When everything else was in order, Solomon had the Ark of
the Covenant brought into the holiest section of all. There it was set in what was intended to be
its final earthly resting place. Once the Ark was there, the presence of God
came too. In the form of a cloud, God was there with a special manifestation of
His glory. In a proper response to God's clear presence, Solomon prayed an
amazingly wonderful prayer to Him before the people on that day. He reflected
on the past, realized the significance of the present and wisely anticipated
the future. As such, he primarily prayed that God would use the temple as an
object to draw people's attention to Him. With his knees bowed and his hands
raised to heaven, Solomon prayed that when people turned to Him (in years to
follow) by turning to the temple, that God would hear and answer their prayers.
When the prayer meeting was over, Solomon praised God
loudly. He worshipped God by pointing to the certainty of His words (I Kings
8:56), to the fantastic power that God uses to influence the hearts of men (I
Kings 8:58) and to the exclusivity of God's existence (I Kings 8:60). Clearly
Solomon had a strong handle on true theology, especially on the importance of
our hearts in this matter of worship (I Kings 8:18 & 61). On this occasion,
Solomon and the people offered 142,000 animals to God in sacrifice. The
celebration couldn't have possibly any bigger or more intense than it was. They
literally feasted and rejoiced for 2 full weeks. This should remind us that no sacrifice is
too great, no offering too large, no devotion too intense & no praise too
extravagant… when it is directed sincerely to our God!
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