of silver by weight, for the lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand. And by weight he gave gold for the tables of the showbread, for each table, and silver for the tables of silver; also pure gold for the forks, the basins, the pitchers of pure gold, and the golden bowls—he gave gold by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls, silver by weight for every bowl; and refined gold by weight for the altar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ‘All this,’ said David, ‘the Lord made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the works of these plans’ ” (1 Chron. 28:11–19). So all that was intended for Israel to observe in their approach to God was multiplied, strengthened and given extra impetus by the man ‘after God’s own heart’.
Solomon and the Temple
Solomon, son of David and Bathsheba, succeeded to the throne of Israel, and in keeping with the wishes of his father, took responsibility for the building of the Temple. David had already organized the priesthood into 24 courses, so that when the Temple was fully commissioned and operative they would be able to fulfill all the duties expected of those members of Israel that were responsible for maintaining the testimony of the nation as a ‘kingdom of priests’.
When the building was completed, Solomon sent particular invitations to the elders and dignitaries of Israel to join him in a service of dedication. The strength of Israel, its manpower, was already required to come, for the dedication service was diarized to coincide with the pilgrim feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, in the seventh month.
But first, the ark had to be brought to its new home. David had embarked on such a project when he brought the ark up from the house of Obed-Edom. Solomon, no doubt with an acute knowledge of the problems that David had encountered, made sure that those who had been commissioned for the care of the ark, and were properly authorized to carry it, were the only ones to bear it. So it was with great ceremony and also with acknowledgement of the principle of blood sacrifice that Solomon brought the ark to the Temple. Before the ark was placed in the inner sanctum, Solomon and Israel’s leaders offered many sacrifices in honor of the arrival of the ark of the covenant, thus simultaneously dedicating the new brazen altar. It is mentioned that the ark still housed the two tablets of the Law, confirming that the Mosaic Covenant with its sacerdotal culture was still in place. It was only after Solomon felt that proper honor had been shown to the sacred chest, was it taken into the Holy of Holies to be lost from sight to all except the High Priest. When David brought the ark to Jerusalem he had an honor guard of thousands of soldiers lining the route, while Levitical musicians and singers performed the Psalms, especially Psalm 24: “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory” (Psalm 24:7–10). Solomon took care not only to equal the dignity accorded the ark by David, but to exceed it.
Solomon had built a high dais from which he could be seen to offer obeisance to the Lord. It also allowed him to turn to face Israel and bless the assembled company. From his high platform he offered a prayer of dedication connecting the building of the Temple with the inspired wishes of his father David and the Davidic Covenant.
The prayer of dedication acknowledged that the Temple was only a shadow of reality, since God dwelt in heaven, and not behind the veil. Nevertheless, he was confident that he had the listening ear of YHWH and so petitioned God that since this house, this Temple, was to be known as the place where God had placed His Name (in accordance with the revelation made to David), that those that offered penitential prayers towards it should receive forgiveness. Jesus Himself initially acknowledged the Temple as the Father’s House, although early in His ministry He indicated that there was a change afoot. He instructed His disciples to pray towards heaven, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name … forgive us our sins” (Luke 11:2–4) for He was already instituting a dispensation when prayer could be made directly to the Father without priestly mediation. His words to the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar elucidated the principle: “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father … the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:21–24).
But Solomon’s prayer of dedication, together with its answer from heaven, would avail for rest of the Mosaic dispensation, i.e. until the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. The dedicatory prayer concluded: “Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place. Now therefore, Arise, O Lord God, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. Let Your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, And let Your saints rejoice in goodness. O Lord God, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed; Remember the mercies of Your servant David” (2 Chron. 6:40–42). The responsibility imposed on Solomon by David, and that by the command of the Lord, together with the description of how that responsibility was discharged, re-enforces the continuing principle that has been evident since Abel – that the only approach to God was through blood sacrifice. Moreover, the channel through which that approach could be made was the Aaronic priesthood, and the only place where that approach was possible was Jerusalem. In particular, the strict sacerdotal guidelines promulgated in the Decalogue, made the inner courts of the Temple (now consecrated as the place where the Lord had placed His Name), the focal point of any approach to God, whether individual or national.
More Next Time:
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