Original Meaning
Covenant Confirmation (9:1–9)
THE LONG DEDICATION prayer and time of celebration require some type of divine response. This response is given in a vision like the one Solomon previously received at Gibeon. In the vision Solomon receives assurance that God has heard his prayer; this is the place to which the prayers of the people may be directed.
It is somewhat surprising that the vision is less an affirmation of the initiatives of Solomon in temple building than a warning of the dangers of covenant failure. The alliance with Egypt and the marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter potentially constitute a foreign dependence rather than trust in God (Deut. 17:16–17), but this point has not been explicit.23 The warning may qualify the high praise given to Solomon, but it does not repudiate the highly complimentary perspective that has been given.24
This vision powerfully expresses the prophetic theology of covenant present throughout Kings. God has been faithful in fulfilling the promise that he has given (9:5). The promise of an eternal house of David is always contingent on absolute faithfulness of the Davidic kings (9:6–7). This is not to dismiss the possibility of grace and forgiveness, which are a prominent part of Solomon’s prayer. The problem is to expect grace while persisting in compromise of the covenant. This is the warning of the vision, with specific attention to the fact that no splendor of building25 or eloquence of prayer can serve as a substitute for obedience (v. 8).
The vision is also an exhortation, which becomes personal in its use of the second person plural (9:6–9). The demand for obedience not only pertains to the king, it pertains to the entire people. The king has particular responsibility as the leader of the people, the constant viewpoint of the books of Kings. The vision is addressed to him, but in its literary form it is addressed to every reader. The astonishment and scorn of the nations at the destruction of the temple serve a solemn warning to all.
Bridging Contexts
Bridging Contexts
THE TIME OF DEDICATION. Houses in ancient Israel were dedicated by taking up residence in them, probably amid festivities, rituals, and prayers. If someone had built a house but had not dedicated it (ḥanākô), he was not to go to war but to go back to his house, lest he die in battle and another dedicate it (yaḥnekennû; i.e., go to live in it; Deut. 20:5).26 A curse contained the converse of this dedication: One would build a house but not live in it (28:30). In similar fashion the temple is dedicated (wayyaḥnekû ʾet bêt yhwh) with the visible signs of glory indicating that God has taken up residence within it, accompanied by prayers, sacrifices, and celebrations (1 Kings 8:63). The placement of the ark in the Most Holy Place as the divine footstool is the most significant symbol of the divine Presence.
The dedication of the temple takes place during the major fall festival of Sukkoth (Booths or Tabernacles), a seven-day festival that required a pilgrimage to the central place of worship (Deut. 16:13–15). The seventh month marks the completion of the Israelite harvest, when landowners (heads of houses) could leave for a week without concern for fields or crops. It is probable, however, that there is a theological significance to celebration in the seventh month (possibly almost a year after the completion of the temple in the eighth month; cf. 1 Kings 6:38). Seven-day celebrations, either in the spring or in the fall, were associated with creation and temple building.27
Gudea, king of the Sumerian city of Lagash (twenty-second century B.C.) held a seven-day festival of dedication for the building of Eninnu, the temple of Ningirsu.28 Closer to Solomon, the building of the palace for the rule of Baal was a process of seven days.29 The tabernacle was set up at the time of the spring equinox (Ex. 40:2, 17); Jeroboam dedicated his temples during Tabernacles (1 Kings 12:32–33), and after the Exile the altar was reconstructed at the time of Tabernacles (Ezra 3:1–6). Though the Bible does not explicitly relate the festivals with creation, the associations are present and become the occasion for temple dedication.
The seven-day festivals in the spring and fall were in part a celebration of the new year, similar to other practices in the ancient Near East. In Babylon the akītu Festival of the New Year took place in the first eleven days of the vernal (spring) month of Nisan. On the fourth day the creation epic of Babylon, the Enuma Elish, was read—perhaps in order to reactualize the primordial events of the poem. The New Year’s festival was not just a calendrical milestone, but an actual renewal of the created world. Social, political, and natural chaos were closely associated and were never far away; the efficacious recitation of creation events brought hope for the coming New Year. The New Year’s celebrations in Israel were also associated with harvest and renewal and implicitly with creation itself. Levenson cites a debate between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua (both did their most important teaching about A.D. 80–120) concerning whether creation occurred during the fall festival (Tishri) or spring (Nisan).30
Rabbi Eliezer says, From what text do we know that it was in Tishri that the world was created? Because the Bible says, “And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees.…’” In what month does the earth put forth vegetation and the trees are full of fruit? You have to say that this is Tishri, and that period was the rainy season, so that the rains fell and caused vegetation to sprout, as the Bible says, “a flow would well up from the ground.”
Rabbi Joshua says, From what text do we know that it was in Nisan that the world was created? Because the Bible says, “The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants … and trees of every kind.” In what month is the earth full of vegetation and trees are bringing out fruit? You have to say that this is Nisan, and that period was the season when cattle and game and birds mate, as the Bible says, “The meadows are clothed with flocks, [the valleys mantled with grain].”
Name theology. The blessings and prayer spoken by Solomon express the theological significance that the temple is to have in the life of the nation. There are fourteen references to the name of God in Solomon’s prayer. In Deuteronomistic theology, God chose the temple as the place where his Name was to dwell. This theology of “the Name” is often regarded as a “demythologization” of the divine Presence. Whereas the divine glory filling the temple is thought to show that God himself dwelt there (8:1–14), the corrective taught that only the divine Name dwelt in the temple. The prayer locates God in heaven, which is interpreted to make him transcendent, invulnerable to any catastrophe that might affect his temple. The Name was regarded as a hypostasis of God, the very essence of him being present.
The ark of the covenant rested there, not as the footstool of God present on his throne but as a representation of the special legal bonding uniting God and Israel.31 The temple became the focal point for prayers; prayers uttered in the city, in the land of Israel, or outside the land were to be directed toward the temple. God’s eyes would be directed to the place where his Name dwelt. Under this interpretation the Name theology served to teach the transcendence of God and the centralization of worship. Farmers or soldiers did not need to resort to a local high place, since they could direct their prayers in the direction of the temple where God would hear.
The significance of a place for God’s Name to dwell must be examined more carefully. Idioms have to be understood within their own language context. In the English language the word “hand” connotes different things in various expressions. We may give someone a hand (for a job well done), give a hand to someone (for help needed), give a handout (to someone in need), or give a hand up (to help someone become self sufficient). Nothing in the expression itself can determine the significance of “hand,” nor can the meaning of hand in one of these idioms be used to determine its meaning in another. The distinct meaning in each expression is not shared with the others; the idioms are in no sense synonymous.
The significance of biblical Name theology must be related to similar expressions in other documents. The expression “to place the name” in the Amarna Letters, as has long been noted in Hebrew lexicons, signifies possession; it is an idiom for ownership.32 Just as the pharaoh owned Jerusalem by placing his name there (EA 287, 288), so Yahweh owned the temple. In a study of comparative linguistics and various biblical name idioms, R. de Vaux was able to show that the Name theology of Deuteronomy did not represent any transformation of the Israelite perception of the mode of divine Presence. He showed that there were four name idioms that were linked to the election formula of the biblical text: the place that Yahweh has chosen in order to establish his Name; the place where Yahweh has chosen to place his Name; the place over which the Name of Yahweh has been pronounced; the place where Yahweh has named his Name.33 De Vaux thought other expressions, such as “a place for the Name to be” and “to build a house for the Name,” did address the issue of God’s presence in the sanctuary.
Six of the references to “Name” in 1 Kings 8 come from the formula “to build a temple for the Name of the LORD” (vv. 17, 18, 19, 20, 44, 48). These are transparently quotations of the promise to Solomon, in which David is assured that his son will build a house and establish the kingdom (2 Sam. 7:13). Solomon is that son, so it is not surprising that this passage should be quoted frequently. The use of “the Name” in this promise is to establish a memorial in order to perpetuate a reputation.34
The Hebrew expression “to make a name” (ʿāśâ šēm) has much the same significance as in English (cf. Gen. 11:4). In the context of the promise, David will not build a house for Yahweh; rather, Yahweh will build a house for David; God will establish his dynasty and establish his name like that of the great ones who are in the earth (2 Sam. 7:9). As a result, the heir of David’s house (Solomon) is appointed to build a house (temple) for the Name (reputation) of Yahweh. The result, David acknowledges, is that God will make his own Name great forever (1 Kings 8:26–27). Normally a king established the legitimacy of his rule by building or refurbishing a temple to the god that had granted his power to rule. The presence of the temple will ensure the continuity of the divine Presence and the security of the throne.
David was denied this symbolic assurance, but in its place God granted a promise by oath as an assurance that his kingdom was secure forever. Building a house for the Name of God in the promise to David signified reputation, not divine Presence. The house built for David (the royal dynasty) and the house built for God (the temple) will perpetuate the renown of both.
The fame or reputation of Yahweh for those from outside of the land is also expressed three times in Solomon’s prayer (1 Kings 8:41–43). Others outside of Israel will have heard of God’s great works, his outstretched arm, and will pray toward the temple. Solomon also considers the times when the people will suffer the curse because of their sin and will make confession (acknowledgment) of the Name (vv. 33, 35). In these instances the Name is simply a euphemism for God himself.
In one occurrence in the prayer the Name idiom is used to express purpose involving the case of the foreigner (8:43): that all may know “that this house I have built bears your Name.” This expression is well known as signifying ownership by means of transference of property (e.g., 2 Sam. 12:28). In Deuteronomy this idiom communicates the elect nature of the people of Israel, whose redeemed state stands as a testimony to the nations of Yahweh’s power to save.35 In Solomon’s prayer it stands as a testimony to Yahweh’s power to save even those foreigners who come to the temple because of God’s reputation for saving acts.
The prayer of Solomon utilizes these Name idioms to make the temple the ultimate symbol of the essentials of the Israelite faith. Two times in the prayer Solomon says that the temple will be a house where God’s Name will be present (vv. 16, 29); this formula makes the temple the place that fulfills the Deuteronomic promise. The temple is the house that fulfills the Davidic promise; it is the elect place over which God’s Name is called; it is the place of covenant preservation, where God’s Name is acknowledged in confession and praise. The temple is the embodiment of the land promised to Israel and marked by God’s Name. The temple is the ultimate symbol of God’s relationship with Israel; it served to memorialize and perpetuate God’s great deeds of redemption amidst Israel and the nations. It is testimony to the reputation of Yahweh. The association between the election of Jerusalem and the election of David is made explicit in God’s choosing the temple as the place for Yahweh’s Name.
Theology of rest. In a concluding blessing Solomon declares that God has given rest to his people and that not a word of all the good things promised through Moses his servant has failed (8:56). This important confession is articulated in Joshua; rest was the consequence of Israel’s inheriting the land, the uncompromised fulfillment of all God promised (Josh. 21:43–45; 23:1, 14). The temple is declared to be God’s resting place; following David’s relentless effort to restore the ark to its proper place, God is called to rise at his resting place (Ps. 132:8). God in turn avers to David that Zion, the temple mount and the seat of the divine throne, will be his resting place for all time (132:13–14). Not only the temple, but the whole land can be declared to be the place of God’s rest (95:11). The concept of the land being God’s resting place prompts David to seek to build a temple for God (2 Sam. 7:1). The mercies shown to him are the foundation of the hope of the nation (Ps. 89:1–4).
Divine rest is interpreted in two ways: Sabbath is to be observed in order to remember that Israel was delivered from the house of bondage in Egypt (Deut. 5:15) and to declare that Yahweh made the heavens and earth in six days (Ex. 20:11). Divine rest at creation was a declaration that the forces of chaos had been conquered. This victory served to ensure that the sure mercies promised to David would endure forever:
You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.
