King Solomon had no illusions that he was providing God Almighty a place to live on planet earth. He clearly understood, and made it clear to the rest of Israel, that the temple was not God’s home because God does not need a home. But the temple, and the people of Israel who would come there to seek God, did need His presence. It is important that we meet this fact head-on. God does not need us but we need Him every day. If we will seek Him, He will direct our lives. We need God to direct us and carry us along because ordeals and tragedies try and send us the opposite way of His will.<\/p>\n
We see an illustration of this in the icebergs that dot the frigid waters around Greenland. Smaller icebergs are moved whichever way the surface winds are gusting, but the gigantic icebergs are moved steadily along by the deeper ocean currents. When we face trials and tribulations, we need to remember that these 2 forces are attempting to direct our lives. When our faith is small, the surface winds, which are changeable, unpredictable, and distressing, drive our lives. But when our faith is increased by seeking the Lord daily and being washed in His word, then the far more powerful current of God overcomes the gusts and gales. When we are yielded to Him, His certain hand will direct our lives in the deep flow of His constant love.<\/p>\n
“LORD, we look for Your hand in every place we go today.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n =============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 Kings 8 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup>\u00a0Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0out of the city of David, which\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>Zion.\u00a0\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>the seventh month.\u00a03<\/sup>\u00a0And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.\u00a04<\/sup>\u00a0And they brought up the ark of the\u00a0LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that\u00a0were\u00a0<\/em>in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him,\u00a0were\u00a0<\/em>with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.\u00a06<\/sup>\u00a0And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy\u00a0place, even\u00a0<\/em>under the wings of the cherubims.\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0For the cherubims spread forth\u00a0their\u00a0<\/em>two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.\u00a08<\/sup>\u00a0And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy\u00a0place\u00a0<\/em>before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0There was<\/em>nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the\u00a0LORD\u00a0made\u00a0a covenant\u00a0<\/em>with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy\u00a0place\u00a0<\/em>, that the cloud filled the house of the\u00a0LORD,\u00a011<\/sup>So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0had filled the house of the\u00a0LORD. 12<\/sup>\u00a0Then spake Solomon, The\u00a0LORD\u00a0said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.\u00a013<\/sup>\u00a0I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.\u00a014<\/sup>\u00a0And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)\u00a015<\/sup>\u00a0And he said, Blessed\u00a0be\u00a0<\/em>the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>, saying,\u00a016<\/sup>\u00a0Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of Israel.\u00a018<\/sup>And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.\u00a019<\/sup>\u00a0Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.\u00a020<\/sup>\u00a0And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the\u00a0LORD\u00a0promised, and have built an house for the name of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of Israel.\u00a021<\/sup>\u00a0And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>the covenant of the\u00a0LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 22<\/sup>\u00a0And Solomon stood before the altar of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:\u00a023<\/sup>\u00a0And he said,\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of Israel,\u00a0there is\u00a0<\/em>no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:\u00a024<\/sup>\u00a0Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>with thine hand, as\u00a0it is\u00a0<\/em>this day.\u00a025<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore now,\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a026<\/sup>\u00a0And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.\u00a027<\/sup>\u00a0But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?\u00a028<\/sup>\u00a0Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O\u00a0LORD\u00a0my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:\u00a029<\/sup>\u00a0That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day,\u00a0even\u00a0<\/em>toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.\u00a0\u00a030<\/sup>\u00a0And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.\u00a031<\/sup> If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:\u00a0\u00a032<\/sup>\u00a0Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. 33<\/sup> When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:\u00a0\u00a034<\/sup>\u00a0Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers. 35<\/sup> When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:\u00a036<\/sup>\u00a0Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. 37<\/sup>\u00a0If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust,\u00a0or\u00a0<\/em>if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness\u00a0there be;\u00a0<\/em>\u00a038<\/sup>\u00a0What prayer and supplication soever be\u00a0made\u00a0<\/em>by any man,\u00a0or\u00a0<\/em>by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:\u00a039<\/sup>\u00a0Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou,\u00a0even\u00a0<\/em>thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)\u00a040<\/sup>\u00a0That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.\u00a041<\/sup>\u00a0Moreover concerning a stranger, that\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name\u2019s sake;\u00a042<\/sup>\u00a0(For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house;\u00a043<\/sup>\u00a0Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as\u00a0do\u00a0<\/em>thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.\u00a044<\/sup>\u00a0If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the\u00a0LORD\u00a0toward the city which thou hast chosen, and\u00a0toward<\/em>the house that I have built for thy name:\u00a0\u00a045<\/sup>\u00a0Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.\u00a0\u00a046<\/sup>\u00a0If they sin against thee, (for\u00a0there is\u00a0<\/em>no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;\u00a047<\/sup>\u00a0Yet<\/em>if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;\u00a0\u00a048<\/sup>\u00a0And\u00a0so\u00a0<\/em>return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:\u00a049<\/sup>\u00a0Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,\u00a0\u00a050<\/sup>\u00a0And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:\u00a051<\/sup>\u00a0For they\u00a0be\u00a0<\/em>thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:\u00a052<\/sup>\u00a0That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.\u00a053<\/sup>\u00a0For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth,\u00a0to be\u00a0<\/em>thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord\u00a0GOD. 54<\/sup>\u00a0And it was\u00a0so\u00a0<\/em>, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the\u00a0LORD, he arose from before the altar of the\u00a0LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.\u00a055<\/sup>\u00a0And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,\u00a056<\/sup>\u00a0Blessed\u00a0be\u00a0<\/em>the\u00a0LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.\u00a0\u00a057<\/sup> The\u00a0LORD\u00a0our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:\u00a058<\/sup>\u00a0That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.\u00a059<\/sup>\u00a0And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the\u00a0LORD, be nigh unto the\u00a0LORD\u00a0our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:\u00a0\u00a060<\/sup>\u00a0That all the people of the earth may know that the\u00a0LORD\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>God,\u00a0and that there is\u00a0<\/em>none else.\u00a061<\/sup>\u00a0Let your heart therefore be perfect with the\u00a0LORD\u00a0our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day. 62<\/sup>\u00a0And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the\u00a0LORD.\u00a063<\/sup>\u00a0And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the\u00a0LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the\u00a0LORD.\u00a064<\/sup>\u00a0The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>before the house of the\u00a0LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>before the\u00a0LORD\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.\u00a065<\/sup>\u00a0And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the\u00a0LORD\u00a0our God, seven days and seven days,\u00a0even\u00a0<\/em>fourteen days.\u00a066<\/sup>\u00a0On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the\u00a0LORD\u00a0had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" King Solomon had no illusions that he was providing God Almighty a place to live on planet earth. He clearly understood, and made it clear to the rest of Israel, that the temple was not God’s home because God does not need a home. But the temple, and the people of Israel who would come […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6715"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6715"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16240,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6715\/revisions\/16240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}