I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Kings 8.

    Once the furnishings for the Temple were complete, Solomon had the Ark of the Covenant moved into the Temple and conducted a dedication ceremony. While the Ark was being moved, Solomon and the entire community had so many animals sacrificed that no one could keep track. Once they had placed the Ark inside the Most Holy Place, the Temple was so filled with smoke that the priests had to stop offering sacrifices. The writer tells us that this cloud represented the presence of the glory of the Lord. I am convinced that there is a combination of factors at work here: the smoke from the sacrifices being offered, the intensity of emotion from the worship, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. The way the writer chose to phrase this convinces me that we were intended to see that combination.

    In his prayer dedicating the Temple, Solomon acknowledges that even though the Temple was built to be the House of God it cannot possibly contain God. God is not limited, cannot be limited to any location. Instead of being built to contain God the Temple was built to provide people with a focus to turn their attention to God. This was what the writer was trying to tell us happened when the Ark was placed in the Temple; the smoke from the sacrifices filled the Temple in a way which turned the attention of those worshiping from the sacrifices and the service to God Himself. In the New Testament, we are referred to as being God’s Temple. We should live our lives so as to turn people’s attention to God.