You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
Your arm is endued with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you. (Ps. 89:10–15)
The two interpretations of the Sabbath are in reality the same. Divine rest at creation not only signified the conquest of disorder, but also the establishment of justice and righteousness, the love and loyalty that were part of the covenant mercies to David. Sabbath was the central focus of the creation story (Gen. 2:1–3). The rest of God demonstrated that creative activity was complete and that the work of the Creator was perfect; further, “the explicit portrayal of the creator sleeping functioned as a statement of the deity’s status as the supreme ruler of heaven and earth. The ability to sleep undisturbed was the symbol of the deity’s absolute dominion over the heavens and the earth and the underworld.”36 In ancient Near Eastern creation stories this dominion included the provision of freedom: the emancipation of slaves, the repatriation of captives, restoration of land to the original owners, and provision of land for the poor. In the same way the Psalms declare that justice and right belong to the peace of creation:
For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses. (Ps. 33:4–7)
Israel is not only the benefactor of the divine rest of creation, but is also expected to be a participant in it. The Sabbath, the sabbatical year, and the Sabbath of sabbatical years, the Jubilee, recall the primordial rest in a form in which humans can share. The collective existence of Israel is to participate in the divine rest that consummates creation. The prophets make acts of benevolence a part of right and justice that God seeks. Jeremiah provides an itemized list of such deeds: “Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place” (Jer. 22:3). Justice and compassion are not distinguished in the call for righteousness: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other” (Zech. 7:9–10).
The divine response to Solomon’s prayer in the vision affirms both the election of the royal house and Jerusalem, and the necessity of maintaining the divine rest. God has placed his Name on Jerusalem forever (1 Kings 9:3); this idiom is used exclusively of the chosen place of worship and audience.37 Blessing and cursing elements present in ancient Near Eastern inscriptions were intended to preserve the building against the ravages of time and future neglect and to preserve the memory of the king. These elements are given a distinct function in Solomon’s vision.38 This vision does not concern itself with a future king who might find the building in ruins; the future of the temple and the dynasty depend on allegiance to God and his commandments.
The prophetic concept of God is unlike that of any other religion in ancient time. God is incomparable and incomprehensible, an unrivaled God that all nations are to know (8:60–61). This God demands absolute faithfulness, loyalty, and justice (Deut. 10:14–18). External symbols and rituals can never in themselves secure a relationship with such a God. Circumcision means nothing if there was not a “circumcision of the mind” (10:16), that loyal faithfulness to the covenant that shows complete trust and reverence of God. The external symbols are all designed to show that the God of the covenant cannot be comprehended. The little poem of Solomon (1 Kings 8:12–13) is a reminder of this fact; God dwells where none can see him, for a visible throne room distorts a comprehension of the King of kings.
The prophets believe they know God truly, since he has entered into covenant with them. But they never believe it is possible to know God fully. Finite humans can know their majestic God by analogy, such as the comparison to a king as one of his functions. Israel succumbed to the seduction of idolatry because they failed to understand the absolute nature of God.
The majestic and imposing structure of the temple with all its associated ritual can never be far from the minds of the covenant people. In addition to the regular daily ritual of the priests, in which burnt offering is made to God, lights are maintained, and incense is poured on the hot coals, there are the daily requirements for individual Israelites to observe the regulations of diet, cleanliness, and sacrifice for sins. There is always the danger that rituals become routine, performed without thought for their significance. The dedication of the temple is a reminder of this danger. Building the temple does not fulfill the requirements of the covenant, nor does the meticulous observance of all its associated ritual. All these are a means of confessing the holy and majestic God of the covenant and his involvement in every aspect of daily life.
Contemporary Significance
Contemporary Significance
TEMPLE THEOLOGY FOR the church. Paul describes Christians as those who have access into the presence of God the Father through Christ; peace has been proclaimed to those far and near from God (Eph. 2:16–18). God has brought all peoples together as fellow citizens. The church is described as a temple built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ is the cornerstone; he gives shape to this new edifice that rises as a holy sanctuary (vv. 19–22). In Christ Christians are built together as the new dwelling of God in the Spirit.
The Christian calling has a fundamental continuity with the function of the temple as expressed in Solomon’s dedication prayer. The temple was a manifestation of God’s elective choice of David and Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:16, 29; 9:3). God chose Zion to be his possession, and David was chosen to be ruler over God’s people Israel. The dedication prayer taught the ultimate sovereignty of God over both land and people. The temple was a focal point to which prayers could be made; God, whose temple was the heavens, would attend to his earthly temple night and day (vv. 28–29) and respond in mercy to the prayers of his people.
Solomon’s mission in building the temple was to memorialize and perpetuate the great works of Yahweh, the kingdom anticipated in the promise to David (2 Sam. 7; 1 Kings 8:60). The calling of the Christian church is to show the purpose of God for creation as it is accomplished in his world. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul begins with God’s desires before the cosmos came into being. God planned a family through adoption in Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:3–6a). God in time worked out this mystery, to bring all things together in Christ, earthly and heavenly (1:9–10). Those called to Christ are destined according to the purpose of the one who does all things according to the intent of his will, to be to the praise of his glory (1:11–12).
The fear of the apostle Paul is that Christians might not understand the significance of their calling in the world. In Ephesians, therefore, Paul prays that those in Christ might understand the hope of the Christian:
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Eph. 1:18–23)
Paul’s whole life was driven by the power of this divine purpose; this great calling belongs to all Christians just as much as it did to the apostle. Paul, the least of all saints by his own estimation, felt compelled to go to the ends of the earth in order to proclaim this great mystery that had been hidden in previous times (Eph. 3:8–9). For the apostle, God’s purpose in his choice of David and Jerusalem was but a partial revelation of the greater goal for creation. The proclamation of Solomon was a deeply veiled mystery of what God was doing in the world. Only the death and resurrection of Christ demonstrate how God is drawing all humankind to himself; the purpose of God is to be found in the church, whose reach is universal.
God’s plan for the church must be made known to the greatest of the powers and authorities, particularly those in opposition to God, including those that exercise authority beyond this earth. Again Paul prays fervently that believers might understand this great work within creation, which they represent:
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.39 (Eph. 3:14–19)
Belonging to the church demands that Christians learn to live in accordance with that calling, learning harmony and unity with each other (Eph. 4:1–3). Fundamentally, living as a Christian requires a new way of thinking (4:17–24). Outside of Christ human values are governed by self-interest, the deceit of greed; the apostle calls believers back to the renewal of the original image, righteousness and holiness as they have learned it in Christ (4:22–24). All divisions of humanity are bridged in Christ; all races and classes are brought into harmony, as they are transformed in knowledge according to God’s image (Col. 3:10–11).
Solomon called on God to show mercy to all who call on him, including those who did not belong to the nation (1 Kings 8:41–43). Israel must represent God’s kingdom in this world. Paul sees this kingdom as present across all national, ethnic, and cultural boundaries, through the transformation of mind. The peace of Christ is to rule in the lives of all those called to be one with him. The presence of the church is profoundly significant of that which the temple of Solomon is but a shadow. The temple declared God’s ownership of land and his covenant with Israel; the church rises as God’s holy temple in bringing all peoples in harmony as one household.
Discord within the church is a travesty. There is but one Spirit, one hope of the Christian calling, one God and Father of all, over all, through all, in all (Eph. 4:5–6). Failure to demonstrate this unity within the Christian community is a denial of the essence of the church; church leadership is to equip church members so they achieve the fullness of Christ in maturity (4:11–13). The temple declared the universality of God’s grace and love. One who was wronged could find justice (1 Kings 8:31–32); those from a faraway land who had heard of the fame of Yahweh could seek mercy (vv. 41–43); Israel exiled in a distant land could pray and God would hear (vv. 48–50).
The church is to manifest the peace of Christ everywhere that it has a presence. Dissension within the church betrays its calling. Solomon acknowledged that failure would happen to all and they would suffer the consequences (1 Kings 8:46); he prayed that God’s purpose for his inheritance might be preserved (vv. 51–53). The church, as the representation of God’s mercy and love, must learn to forgive and show mercy just as they have received it (Eph. 4:32; 5:1–2).
Creation theology. With the dedication of the temple God had granted rest according to all that he had promised (1 Kings 8:56). The rest of the people of Israel testified to God’s sovereign control of creation and fulfillment of redemption in the lives of the people of Israel. The celebration of the temple dedication on the festival of the New Year testified to the order and beauty of creation, as well as the progress of redemption. Christians need to celebrate both; Christians celebrate redemption on Sunday services and on special events such as Easter, but they often lack a corresponding confession to the beauty of creation. The restoration of creation is an important theme in relation to redemption. The apostle consciously links creation coming to its rest with the redemption of God’s people:
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Rom. 8:20–21)
The exhortation to live in the hope of a future redemption in which creation itself will be liberated from its present bondage is also a call to celebrate the beauty of creation in praise of the Creator. Christians of all people must be concerned about appropriately exercising dominion in the environment in which they live. Their responsibility, as those renewed in mind in the image of the Creator, is to live in his creation in a way that will respect the beauty of creation to the glory of the Creator.
Joseph Sittler declared the theological responsibility to ecological consciousness long before the first Earth Day celebration. He urged that environmental ethics should take its cue from the first question of the Westminster Catechism in the Calvinist tradition. “What is the chief end of man [and woman]? To glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” The motivation for attention to environmental concerns is the delight of all the manifestations of God’s glory in the natural world around us. Christian concern for the environment should not begin with the paralyzing fear of environmental catastrophe (as eminent as it might be), nor with crippling guilt over the human abuse of creation (as dreadful as it might be), but with the joy of living in God’s world. Drawing on Augustine’s distinction between what humans can “use” and what they can “enjoy,” Sittler argues that in matters of ecological responsibility delight is the basis of right use.
The call to celebrate the beauty of creation was a central theme in the theology of Jonathan Edwards. It was his conviction that the natural world is a communication of God’s glory that should fill us all with desire. Edward Parley goes so far as to say that in the work of Jonathan Edwards, “beauty is more central and more pervasive than in any other text in the history of Christian theology.”40 Humans have a particular capacity for joy at the marvel of creation and have a supreme role in the task of giving God glory along with the rest of the natural world (Ps. 8). Edwards understood the Christian to have a renewed capacity to sense the marvel of creation as one of the graces of receiving salvation.
Lane believes that in the thought of Edwards, divine grace included a renewed spiritual capacity to understand the magnificence of the natural world and a more integrated ability to perceive reality through the ordinary channels of sense experience.
For Jonathan Edwards, creation functions as a school of desire, training regenerate human beings in the intimate sensory apprehension of God’s glory mirrored in the beauty of the world. Humans are to respond, in turn, by articulating that glory, bringing it to full consciousness, and by replicating God’s own disposition to communicate beauty as they extend the act of beautifying to the world around them. In other words, the natural world enlarges the human capacity to sense the fullness of God’s beauty and the appreciation of that beauty subsequently leads to ethical action. Nature teaches us God’s beauty which in turn drives us to its continual replication in time and space.41
The annual observance of Earth Day may be an occasion to remind Christians that their faith calls them to make confession of their Creator, as Israel did in the great fall festival of the seventh month, and of the rest that they have come to enjoy in Christ. Janet Schaeffler suggests that it might be good for us to become backyard biologists.42 In your own backyard, mark off an area six feet square, preferably including a bush, a tree, or flowers, along with grass or bare soil. Make use of a magnifying glass, notebooks, and pencils to record the wonder of nature in this small area of God’s creation. Be as thorough as you can. What plants do you find? What kinds of animals? What evidence do you find of creatures that may have passed through this area?
