A great change in the worship of YHWH had taken 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 expressed the view
that the tent-shrine should be replaced with something more permanent; a Temple
where Israel could gather to fulfil their obligations at festival times. David
voiced his thoughts to the prophet Nathan. “See now, I dwell in a house of
cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains”
(2 Sam. 7:2). Initially, Nathan supported David’s idea, but a message from the
Lord, revised the program. Intelligence from heaven directed that the son of
David, Solomon, should build the Temple: “He shall build a house for My
name”
(2 Sam. 7:13). The desire of God to “dwell among them”
(Exod.25.8) was still in place.
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 diarised
to coincide with the pilgrim feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, in the seventh
month.
But first, the ark (the golden
chest also known as the ‘throne of God’) had to be brought to its new
home. David had embarked on such a
project when he first brought the ark to Jerusalem but found it was fraught with
danger (see 2 Samuel 6.1-10). 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 authorised to carry it,
were the only ones to bear it.
When David brought the ark to
his capital city he had an honour guard of thousands of soldiers lining the
route, while Levitical musicians and singers performed the Psalms, especially
Psalm 24. At the gate of the city of David they called for the entry of the
ark, the symbol of the localised presence of God:
“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”.
Solomon took care not only to
equal the dignity accorded the ark by David, but to exceed it. So it was with
great ceremony that he brought the ark to the Temple. Before the ark was placed
in the Inner Sanctum, Solomon and Israel’s leaders offered many sacrifices in
honour of its arrival, at the same time dedicating the new brazen altar. It is
recorded that the ark still housed the two tablets on which was written the
Decalogue, confirming that the Mosaic Covenant with its priestly culture was
still in place. It was only after Solomon felt that proper honour 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.
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.
Included
in Solomon’s prayer was a petition for the restoration of Israel in their land
if ever they suffered at the hands of a foreign invader:
“O Lord my God … if Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy
because they have sinned against You, and return and confess Your name, and
pray and make supplication before You in this temple, then hear from heaven and
forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which
You gave to them and their fathers” (2 Chron. 6:24–25).
“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).
No comments:
Post a Comment