Another suggestion Schaeffler makes is to greet the rising sun. Find a place where you can see the sunrise clearly (this does require getting up before the sun). Each time you see a new color in the sky, thank God for something beautiful. Continue with new and different ideas until the sun is shining brightly, and then head to breakfast with a smile of thanksgiving on your face. (Because looking directly at the sun can damage vision, be sure to look at the sky around the sun or use approved sun blockers.) Or gather the family together to catch the setting sun, the sun’s “closing act.” Talk about how the power of the sun reflects the greatness of God.
Marvel too at the wonders of the night; go on a stargazing trip with your family, it can be in your own backyard.43 Family celebrations should also include ceremony; this might include reading aloud the story of creation (Gen. 1:1–2:4) or a poem from Scripture that thanks God for the beauty of the earth (Ps. 8; 100; 150) or for the marvels of creation (Job 38:1–21; 22–38) and its creatures (38:39–39:30). Song, dance, poetry, or some other form of art can be used to express praise, or compose a prayer that expresses gratitude for the wonders of creation.
Justice and social order. For Israel, order within creation included justice; proper social order was an essential aspect of dominion over creation as the representatives of God. The essence of the covenant oath was to act with justice. Repeatedly Solomon in his prayer asks that God remember his oath with Israel and act with justice (1 Kings 8:49, 59). Solomon does not ask that God “maintain their cause” (KJV, NRSV), which suggests partiality to Israel and misrepresents God; Yahweh was known for justice (Deut. 32:4; Isa. 61:8).
Covenant justice required just actions within society and between nations (Deut. 10:17–21). Justice began with fairness to individual people; the temple was the place of justice in the settlement of disputes between individuals (1 Kings 8:31–32). The rest of Israel was a sign of justice and peace; in the doxology of his prayer Solomon made God’s faithfulness the basis of covenant fidelity (8:56–58). Sabbath observance was the essential sign of creation rest, observance of justice, and conformity to the covenant. Isaiah made it the central observance of all who would be joined to God and his people (Isa. 56:4–8). As Isaiah declared, the temple was a house of prayer for all people who loved the name of the Lord.
Sabbath observance moved from Saturday to Sunday for good early Christian reasons, but modern Christians must not neglect Sabbath. Martin Marty makes reference to Jewish interpretation in his exhortation to Christians to keep the Sabbath as a call to justice.44 In Israel the climax of Sabbath rest was reached in the Jubilee year (šenat hayyôbēl), times for enacting social justice and freeing the earth from human exploitation. The Sabbaths are to be times of release from attachments and habits, addictions and idolatries. Marty quotes Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (who later marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. against racism and the Vietnam War), who wrote following the Holocaust and Hiroshima, both grotesque mockeries of creation:
To set apart one day a week for freedom, a day on which we would not use the instruments which have been so easily turned into weapons of destruction, a day for being with ourselves, a day of detachment from the vulgar, of independence of external obligations, a day on which we use no money … on which [humanity] avows [its] independence of that which is the world’s chief idol … a day of armistice in the economic struggle with our fellow [humans] and the forces of nature—is there any institution that holds out a greater hope for humanity’s progress than the Sabbath?45
Image of God and idolatry. For modern Christians, just as for Old Testament saints, constant vigilance is required to fulfill the purpose of mortals in showing the glory of God within creation, his true temple. The predisposition of Israel was to reduce God to the level of the gods of other religions (1 Kings 9:6–9); the exalted temple, representing the God of all nations, would then become the ridicule of the nations. Justice for Israel was to command the reverence of all nations in giving honor to Yahweh alone (8:43, 60). Abandoning God happened as soon as he was equated with gods of human conception (9:9). The same kind of reduction happens in contemporary thought. The term God is often used to refer to the impersonal (God does not communicate) or deistic (God has no involvement with earthly events). Any concept of God that is impersonal or deistic is not a biblical concept of God and is nothing more than human philosophizing.
The Creator of the universe made his representative image (humans) personal just as he is a person. A personal relationship assumes an awareness of self, an ability to expect respect and commitment from other individuals, and a willingness to show respect by keeping commitments. It is these two qualities that are emphasized about God. God has chosen to mediate his rule of the world through people. David and his people had a special function in this rule, because they were to make the name of God great (8:16, 25, 43, 60; 9:4–5). The church is the successor to the purpose of God in choosing David and Jerusalem; the calling of the church is to make the name of Christ known among all nations so that every knee may bow before him (Phil. 2:11). That honor is not given when God is made something less than a person in his sovereignty over creation, or when Christ is made less than God in choosing to live as a human.
Idolatry as expressed in the vision to Solomon has its origin in the mind. It is not so much a denial of God as a distortion, fashioning God in the ways of other religions or philosophies. Such idolatries may lead to worship of creation rather than the Creator, or they may lead to greed and the destruction of creation. Unhappily, such idolatries have been all too common among confessing Christians, just as they were in Israel. Solomon’s prayers for forgiveness for such failures are most pertinent.
The renewal of the mind created after the image of God is not complete when a decision is made to believe in Christ. Putting off the old and putting on the new is a continual process (Eph. 4:17–24). Learning to know God must begin with his revelation of himself, uncompromised by other philosophies. Theology is of critical importance, as human thought is applied to understanding God in contemporary context. As in Israel, the danger is that those who would follow God may be self-deceived, so they do not even realize when they have become idolatrous.
The seduction of idolatry is evident in values destructive of creation or community. The symptoms of an inadequate concept of God are seen in the behavior of believers. Honor is given to God by delighting in his creation; wonder at the beauty of the earth is the basis for the right use of its resources. Exploitation of the earth for any reason is failure to know God, a sign of idolatry. Order in creation includes respect and honor to other individuals, the exercise of justice in all relationships. Equity must be a priority if respect is to be given to the Creator whose purpose is to bring rest to creation.
Indifference to justice is idolatry, a misrepresentation of who God is as a person. Idolatry is quite readily identified in serving mammon, but it is no less real in disrespect of any of God’s creation or wrong done to other people. The evident examples of idolatry must not obscure the more subtle ways in which it is manifested. Christians must live with a renewed mind, clearly distinguished from the values of the “other nations” who do not know God.
Original Meaning
Patronage of David (8:14–21)
THE BLESSING OF the assembly begins with a declaration of the blessedness of God (vv. 14–15). Blessedness is an epithet of God, an acknowledgment that he is the source and dispenser of blessing. The praise addressed to God is actually an exhortation to the assembly. It makes explicit reference to the prophetic word to David concerning the divine priorities of kingdom and temple (vv. 16–19). The delay of temple building was not only a matter of making the transition to one central place of worship; another factor was that David had been continuously embroiled in war (1 Kings 5:17). The rest David achieved was not the time for an undertaking like that of Solomon. The blessedness of God is his fulfillment of the promise that the son of David was destined to build a temple as a focus for Israel’s prayers and worship.
Solomon’s words express the importance of the temple in the history of the nation and the role it will have in future relationships between God and his people. The presence of the temple assures the people that God has secured a royal dynasty for his people (cf. 2 Sam. 7:12–17). The temple is the place where the ark of God’s covenant finds its rest (1 Kings 8:21). The ark represents the special legal bond uniting God and Israel.11 The presence of the ark of the covenant makes the temple the focal point for prayer, no matter where the prayer is uttered. God’s eyes will constantly be directed toward the temple; prayers directed there will be received by God in heaven. The temple is central from this time forward; it represents the covenant bond and the establishment of the promised kingdom.
Dedication Prayer (8:22–53)
Bridging Contexts
THE TIME OF DEDICATION. Houses in ancient Israel were dedicated by taking up residence in them, probably amid festivities, rituals, and prayers. If someone had built a house but had not dedicated it (ḥanākô), he was not to go to war but to go back to his house, lest he die in battle and another dedicate it (yaḥnekennû; i.e., go to live in it; Deut. 20:5).26 A curse contained the converse of this dedication: One would build a house but not live in it (28:30). In similar fashion the temple is dedicated (wayyaḥnekû ʾet bêt yhwh) with the visible signs of glory indicating that God has taken up residence within it, accompanied by prayers, sacrifices, and celebrations (1 Kings 8:63). The placement of the ark in the Most Holy Place as the divine footstool is the most significant symbol of the divine Presence.
The dedication of the temple takes place during the major fall festival of Sukkoth (Booths or Tabernacles), a seven-day festival that required a pilgrimage to the central place of worship (Deut. 16:13–15). The seventh month marks the completion of the Israelite harvest, when landowners (heads of houses) could leave for a week without concern for fields or crops. It is probable, however, that there is a theological significance to celebration in the seventh month (possibly almost a year after the completion of the temple in the eighth month; cf. 1 Kings 6:38). Seven-day celebrations, either in the spring or in the fall, were associated with creation and temple building.27
Gudea, king of the Sumerian city of Lagash (twenty-second century B.C.) held a seven-day festival of dedication for the building of Eninnu, the temple of Ningirsu.28 Closer to Solomon, the building of the palace for the rule of Baal was a process of seven days.29 The tabernacle was set up at the time of the spring equinox (Ex. 40:2, 17); Jeroboam dedicated his temples during Tabernacles (1 Kings 12:32–33), and after the Exile the altar was reconstructed at the time of Tabernacles (Ezra 3:1–6). Though the Bible does not explicitly relate the festivals with creation, the associations are present and become the occasion for temple dedication.
The seven-day festivals in the spring and fall were in part a celebration of the new year, similar to other practices in the ancient Near East. In Babylon the akītu Festival of the New Year took place in the first eleven days of the vernal (spring) month of Nisan. On the fourth day the creation epic of Babylon, the Enuma Elish, was read—perhaps in order to reactualize the primordial events of the poem. The New Year’s festival was not just a calendrical milestone, but an actual renewal of the created world. Social, political, and natural chaos were closely associated and were never far away; the efficacious recitation of creation events brought hope for the coming New Year. The New Year’s celebrations in Israel were also associated with harvest and renewal and implicitly with creation itself. Levenson cites a debate between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua (both did their most important teaching about A.D. 80–120) concerning whether creation occurred during the fall festival (Tishri) or spring (Nisan).30
Rabbi Eliezer says, From what text do we know that it was in Tishri that the world was created? Because the Bible says, “And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees.…’” In what month does the earth put forth vegetation and the trees are full of fruit? You have to say that this is Tishri, and that period was the rainy season, so that the rains fell and caused vegetation to sprout, as the Bible says, “a flow would well up from the ground.”
Rabbi Joshua says, From what text do we know that it was in Nisan that the world was created? Because the Bible says, “The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants … and trees of every kind.” In what month is the earth full of vegetation and trees are bringing out fruit? You have to say that this is Nisan, and that period was the season when cattle and game and birds mate, as the Bible says, “The meadows are clothed with flocks, [the valleys mantled with grain].”
Name theology. The blessings and prayer spoken by Solomon express the theological significance that the temple is to have in the life of the nation. There are fourteen references to the name of God in Solomon’s prayer. In Deuteronomistic theology, God chose the temple as the place where his Name was to dwell. This theology of “the Name” is often regarded as a “demythologization” of the divine Presence. Whereas the divine glory filling the temple is thought to show that God himself dwelt there (8:1–14), the corrective taught that only the divine Name dwelt in the temple. The prayer locates God in heaven, which is interpreted to make him transcendent, invulnerable to any catastrophe that might affect his temple. The Name was regarded as a hypostasis of God, the very essence of him being present.
The ark of the covenant rested there, not as the footstool of God present on his throne but as a representation of the special legal bonding uniting God and Israel.31 The temple became the focal point for prayers; prayers uttered in the city, in the land of Israel, or outside the land were to be directed toward the temple. God’s eyes would be directed to the place where his Name dwelt. Under this interpretation the Name theology served to teach the transcendence of God and the centralization of worship. Farmers or soldiers did not need to resort to a local high place, since they could direct their prayers in the direction of the temple where God would hear.
The significance of a place for God’s Name to dwell must be examined more carefully. Idioms have to be understood within their own language context. In the English language the word “hand” connotes different things in various expressions. We may give someone a hand (for a job well done), give a hand to someone (for help needed), give a handout (to someone in need), or give a hand up (to help someone become self sufficient). Nothing in the expression itself can determine the significance of “hand,” nor can the meaning of hand in one of these idioms be used to determine its meaning in another. The distinct meaning in each expression is not shared with the others; the idioms are in no sense synonymous.
The significance of biblical Name theology must be related to similar expressions in other documents. The expression “to place the name” in the Amarna Letters, as has long been noted in Hebrew lexicons, signifies possession; it is an idiom for ownership.32 Just as the pharaoh owned Jerusalem by placing his name there (EA 287, 288), so Yahweh owned the temple. In a study of comparative linguistics and various biblical name idioms, R. de Vaux was able to show that the Name theology of Deuteronomy did not represent any transformation of the Israelite perception of the mode of divine Presence. He showed that there were four name idioms that were linked to the election formula of the biblical text: the place that Yahweh has chosen in order to establish his Name; the place where Yahweh has chosen to place his Name; the place over which the Name of Yahweh has been pronounced; the place where Yahweh has named his Name.33 De Vaux thought other expressions, such as “a place for the Name to be” and “to build a house for the Name,” did address the issue of God’s presence in the sanctuary.
Six of the references to “Name” in 1 Kings 8 come from the formula “to build a temple for the Name of the LORD” (vv. 17, 18, 19, 20, 44, 48). These are transparently quotations of the promise to Solomon, in which David is assured that his son will build a house and establish the kingdom (2 Sam. 7:13). Solomon is that son, so it is not surprising that this passage should be quoted frequently. The use of “the Name” in this promise is to establish a memorial in order to perpetuate a reputation.34
The Hebrew expression “to make a name” (ʿāśâ šēm) has much the same significance as in English (cf. Gen. 11:4). In the context of the promise, David will not build a house for Yahweh; rather, Yahweh will build a house for David; God will establish his dynasty and establish his name like that of the great ones who are in the earth (2 Sam. 7:9). As a result, the heir of David’s house (Solomon) is appointed to build a house (temple) for the Name (reputation) of Yahweh. The result, David acknowledges, is that God will make his own Name great forever (1 Kings 8:26–27). Normally a king established the legitimacy of his rule by building or refurbishing a temple to the god that had granted his power to rule. The presence of the temple will ensure the continuity of the divine Presence and the security of the throne.
David was denied this symbolic assurance, but in its place God granted a promise by oath as an assurance that his kingdom was secure forever. Building a house for the Name of God in the promise to David signified reputation, not divine Presence. The house built for David (the royal dynasty) and the house built for God (the temple) will perpetuate the renown of both.
The fame or reputation of Yahweh for those from outside of the land is also expressed three times in Solomon’s prayer (1 Kings 8:41–43). Others outside of Israel will have heard of God’s great works, his outstretched arm, and will pray toward the temple. Solomon also considers the times when the people will suffer the curse because of their sin and will make confession (acknowledgment) of the Name (vv. 33, 35). In these instances the Name is simply a euphemism for God himself.
In one occurrence in the prayer the Name idiom is used to express purpose involving the case of the foreigner (8:43): that all may know “that this house I have built bears your Name.” This expression is well known as signifying ownership by means of transference of property (e.g., 2 Sam. 12:28). In Deuteronomy this idiom communicates the elect nature of the people of Israel, whose redeemed state stands as a testimony to the nations of Yahweh’s power to save.35 In Solomon’s prayer it stands as a testimony to Yahweh’s power to save even those foreigners who come to the temple because of God’s reputation for saving acts.
The prayer of Solomon utilizes these Name idioms to make the temple the ultimate symbol of the essentials of the Israelite faith. Two times in the prayer Solomon says that the temple will be a house where God’s Name will be present (vv. 16, 29); this formula makes the temple the place that fulfills the Deuteronomic promise. The temple is the house that fulfills the Davidic promise; it is the elect place over which God’s Name is called; it is the place of covenant preservation, where God’s Name is acknowledged in confession and praise. The temple is the embodiment of the land promised to Israel and marked by God’s Name. The temple is the ultimate symbol of God’s relationship with Israel; it served to memorialize and perpetuate God’s great deeds of redemption amidst Israel and the nations. It is testimony to the reputation of Yahweh. The association between the election of Jerusalem and the election of David is made explicit in God’s choosing the temple as the place for Yahweh’s Name.
Theology of rest. In a concluding blessing Solomon declares that God has given rest to his people and that not a word of all the good things promised through Moses his servant has failed (8:56). This important confession is articulated in Joshua; rest was the consequence of Israel’s inheriting the land, the uncompromised fulfillment of all God promised (Josh. 21:43–45; 23:1, 14). The temple is declared to be God’s resting place; following David’s relentless effort to restore the ark to its proper place, God is called to rise at his resting place (Ps. 132:8). God in turn avers to David that Zion, the temple mount and the seat of the divine throne, will be his resting place for all time (132:13–14). Not only the temple, but the whole land can be declared to be the place of God’s rest (95:11). The concept of the land being God’s resting place prompts David to seek to build a temple for God (2 Sam. 7:1). The mercies shown to him are the foundation of the hope of the nation (Ps. 89:1–4).
Divine rest is interpreted in two ways: Sabbath is to be observed in order to remember that Israel was delivered from the house of bondage in Egypt (Deut. 5:15) and to declare that Yahweh made the heavens and earth in six days (Ex. 20:11). Divine rest at creation was a declaration that the forces of chaos had been conquered. This victory served to ensure that the sure mercies promised to David would endure forever:
You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.
You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
Your arm is endued with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you. (Ps. 89:10–15)
The two interpretations of the Sabbath are in reality the same. Divine rest at creation not only signified the conquest of disorder, but also the establishment of justice and righteousness, the love and loyalty that were part of the covenant mercies to David. Sabbath was the central focus of the creation story (Gen. 2:1–3). The rest of God demonstrated that creative activity was complete and that the work of the Creator was perfect; further, “the explicit portrayal of the creator sleeping functioned as a statement of the deity’s status as the supreme ruler of heaven and earth. The ability to sleep undisturbed was the symbol of the deity’s absolute dominion over the heavens and the earth and the underworld.”36 In ancient Near Eastern creation stories this dominion included the provision of freedom: the emancipation of slaves, the repatriation of captives, restoration of land to the original owners, and provision of land for the poor. In the same way the Psalms declare that justice and right belong to the peace of creation:
For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses. (Ps. 33:4–7)
Israel is not only the benefactor of the divine rest of creation, but is also expected to be a participant in it. The Sabbath, the sabbatical year, and the Sabbath of sabbatical years, the Jubilee, recall the primordial rest in a form in which humans can share. The collective existence of Israel is to participate in the divine rest that consummates creation. The prophets make acts of benevolence a part of right and justice that God seeks. Jeremiah provides an itemized list of such deeds: “Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place” (Jer. 22:3). Justice and compassion are not distinguished in the call for righteousness: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other” (Zech. 7:9–10).
The divine response to Solomon’s prayer in the vision affirms both the election of the royal house and Jerusalem, and the necessity of maintaining the divine rest. God has placed his Name on Jerusalem forever (1 Kings 9:3); this idiom is used exclusively of the chosen place of worship and audience.37 Blessing and cursing elements present in ancient Near Eastern inscriptions were intended to preserve the building against the ravages of time and future neglect and to preserve the memory of the king. These elements are given a distinct function in Solomon’s vision.38 This vision does not concern itself with a future king who might find the building in ruins; the future of the temple and the dynasty depend on allegiance to God and his commandments.
The prophetic concept of God is unlike that of any other religion in ancient time. God is incomparable and incomprehensible, an unrivaled God that all nations are to know (8:60–61). This God demands absolute faithfulness, loyalty, and justice (Deut. 10:14–18). External symbols and rituals can never in themselves secure a relationship with such a God. Circumcision means nothing if there was not a “circumcision of the mind” (10:16), that loyal faithfulness to the covenant that shows complete trust and reverence of God. The external symbols are all designed to show that the God of the covenant cannot be comprehended. The little poem of Solomon (1 Kings 8:12–13) is a reminder of this fact; God dwells where none can see him, for a visible throne room distorts a comprehension of the King of kings.
The prophets believe they know God truly, since he has entered into covenant with them. But they never believe it is possible to know God fully. Finite humans can know their majestic God by analogy, such as the comparison to a king as one of his functions. Israel succumbed to the seduction of idolatry because they failed to understand the absolute nature of God.
The majestic and imposing structure of the temple with all its associated ritual can never be far from the minds of the covenant people. In addition to the regular daily ritual of the priests, in which burnt offering is made to God, lights are maintained, and incense is poured on the hot coals, there are the daily requirements for individual Israelites to observe the regulations of diet, cleanliness, and sacrifice for sins. There is always the danger that rituals become routine, performed without thought for their significance. The dedication of the temple is a reminder of this danger. Building the temple does not fulfill the requirements of the covenant, nor does the meticulous observance of all its associated ritual. All these are a means of confessing the holy and majestic God of the covenant and his involvement in every aspect of daily life.
Contemporary Significance
Contemporary Significance
TEMPLE THEOLOGY FOR the church. Paul describes Christians as those who have access into the presence of God the Father through Christ; peace has been proclaimed to those far and near from God (Eph. 2:16–18). God has brought all peoples together as fellow citizens. The church is described as a temple built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ is the cornerstone; he gives shape to this new edifice that rises as a holy sanctuary (vv. 19–22). In Christ Christians are built together as the new dwelling of God in the Spirit.
The Christian calling has a fundamental continuity with the function of the temple as expressed in Solomon’s dedication prayer. The temple was a manifestation of God’s elective choice of David and Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:16, 29; 9:3). God chose Zion to be his possession, and David was chosen to be ruler over God’s people Israel. The dedication prayer taught the ultimate sovereignty of God over both land and people. The temple was a focal point to which prayers could be made; God, whose temple was the heavens, would attend to his earthly temple night and day (vv. 28–29) and respond in mercy to the prayers of his people.
Solomon’s mission in building the temple was to memorialize and perpetuate the great works of Yahweh, the kingdom anticipated in the promise to David (2 Sam. 7; 1 Kings 8:60). The calling of the Christian church is to show the purpose of God for creation as it is accomplished in his world. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul begins with God’s desires before the cosmos came into being. God planned a family through adoption in Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:3–6a). God in time worked out this mystery, to bring all things together in Christ, earthly and heavenly (1:9–10). Those called to Christ are destined according to the purpose of the one who does all things according to the intent of his will, to be to the praise of his glory (1:11–12).
The fear of the apostle Paul is that Christians might not understand the significance of their calling in the world. In Ephesians, therefore, Paul prays that those in Christ might understand the hope of the Christian:
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Eph. 1:18–23)
Paul’s whole life was driven by the power of this divine purpose; this great calling belongs to all Christians just as much as it did to the apostle. Paul, the least of all saints by his own estimation, felt compelled to go to the ends of the earth in order to proclaim this great mystery that had been hidden in previous times (Eph. 3:8–9). For the apostle, God’s purpose in his choice of David and Jerusalem was but a partial revelation of the greater goal for creation. The proclamation of Solomon was a deeply veiled mystery of what God was doing in the world. Only the death and resurrection of Christ demonstrate how God is drawing all humankind to himself; the purpose of God is to be found in the church, whose reach is universal.
God’s plan for the church must be made known to the greatest of the powers and authorities, particularly those in opposition to God, including those that exercise authority beyond this earth. Again Paul prays fervently that believers might understand this great work within creation, which they represent:
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.39 (Eph. 3:14–19)
Belonging to the church demands that Christians learn to live in accordance with that calling, learning harmony and unity with each other (Eph. 4:1–3). Fundamentally, living as a Christian requires a new way of thinking (4:17–24). Outside of Christ human values are governed by self-interest, the deceit of greed; the apostle calls believers back to the renewal of the original image, righteousness and holiness as they have learned it in Christ (4:22–24). All divisions of humanity are bridged in Christ; all races and classes are brought into harmony, as they are transformed in knowledge according to God’s image (Col. 3:10–11).
Solomon called on God to show mercy to all who call on him, including those who did not belong to the nation (1 Kings 8:41–43). Israel must represent God’s kingdom in this world. Paul sees this kingdom as present across all national, ethnic, and cultural boundaries, through the transformation of mind. The peace of Christ is to rule in the lives of all those called to be one with him. The presence of the church is profoundly significant of that which the temple of Solomon is but a shadow. The temple declared God’s ownership of land and his covenant with Israel; the church rises as God’s holy temple in bringing all peoples in harmony as one household.
Discord within the church is a travesty. There is but one Spirit, one hope of the Christian calling, one God and Father of all, over all, through all, in all (Eph. 4:5–6). Failure to demonstrate this unity within the Christian community is a denial of the essence of the church; church leadership is to equip church members so they achieve the fullness of Christ in maturity (4:11–13). The temple declared the universality of God’s grace and love. One who was wronged could find justice (1 Kings 8:31–32); those from a faraway land who had heard of the fame of Yahweh could seek mercy (vv. 41–43); Israel exiled in a distant land could pray and God would hear (vv. 48–50).
The church is to manifest the peace of Christ everywhere that it has a presence. Dissension within the church betrays its calling. Solomon acknowledged that failure would happen to all and they would suffer the consequences (1 Kings 8:46); he prayed that God’s purpose for his inheritance might be preserved (vv. 51–53). The church, as the representation of God’s mercy and love, must learn to forgive and show mercy just as they have received it (Eph. 4:32; 5:1–2).
Creation theology. With the dedication of the temple God had granted rest according to all that he had promised (1 Kings 8:56). The rest of the people of Israel testified to God’s sovereign control of creation and fulfillment of redemption in the lives of the people of Israel. The celebration of the temple dedication on the festival of the New Year testified to the order and beauty of creation, as well as the progress of redemption. Christians need to celebrate both; Christians celebrate redemption on Sunday services and on special events such as Easter, but they often lack a corresponding confession to the beauty of creation. The restoration of creation is an important theme in relation to redemption. The apostle consciously links creation coming to its rest with the redemption of God’s people:
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Rom. 8:20–21)
The exhortation to live in the hope of a future redemption in which creation itself will be liberated from its present bondage is also a call to celebrate the beauty of creation in praise of the Creator. Christians of all people must be concerned about appropriately exercising dominion in the environment in which they live. Their responsibility, as those renewed in mind in the image of the Creator, is to live in his creation in a way that will respect the beauty of creation to the glory of the Creator.
Joseph Sittler declared the theological responsibility to ecological consciousness long before the first Earth Day celebration. He urged that environmental ethics should take its cue from the first question of the Westminster Catechism in the Calvinist tradition. “What is the chief end of man [and woman]? To glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” The motivation for attention to environmental concerns is the delight of all the manifestations of God’s glory in the natural world around us. Christian concern for the environment should not begin with the paralyzing fear of environmental catastrophe (as eminent as it might be), nor with crippling guilt over the human abuse of creation (as dreadful as it might be), but with the joy of living in God’s world. Drawing on Augustine’s distinction between what humans can “use” and what they can “enjoy,” Sittler argues that in matters of ecological responsibility delight is the basis of right use.
The call to celebrate the beauty of creation was a central theme in the theology of Jonathan Edwards. It was his conviction that the natural world is a communication of God’s glory that should fill us all with desire. Edward Parley goes so far as to say that in the work of Jonathan Edwards, “beauty is more central and more pervasive than in any other text in the history of Christian theology.”40 Humans have a particular capacity for joy at the marvel of creation and have a supreme role in the task of giving God glory along with the rest of the natural world (Ps. 8). Edwards understood the Christian to have a renewed capacity to sense the marvel of creation as one of the graces of receiving salvation.
Lane believes that in the thought of Edwards, divine grace included a renewed spiritual capacity to understand the magnificence of the natural world and a more integrated ability to perceive reality through the ordinary channels of sense experience.
For Jonathan Edwards, creation functions as a school of desire, training regenerate human beings in the intimate sensory apprehension of God’s glory mirrored in the beauty of the world. Humans are to respond, in turn, by articulating that glory, bringing it to full consciousness, and by replicating God’s own disposition to communicate beauty as they extend the act of beautifying to the world around them. In other words, the natural world enlarges the human capacity to sense the fullness of God’s beauty and the appreciation of that beauty subsequently leads to ethical action. Nature teaches us God’s beauty which in turn drives us to its continual replication in time and space.41
The annual observance of Earth Day may be an occasion to remind Christians that their faith calls them to make confession of their Creator, as Israel did in the great fall festival of the seventh month, and of the rest that they have come to enjoy in Christ. Janet Schaeffler suggests that it might be good for us to become backyard biologists.42 In your own backyard, mark off an area six feet square, preferably including a bush, a tree, or flowers, along with grass or bare soil. Make use of a magnifying glass, notebooks, and pencils to record the wonder of nature in this small area of God’s creation. Be as thorough as you can. What plants do you find? What kinds of animals? What evidence do you find of creatures that may have passed through this area?
Another suggestion Schaeffler makes is to greet the rising sun. Find a place where you can see the sunrise clearly (this does require getting up before the sun). Each time you see a new color in the sky, thank God for something beautiful. Continue with new and different ideas until the sun is shining brightly, and then head to breakfast with a smile of thanksgiving on your face. (Because looking directly at the sun can damage vision, be sure to look at the sky around the sun or use approved sun blockers.) Or gather the family together to catch the setting sun, the sun’s “closing act.” Talk about how the power of the sun reflects the greatness of God.
Marvel too at the wonders of the night; go on a stargazing trip with your family, it can be in your own backyard.43 Family celebrations should also include ceremony; this might include reading aloud the story of creation (Gen. 1:1–2:4) or a poem from Scripture that thanks God for the beauty of the earth (Ps. 8; 100; 150) or for the marvels of creation (Job 38:1–21; 22–38) and its creatures (38:39–39:30). Song, dance, poetry, or some other form of art can be used to express praise, or compose a prayer that expresses gratitude for the wonders of creation.
Justice and social order. For Israel, order within creation included justice; proper social order was an essential aspect of dominion over creation as the representatives of God. The essence of the covenant oath was to act with justice. Repeatedly Solomon in his prayer asks that God remember his oath with Israel and act with justice (1 Kings 8:49, 59). Solomon does not ask that God “maintain their cause” (KJV, NRSV), which suggests partiality to Israel and misrepresents God; Yahweh was known for justice (Deut. 32:4; Isa. 61:8).
Covenant justice required just actions within society and between nations (Deut. 10:17–21). Justice began with fairness to individual people; the temple was the place of justice in the settlement of disputes between individuals (1 Kings 8:31–32). The rest of Israel was a sign of justice and peace; in the doxology of his prayer Solomon made God’s faithfulness the basis of covenant fidelity (8:56–58). Sabbath observance was the essential sign of creation rest, observance of justice, and conformity to the covenant. Isaiah made it the central observance of all who would be joined to God and his people (Isa. 56:4–8). As Isaiah declared, the temple was a house of prayer for all people who loved the name of the Lord.
Sabbath observance moved from Saturday to Sunday for good early Christian reasons, but modern Christians must not neglect Sabbath. Martin Marty makes reference to Jewish interpretation in his exhortation to Christians to keep the Sabbath as a call to justice.44 In Israel the climax of Sabbath rest was reached in the Jubilee year (šenat hayyôbēl), times for enacting social justice and freeing the earth from human exploitation. The Sabbaths are to be times of release from attachments and habits, addictions and idolatries. Marty quotes Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (who later marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. against racism and the Vietnam War), who wrote following the Holocaust and Hiroshima, both grotesque mockeries of creation:
To set apart one day a week for freedom, a day on which we would not use the instruments which have been so easily turned into weapons of destruction, a day for being with ourselves, a day of detachment from the vulgar, of independence of external obligations, a day on which we use no money … on which [humanity] avows [its] independence of that which is the world’s chief idol … a day of armistice in the economic struggle with our fellow [humans] and the forces of nature—is there any institution that holds out a greater hope for humanity’s progress than the Sabbath?45
Image of God and idolatry. For modern Christians, just as for Old Testament saints, constant vigilance is required to fulfill the purpose of mortals in showing the glory of God within creation, his true temple. The predisposition of Israel was to reduce God to the level of the gods of other religions (1 Kings 9:6–9); the exalted temple, representing the God of all nations, would then become the ridicule of the nations. Justice for Israel was to command the reverence of all nations in giving honor to Yahweh alone (8:43, 60). Abandoning God happened as soon as he was equated with gods of human conception (9:9). The same kind of reduction happens in contemporary thought. The term God is often used to refer to the impersonal (God does not communicate) or deistic (God has no involvement with earthly events). Any concept of God that is impersonal or deistic is not a biblical concept of God and is nothing more than human philosophizing.
The Creator of the universe made his representative image (humans) personal just as he is a person. A personal relationship assumes an awareness of self, an ability to expect respect and commitment from other individuals, and a willingness to show respect by keeping commitments. It is these two qualities that are emphasized about God. God has chosen to mediate his rule of the world through people. David and his people had a special function in this rule, because they were to make the name of God great (8:16, 25, 43, 60; 9:4–5). The church is the successor to the purpose of God in choosing David and Jerusalem; the calling of the church is to make the name of Christ known among all nations so that every knee may bow before him (Phil. 2:11). That honor is not given when God is made something less than a person in his sovereignty over creation, or when Christ is made less than God in choosing to live as a human.
Idolatry as expressed in the vision to Solomon has its origin in the mind. It is not so much a denial of God as a distortion, fashioning God in the ways of other religions or philosophies. Such idolatries may lead to worship of creation rather than the Creator, or they may lead to greed and the destruction of creation. Unhappily, such idolatries have been all too common among confessing Christians, just as they were in Israel. Solomon’s prayers for forgiveness for such failures are most pertinent.
The renewal of the mind created after the image of God is not complete when a decision is made to believe in Christ. Putting off the old and putting on the new is a continual process (Eph. 4:17–24). Learning to know God must begin with his revelation of himself, uncompromised by other philosophies. Theology is of critical importance, as human thought is applied to understanding God in contemporary context. As in Israel, the danger is that those who would follow God may be self-deceived, so they do not even realize when they have become idolatrous.
The seduction of idolatry is evident in values destructive of creation or community. The symptoms of an inadequate concept of God are seen in the behavior of believers. Honor is given to God by delighting in his creation; wonder at the beauty of the earth is the basis for the right use of its resources. Exploitation of the earth for any reason is failure to know God, a sign of idolatry. Order in creation includes respect and honor to other individuals, the exercise of justice in all relationships. Equity must be a priority if respect is to be given to the Creator whose purpose is to bring rest to creation.
Indifference to justice is idolatry, a misrepresentation of who God is as a person. Idolatry is quite readily identified in serving mammon, but it is no less real in disrespect of any of God’s creation or wrong done to other people. The evident examples of idolatry must not obscure the more subtle ways in which it is manifested. Christians must live with a renewed mind, clearly distinguished from the values of the “other nations” who do not know God.
Original Meaning
Dedication Prayer (8:22–53)
SOLOMON TAKES A position at the altar in front of all the people and begins his prayer of dedication. Standing with one’s hands spread toward heaven is a customary posture of prayer (v. 22), though Solomon is later said to have been kneeling (v. 54). The Chronicler reconciles the discrepancy by having Solomon stand and kneel, explaining that a special dais was created for the occasion (2 Chron. 6:12–13).
Kneeling and standing are both depicted as postures in prayer, often with palms opened.12 Standing before a seated deity signifies an attitude of readiness for service; kneeling or sitting depicts humility in the presence of the deity. Kneeling worshipers can be said to stand up in reference to divine service.13 Terms for posture in prayer signify disposition, not only the external position of the body. The open palm expresses petition (cf. Ex. 9:29).
Solomon prays before the assembled crowd in the presence of the altar (vv. 22, 54). Presumably this is the bronze altar in the court (v. 64), though it has not been previously mentioned in the furnishings of the temple made by Hiram. Japhet thinks that the prayer “before the altar of the LORD” means the altar in the inner court.14 Her argument is that the Chronicler changes the phrase to “before the court [ʿ azārâ],” inferring that the prayer takes place in the enclosure around the outer altar, because it is inconceivable to a later generation that the crowds could have been inside the temple. It is possible that Kings referred to the outer court.
The prayer emphasizes the loyal faithfulness of God in his covenant with those who are faithful (v. 23). “Covenant of love” is a paraphrase for loyalty; the Hebrew word ḥesed is used primarily to describe loyalty to a commitment made by oath. Complete faithfulness is one expression of love, one that is most critical in all relationships. Divine loyalty is evident in the promise to David already fulfilled (v. 24); Solomon’s prayer is that the divine promise might now be fulfilled in the continuity of David’s descendants on the throne (vv. 25–26). The covenant blessing is conditional on the faithfulness of the covenant partners; that is Solomon’s particular concern in this prayer, for there is no person who does not sin and incur divine wrath (v. 46). Solomon pleads for the temple to receive the divine mercy when the people pray.
The presence of God is not to be conceived as limited to the temple, since even the heavens cannot contain the Creator (v. 27); this is the place God has chosen for his “Name” (v. 29). A place for “the Name” is one of the distinguishing features of Deuteronomistic theology. Worship at other shrines continued as long as there was no one place for God to dwell (3:2); Solomon’s purpose is to build a central temple for “the Name” of God (8:17, 19). The Name is present as a guarantor of God’s intent to save; it is a declaration of his election of Jerusalem.15 Solomon prays that “the eyes of the LORD” will always be open to the place where petitions are made (vv. 29, 52). The temple gives testimony to the divine election of Jerusalem and the dynasty of David; it is the assurance that God is the guarantor of the covenant.
The sins Solomon mentions are all in relation to the curses that come with covenant violation. Yahweh had set before his people a blessing and a curse, life or death (Deut. 27:11–28:68; 30:15–18). Sin was defined fundamentally as a violation of the relationship established between two individuals. The covenant contained terms of a relationship with God and with fellow humans (5:1–22); its conditions were written on the tablets contained in the ark. Rupture of the terms of the relationship brought with it consequences of betrayed commitment.
In the prayer, seven petitions are intended to be representative of any future situation that the people of the covenant might encounter. These include a plea for justice (vv. 31–32), being struck by enemies (vv. 33–34), drought (vv. 35–36), famine and plague (vv. 37–40), mercy for the foreigner (vv. 41–43), war (vv. 44–45), and exile (vv. 46–53).
The first circumstance describes a dispute that cannot be resolved, leading the parties to give testimony by oath to determine guilt and innocence (vv. 31–32). A case of this type is theft, an example used in the giving of the covenant at Mount Sinai (Exod. 22:7–9). Someone might give a neighbor items for safekeeping (money or other valuables), which disappear. Justice is nothing less than full restoration. If the thief were caught, he would repay double; if no thief is found, guilt and innocence cannot be easily determined. In such cases oaths are taken before God and the person determined to be guilty pays double. Solomon’s first request is that justice might function as it should in the determination of guilt and innocence.
The petitions of Solomon make specific reference to the curses of Deuteronomy. One of the curses of covenant disobedience is that Israel will be struck by her enemies (v. 33; cf. Deut. 28:7, 25). This happened at numerous times, one of the most notable being the siege of Sennacherib, in which he left Hezekiah like a bird in a cage and deported thousands of captives (2 Kings 18:13–16). In that instance the king, with the encouragement of the prophet Isaiah, took the threatening letters of the Rabshakeh, went to the temple, and prayed to the God who sits between the cherubs (19:14–15). Immediately the prophet delivered an oracle assuring Hezekiah that the Assyrians would be defeated (19:21–28).
There may also come a time when no rain falls, when the sky turns to bronze and the earth to iron (1 Kings 8:35–36; cf. Deut. 28:23–24). Elijah the prophet places this curse on Ahab in the contest against Baal, the rider of the clouds, showing that Yahweh is in charge of the rain (1 Kings 17:1; 18:41–46). Famine, plague, hot dry winds, blight, and swarming grasshoppers are typical accompaniments of drought (8:37; cf. Deut. 28:21–22). Enemies will attack their fortified cities (1 Kings 8:37; cf. Deut. 28:52). War and illness are both matters of individual as well as national concern (1 Kings 8:38). God is the One who knows the inner attitude (8:39), the one who can forgive the truly penitent.
Knowledge of the covenant is the wisdom of Israel in the presence of all the nations (Deut. 4:6–8). There will be those from other nations who voluntarily join the society of the covenant. They no less than any others are the object of Solomon’s concern; his prayer is that they, in the same way as other Israelites, might find mercy before God (1 Kings 8:41–43). The nations may hold Yahweh in derision (Ps. 2:1–3), but this should not be taken as an absolute statement, only a general description of their rejection of God. Jonah’s great fear was that the Ninevites might respond in repentance, a fear that in fact became real (Jonah 4:2). It is fine for God to be merciful and compassionate, as the story of the golden calf made clear, but for this to extend even to Nineveh was too much for the reluctant prophet, who would rather die.
Solomon’s petition returns to the themes of war (8:44–45) and exile (8:46–53). In war the people experience God’s judgment (v. 45). Solomon prays that God may “uphold their cause.” This is an appropriate rendering of God’s acting on their case to give them justice. God made a commitment to his people at the time of the Exodus (cf. v. 53), so it is only appropriate to pray that God will act as their advocate in war. However, it may be impossible for God to defend his people in war because of their covenant violation.
Exile is the consequence of a ruptured relationship with God. The passage plays on the words “take captive” (šbh) and “turn” (šwb). These two words become virtual homonyms in their various forms. Captors may take them captive (šabûm šōbêhem) into an enemy land (8:46); if in the land where they were taken captive (nišbû) they turn in their minds (hēšîbû), turn (šābû), and make confession to God (vv. 47–48), if they turn (šabû) wholeheartedly to the city God has chosen, God may hear and forgive (vv. 49–50). Defeat by enemies is an evidence of sin and failure (v. 46); the only recourse in captivity is to turn back to God in repentance, remembering his covenant and his promise. God redeemed his people and made them his special possession at Mount Sinai (v. 53; cf. Ex. 19:5–6). Solomon’s prayer is that God’s work may be completed.
The prophetic concerns of a total exile are evident in the final two petitions of this prayer. Though it is not evident in translation, these petitions are distinguished by distinct formulas introducing a temporal circumstance (vv. 44, 46) and the consequent petition for mercy (vv. 45, 49).16 The situation of defeat in war has already been contemplated (vv. 33–34); it is now repeated (v. 44), with allusion to the curse of Deuteronomy (Deut. 28:36–37) that God may send them and their king into foreign territory. A petition for time of exile (1 Kings 8:46–53) follows that of being sent away in war (vv. 44–45). The curse of exile is described at length in the covenant (Deut. 28:64–68).
There were many exiles in the history of Israel, but complete destruction of Jerusalem and its temple will be the greatest challenge to faith. Solomon’s petitions look to the temple as a resource for faith; in a foreign land the people might remember the chosen place and pray (8:44, 48). The mention of land, city, and temple suggests a total destruction, not a partial exile (v. 48). The promise of the Exodus (v. 53) has to be reaffirmed. The petitions (vv. 45, 50) and the covenant promise (vv. 51–53) are particularly important in a time when the temple might no longer be present. Even then, prayer could be directed to God in heaven, who would hear and forgive.
Dedication Exhortation (8:54–61)
Bridging Contexts
THE TIME OF DEDICATION. Houses in ancient Israel were dedicated by taking up residence in them, probably amid festivities, rituals, and prayers. If someone had built a house but had not dedicated it (ḥanākô), he was not to go to war but to go back to his house, lest he die in battle and another dedicate it (yaḥnekennû; i.e., go to live in it; Deut. 20:5).26 A curse contained the converse of this dedication: One would build a house but not live in it (28:30). In similar fashion the temple is dedicated (wayyaḥnekû ʾet bêt yhwh) with the visible signs of glory indicating that God has taken up residence within it, accompanied by prayers, sacrifices, and celebrations (1 Kings 8:63). The placement of the ark in the Most Holy Place as the divine footstool is the most significant symbol of the divine Presence.
The dedication of the temple takes place during the major fall festival of Sukkoth (Booths or Tabernacles), a seven-day festival that required a pilgrimage to the central place of worship (Deut. 16:13–15). The seventh month marks the completion of the Israelite harvest, when landowners (heads of houses) could leave for a week without concern for fields or crops. It is probable, however, that there is a theological significance to celebration in the seventh month (possibly almost a year after the completion of the temple in the eighth month; cf. 1 Kings 6:38). Seven-day celebrations, either in the spring or in the fall, were associated with creation and temple building.27
Gudea, king of the Sumerian city of Lagash (twenty-second century B.C.) held a seven-day festival of dedication for the building of Eninnu, the temple of Ningirsu.28 Closer to Solomon, the building of the palace for the rule of Baal was a process of seven days.29 The tabernacle was set up at the time of the spring equinox (Ex. 40:2, 17); Jeroboam dedicated his temples during Tabernacles (1 Kings 12:32–33), and after the Exile the altar was reconstructed at the time of Tabernacles (Ezra 3:1–6). Though the Bible does not explicitly relate the festivals with creation, the associations are present and become the occasion for temple dedication.
The seven-day festivals in the spring and fall were in part a celebration of the new year, similar to other practices in the ancient Near East. In Babylon the akītu Festival of the New Year took place in the first eleven days of the vernal (spring) month of Nisan. On the fourth day the creation epic of Babylon, the Enuma Elish, was read—perhaps in order to reactualize the primordial events of the poem. The New Year’s festival was not just a calendrical milestone, but an actual renewal of the created world. Social, political, and natural chaos were closely associated and were never far away; the efficacious recitation of creation events brought hope for the coming New Year. The New Year’s celebrations in Israel were also associated with harvest and renewal and implicitly with creation itself. Levenson cites a debate between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua (both did their most important teaching about A.D. 80–120) concerning whether creation occurred during the fall festival (Tishri) or spring (Nisan).30
Rabbi Eliezer says, From what text do we know that it was in Tishri that the world was created? Because the Bible says, “And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees.…’” In what month does the earth put forth vegetation and the trees are full of fruit? You have to say that this is Tishri, and that period was the rainy season, so that the rains fell and caused vegetation to sprout, as the Bible says, “a flow would well up from the ground.”
Rabbi Joshua says, From what text do we know that it was in Nisan that the world was created? Because the Bible says, “The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants … and trees of every kind.” In what month is the earth full of vegetation and trees are bringing out fruit? You have to say that this is Nisan, and that period was the season when cattle and game and birds mate, as the Bible says, “The meadows are clothed with flocks, [the valleys mantled with grain].”
Name theology. The blessings and prayer spoken by Solomon express the theological significance that the temple is to have in the life of the nation. There are fourteen references to the name of God in Solomon’s prayer. In Deuteronomistic theology, God chose the temple as the place where his Name was to dwell. This theology of “the Name” is often regarded as a “demythologization” of the divine Presence. Whereas the divine glory filling the temple is thought to show that God himself dwelt there (8:1–14), the corrective taught that only the divine Name dwelt in the temple. The prayer locates God in heaven, which is interpreted to make him transcendent, invulnerable to any catastrophe that might affect his temple. The Name was regarded as a hypostasis of God, the very essence of him being present.
The ark of the covenant rested there, not as the footstool of God present on his throne but as a representation of the special legal bonding uniting God and Israel.31 The temple became the focal point for prayers; prayers uttered in the city, in the land of Israel, or outside the land were to be directed toward the temple. God’s eyes would be directed to the place where his Name dwelt. Under this interpretation the Name theology served to teach the transcendence of God and the centralization of worship. Farmers or soldiers did not need to resort to a local high place, since they could direct their prayers in the direction of the temple where God would hear.
The significance of a place for God’s Name to dwell must be examined more carefully. Idioms have to be understood within their own language context. In the English language the word “hand” connotes different things in various expressions. We may give someone a hand (for a job well done), give a hand to someone (for help needed), give a handout (to someone in need), or give a hand up (to help someone become self sufficient). Nothing in the expression itself can determine the significance of “hand,” nor can the meaning of hand in one of these idioms be used to determine its meaning in another. The distinct meaning in each expression is not shared with the others; the idioms are in no sense synonymous.
The significance of biblical Name theology must be related to similar expressions in other documents. The expression “to place the name” in the Amarna Letters, as has long been noted in Hebrew lexicons, signifies possession; it is an idiom for ownership.32 Just as the pharaoh owned Jerusalem by placing his name there (EA 287, 288), so Yahweh owned the temple. In a study of comparative linguistics and various biblical name idioms, R. de Vaux was able to show that the Name theology of Deuteronomy did not represent any transformation of the Israelite perception of the mode of divine Presence. He showed that there were four name idioms that were linked to the election formula of the biblical text: the place that Yahweh has chosen in order to establish his Name; the place where Yahweh has chosen to place his Name; the place over which the Name of Yahweh has been pronounced; the place where Yahweh has named his Name.33 De Vaux thought other expressions, such as “a place for the Name to be” and “to build a house for the Name,” did address the issue of God’s presence in the sanctuary.
Six of the references to “Name” in 1 Kings 8 come from the formula “to build a temple for the Name of the LORD” (vv. 17, 18, 19, 20, 44, 48). These are transparently quotations of the promise to Solomon, in which David is assured that his son will build a house and establish the kingdom (2 Sam. 7:13). Solomon is that son, so it is not surprising that this passage should be quoted frequently. The use of “the Name” in this promise is to establish a memorial in order to perpetuate a reputation.34
The Hebrew expression “to make a name” (ʿāśâ šēm) has much the same significance as in English (cf. Gen. 11:4). In the context of the promise, David will not build a house for Yahweh; rather, Yahweh will build a house for David; God will establish his dynasty and establish his name like that of the great ones who are in the earth (2 Sam. 7:9). As a result, the heir of David’s house (Solomon) is appointed to build a house (temple) for the Name (reputation) of Yahweh. The result, David acknowledges, is that God will make his own Name great forever (1 Kings 8:26–27). Normally a king established the legitimacy of his rule by building or refurbishing a temple to the god that had granted his power to rule. The presence of the temple will ensure the continuity of the divine Presence and the security of the throne.
David was denied this symbolic assurance, but in its place God granted a promise by oath as an assurance that his kingdom was secure forever. Building a house for the Name of God in the promise to David signified reputation, not divine Presence. The house built for David (the royal dynasty) and the house built for God (the temple) will perpetuate the renown of both.
The fame or reputation of Yahweh for those from outside of the land is also expressed three times in Solomon’s prayer (1 Kings 8:41–43). Others outside of Israel will have heard of God’s great works, his outstretched arm, and will pray toward the temple. Solomon also considers the times when the people will suffer the curse because of their sin and will make confession (acknowledgment) of the Name (vv. 33, 35). In these instances the Name is simply a euphemism for God himself.
In one occurrence in the prayer the Name idiom is used to express purpose involving the case of the foreigner (8:43): that all may know “that this house I have built bears your Name.” This expression is well known as signifying ownership by means of transference of property (e.g., 2 Sam. 12:28). In Deuteronomy this idiom communicates the elect nature of the people of Israel, whose redeemed state stands as a testimony to the nations of Yahweh’s power to save.35 In Solomon’s prayer it stands as a testimony to Yahweh’s power to save even those foreigners who come to the temple because of God’s reputation for saving acts.
The prayer of Solomon utilizes these Name idioms to make the temple the ultimate symbol of the essentials of the Israelite faith. Two times in the prayer Solomon says that the temple will be a house where God’s Name will be present (vv. 16, 29); this formula makes the temple the place that fulfills the Deuteronomic promise. The temple is the house that fulfills the Davidic promise; it is the elect place over which God’s Name is called; it is the place of covenant preservation, where God’s Name is acknowledged in confession and praise. The temple is the embodiment of the land promised to Israel and marked by God’s Name. The temple is the ultimate symbol of God’s relationship with Israel; it served to memorialize and perpetuate God’s great deeds of redemption amidst Israel and the nations. It is testimony to the reputation of Yahweh. The association between the election of Jerusalem and the election of David is made explicit in God’s choosing the temple as the place for Yahweh’s Name.
Theology of rest. In a concluding blessing Solomon declares that God has given rest to his people and that not a word of all the good things promised through Moses his servant has failed (8:56). This important confession is articulated in Joshua; rest was the consequence of Israel’s inheriting the land, the uncompromised fulfillment of all God promised (Josh. 21:43–45; 23:1, 14). The temple is declared to be God’s resting place; following David’s relentless effort to restore the ark to its proper place, God is called to rise at his resting place (Ps. 132:8). God in turn avers to David that Zion, the temple mount and the seat of the divine throne, will be his resting place for all time (132:13–14). Not only the temple, but the whole land can be declared to be the place of God’s rest (95:11). The concept of the land being God’s resting place prompts David to seek to build a temple for God (2 Sam. 7:1). The mercies shown to him are the foundation of the hope of the nation (Ps. 89:1–4).
Divine rest is interpreted in two ways: Sabbath is to be observed in order to remember that Israel was delivered from the house of bondage in Egypt (Deut. 5:15) and to declare that Yahweh made the heavens and earth in six days (Ex. 20:11). Divine rest at creation was a declaration that the forces of chaos had been conquered. This victory served to ensure that the sure mercies promised to David would endure forever:
You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.
You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
Your arm is endued with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you. (Ps. 89:10–15)
The two interpretations of the Sabbath are in reality the same. Divine rest at creation not only signified the conquest of disorder, but also the establishment of justice and righteousness, the love and loyalty that were part of the covenant mercies to David. Sabbath was the central focus of the creation story (Gen. 2:1–3). The rest of God demonstrated that creative activity was complete and that the work of the Creator was perfect; further, “the explicit portrayal of the creator sleeping functioned as a statement of the deity’s status as the supreme ruler of heaven and earth. The ability to sleep undisturbed was the symbol of the deity’s absolute dominion over the heavens and the earth and the underworld.”36 In ancient Near Eastern creation stories this dominion included the provision of freedom: the emancipation of slaves, the repatriation of captives, restoration of land to the original owners, and provision of land for the poor. In the same way the Psalms declare that justice and right belong to the peace of creation:
For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses. (Ps. 33:4–7)
Israel is not only the benefactor of the divine rest of creation, but is also expected to be a participant in it. The Sabbath, the sabbatical year, and the Sabbath of sabbatical years, the Jubilee, recall the primordial rest in a form in which humans can share. The collective existence of Israel is to participate in the divine rest that consummates creation. The prophets make acts of benevolence a part of right and justice that God seeks. Jeremiah provides an itemized list of such deeds: “Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place” (Jer. 22:3). Justice and compassion are not distinguished in the call for righteousness: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other” (Zech. 7:9–10).
The divine response to Solomon’s prayer in the vision affirms both the election of the royal house and Jerusalem, and the necessity of maintaining the divine rest. God has placed his Name on Jerusalem forever (1 Kings 9:3); this idiom is used exclusively of the chosen place of worship and audience.37 Blessing and cursing elements present in ancient Near Eastern inscriptions were intended to preserve the building against the ravages of time and future neglect and to preserve the memory of the king. These elements are given a distinct function in Solomon’s vision.38 This vision does not concern itself with a future king who might find the building in ruins; the future of the temple and the dynasty depend on allegiance to God and his commandments.
The prophetic concept of God is unlike that of any other religion in ancient time. God is incomparable and incomprehensible, an unrivaled God that all nations are to know (8:60–61). This God demands absolute faithfulness, loyalty, and justice (Deut. 10:14–18). External symbols and rituals can never in themselves secure a relationship with such a God. Circumcision means nothing if there was not a “circumcision of the mind” (10:16), that loyal faithfulness to the covenant that shows complete trust and reverence of God. The external symbols are all designed to show that the God of the covenant cannot be comprehended. The little poem of Solomon (1 Kings 8:12–13) is a reminder of this fact; God dwells where none can see him, for a visible throne room distorts a comprehension of the King of kings.
The prophets believe they know God truly, since he has entered into covenant with them. But they never believe it is possible to know God fully. Finite humans can know their majestic God by analogy, such as the comparison to a king as one of his functions. Israel succumbed to the seduction of idolatry because they failed to understand the absolute nature of God.
The majestic and imposing structure of the temple with all its associated ritual can never be far from the minds of the covenant people. In addition to the regular daily ritual of the priests, in which burnt offering is made to God, lights are maintained, and incense is poured on the hot coals, there are the daily requirements for individual Israelites to observe the regulations of diet, cleanliness, and sacrifice for sins. There is always the danger that rituals become routine, performed without thought for their significance. The dedication of the temple is a reminder of this danger. Building the temple does not fulfill the requirements of the covenant, nor does the meticulous observance of all its associated ritual. All these are a means of confessing the holy and majestic God of the covenant and his involvement in every aspect of daily life.
Contemporary Significance
Contemporary Significance
TEMPLE THEOLOGY FOR the church. Paul describes Christians as those who have access into the presence of God the Father through Christ; peace has been proclaimed to those far and near from God (Eph. 2:16–18). God has brought all peoples together as fellow citizens. The church is described as a temple built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ is the cornerstone; he gives shape to this new edifice that rises as a holy sanctuary (vv. 19–22). In Christ Christians are built together as the new dwelling of God in the Spirit.
The Christian calling has a fundamental continuity with the function of the temple as expressed in Solomon’s dedication prayer. The temple was a manifestation of God’s elective choice of David and Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:16, 29; 9:3). God chose Zion to be his possession, and David was chosen to be ruler over God’s people Israel. The dedication prayer taught the ultimate sovereignty of God over both land and people. The temple was a focal point to which prayers could be made; God, whose temple was the heavens, would attend to his earthly temple night and day (vv. 28–29) and respond in mercy to the prayers of his people.
Solomon’s mission in building the temple was to memorialize and perpetuate the great works of Yahweh, the kingdom anticipated in the promise to David (2 Sam. 7; 1 Kings 8:60). The calling of the Christian church is to show the purpose of God for creation as it is accomplished in his world. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul begins with God’s desires before the cosmos came into being. God planned a family through adoption in Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:3–6a). God in time worked out this mystery, to bring all things together in Christ, earthly and heavenly (1:9–10). Those called to Christ are destined according to the purpose of the one who does all things according to the intent of his will, to be to the praise of his glory (1:11–12).
The fear of the apostle Paul is that Christians might not understand the significance of their calling in the world. In Ephesians, therefore, Paul prays that those in Christ might understand the hope of the Christian:
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Eph. 1:18–23)
Paul’s whole life was driven by the power of this divine purpose; this great calling belongs to all Christians just as much as it did to the apostle. Paul, the least of all saints by his own estimation, felt compelled to go to the ends of the earth in order to proclaim this great mystery that had been hidden in previous times (Eph. 3:8–9). For the apostle, God’s purpose in his choice of David and Jerusalem was but a partial revelation of the greater goal for creation. The proclamation of Solomon was a deeply veiled mystery of what God was doing in the world. Only the death and resurrection of Christ demonstrate how God is drawing all humankind to himself; the purpose of God is to be found in the church, whose reach is universal.
God’s plan for the church must be made known to the greatest of the powers and authorities, particularly those in opposition to God, including those that exercise authority beyond this earth. Again Paul prays fervently that believers might understand this great work within creation, which they represent:
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.39 (Eph. 3:14–19)
Belonging to the church demands that Christians learn to live in accordance with that calling, learning harmony and unity with each other (Eph. 4:1–3). Fundamentally, living as a Christian requires a new way of thinking (4:17–24). Outside of Christ human values are governed by self-interest, the deceit of greed; the apostle calls believers back to the renewal of the original image, righteousness and holiness as they have learned it in Christ (4:22–24). All divisions of humanity are bridged in Christ; all races and classes are brought into harmony, as they are transformed in knowledge according to God’s image (Col. 3:10–11).
Solomon called on God to show mercy to all who call on him, including those who did not belong to the nation (1 Kings 8:41–43). Israel must represent God’s kingdom in this world. Paul sees this kingdom as present across all national, ethnic, and cultural boundaries, through the transformation of mind. The peace of Christ is to rule in the lives of all those called to be one with him. The presence of the church is profoundly significant of that which the temple of Solomon is but a shadow. The temple declared God’s ownership of land and his covenant with Israel; the church rises as God’s holy temple in bringing all peoples in harmony as one household.
Discord within the church is a travesty. There is but one Spirit, one hope of the Christian calling, one God and Father of all, over all, through all, in all (Eph. 4:5–6). Failure to demonstrate this unity within the Christian community is a denial of the essence of the church; church leadership is to equip church members so they achieve the fullness of Christ in maturity (4:11–13). The temple declared the universality of God’s grace and love. One who was wronged could find justice (1 Kings 8:31–32); those from a faraway land who had heard of the fame of Yahweh could seek mercy (vv. 41–43); Israel exiled in a distant land could pray and God would hear (vv. 48–50).
The church is to manifest the peace of Christ everywhere that it has a presence. Dissension within the church betrays its calling. Solomon acknowledged that failure would happen to all and they would suffer the consequences (1 Kings 8:46); he prayed that God’s purpose for his inheritance might be preserved (vv. 51–53). The church, as the representation of God’s mercy and love, must learn to forgive and show mercy just as they have received it (Eph. 4:32; 5:1–2).
Creation theology. With the dedication of the temple God had granted rest according to all that he had promised (1 Kings 8:56). The rest of the people of Israel testified to God’s sovereign control of creation and fulfillment of redemption in the lives of the people of Israel. The celebration of the temple dedication on the festival of the New Year testified to the order and beauty of creation, as well as the progress of redemption. Christians need to celebrate both; Christians celebrate redemption on Sunday services and on special events such as Easter, but they often lack a corresponding confession to the beauty of creation. The restoration of creation is an important theme in relation to redemption. The apostle consciously links creation coming to its rest with the redemption of God’s people:
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Rom. 8:20–21)
The exhortation to live in the hope of a future redemption in which creation itself will be liberated from its present bondage is also a call to celebrate the beauty of creation in praise of the Creator. Christians of all people must be concerned about appropriately exercising dominion in the environment in which they live. Their responsibility, as those renewed in mind in the image of the Creator, is to live in his creation in a way that will respect the beauty of creation to the glory of the Creator.
Joseph Sittler declared the theological responsibility to ecological consciousness long before the first Earth Day celebration. He urged that environmental ethics should take its cue from the first question of the Westminster Catechism in the Calvinist tradition. “What is the chief end of man [and woman]? To glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” The motivation for attention to environmental concerns is the delight of all the manifestations of God’s glory in the natural world around us. Christian concern for the environment should not begin with the paralyzing fear of environmental catastrophe (as eminent as it might be), nor with crippling guilt over the human abuse of creation (as dreadful as it might be), but with the joy of living in God’s world. Drawing on Augustine’s distinction between what humans can “use” and what they can “enjoy,” Sittler argues that in matters of ecological responsibility delight is the basis of right use.
The call to celebrate the beauty of creation was a central theme in the theology of Jonathan Edwards. It was his conviction that the natural world is a communication of God’s glory that should fill us all with desire. Edward Parley goes so far as to say that in the work of Jonathan Edwards, “beauty is more central and more pervasive than in any other text in the history of Christian theology.”40 Humans have a particular capacity for joy at the marvel of creation and have a supreme role in the task of giving God glory along with the rest of the natural world (Ps. 8). Edwards understood the Christian to have a renewed capacity to sense the marvel of creation as one of the graces of receiving salvation.
Lane believes that in the thought of Edwards, divine grace included a renewed spiritual capacity to understand the magnificence of the natural world and a more integrated ability to perceive reality through the ordinary channels of sense experience.
For Jonathan Edwards, creation functions as a school of desire, training regenerate human beings in the intimate sensory apprehension of God’s glory mirrored in the beauty of the world. Humans are to respond, in turn, by articulating that glory, bringing it to full consciousness, and by replicating God’s own disposition to communicate beauty as they extend the act of beautifying to the world around them. In other words, the natural world enlarges the human capacity to sense the fullness of God’s beauty and the appreciation of that beauty subsequently leads to ethical action. Nature teaches us God’s beauty which in turn drives us to its continual replication in time and space.41
The annual observance of Earth Day may be an occasion to remind Christians that their faith calls them to make confession of their Creator, as Israel did in the great fall festival of the seventh month, and of the rest that they have come to enjoy in Christ. Janet Schaeffler suggests that it might be good for us to become backyard biologists.42 In your own backyard, mark off an area six feet square, preferably including a bush, a tree, or flowers, along with grass or bare soil. Make use of a magnifying glass, notebooks, and pencils to record the wonder of nature in this small area of God’s creation. Be as thorough as you can. What plants do you find? What kinds of animals? What evidence do you find of creatures that may have passed through this area?
Another suggestion Schaeffler makes is to greet the rising sun. Find a place where you can see the sunrise clearly (this does require getting up before the sun). Each time you see a new color in the sky, thank God for something beautiful. Continue with new and different ideas until the sun is shining brightly, and then head to breakfast with a smile of thanksgiving on your face. (Because looking directly at the sun can damage vision, be sure to look at the sky around the sun or use approved sun blockers.) Or gather the family together to catch the setting sun, the sun’s “closing act.” Talk about how the power of the sun reflects the greatness of God.
Marvel too at the wonders of the night; go on a stargazing trip with your family, it can be in your own backyard.43 Family celebrations should also include ceremony; this might include reading aloud the story of creation (Gen. 1:1–2:4) or a poem from Scripture that thanks God for the beauty of the earth (Ps. 8; 100; 150) or for the marvels of creation (Job 38:1–21; 22–38) and its creatures (38:39–39:30). Song, dance, poetry, or some other form of art can be used to express praise, or compose a prayer that expresses gratitude for the wonders of creation.
Justice and social order. For Israel, order within creation included justice; proper social order was an essential aspect of dominion over creation as the representatives of God. The essence of the covenant oath was to act with justice. Repeatedly Solomon in his prayer asks that God remember his oath with Israel and act with justice (1 Kings 8:49, 59). Solomon does not ask that God “maintain their cause” (KJV, NRSV), which suggests partiality to Israel and misrepresents God; Yahweh was known for justice (Deut. 32:4; Isa. 61:8).
Covenant justice required just actions within society and between nations (Deut. 10:17–21). Justice began with fairness to individual people; the temple was the place of justice in the settlement of disputes between individuals (1 Kings 8:31–32). The rest of Israel was a sign of justice and peace; in the doxology of his prayer Solomon made God’s faithfulness the basis of covenant fidelity (8:56–58). Sabbath observance was the essential sign of creation rest, observance of justice, and conformity to the covenant. Isaiah made it the central observance of all who would be joined to God and his people (Isa. 56:4–8). As Isaiah declared, the temple was a house of prayer for all people who loved the name of the Lord.
Sabbath observance moved from Saturday to Sunday for good early Christian reasons, but modern Christians must not neglect Sabbath. Martin Marty makes reference to Jewish interpretation in his exhortation to Christians to keep the Sabbath as a call to justice.44 In Israel the climax of Sabbath rest was reached in the Jubilee year (šenat hayyôbēl), times for enacting social justice and freeing the earth from human exploitation. The Sabbaths are to be times of release from attachments and habits, addictions and idolatries. Marty quotes Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (who later marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. against racism and the Vietnam War), who wrote following the Holocaust and Hiroshima, both grotesque mockeries of creation:
To set apart one day a week for freedom, a day on which we would not use the instruments which have been so easily turned into weapons of destruction, a day for being with ourselves, a day of detachment from the vulgar, of independence of external obligations, a day on which we use no money … on which [humanity] avows [its] independence of that which is the world’s chief idol … a day of armistice in the economic struggle with our fellow [humans] and the forces of nature—is there any institution that holds out a greater hope for humanity’s progress than the Sabbath?45
Image of God and idolatry. For modern Christians, just as for Old Testament saints, constant vigilance is required to fulfill the purpose of mortals in showing the glory of God within creation, his true temple. The predisposition of Israel was to reduce God to the level of the gods of other religions (1 Kings 9:6–9); the exalted temple, representing the God of all nations, would then become the ridicule of the nations. Justice for Israel was to command the reverence of all nations in giving honor to Yahweh alone (8:43, 60). Abandoning God happened as soon as he was equated with gods of human conception (9:9). The same kind of reduction happens in contemporary thought. The term God is often used to refer to the impersonal (God does not communicate) or deistic (God has no involvement with earthly events). Any concept of God that is impersonal or deistic is not a biblical concept of God and is nothing more than human philosophizing.
The Creator of the universe made his representative image (humans) personal just as he is a person. A personal relationship assumes an awareness of self, an ability to expect respect and commitment from other individuals, and a willingness to show respect by keeping commitments. It is these two qualities that are emphasized about God. God has chosen to mediate his rule of the world through people. David and his people had a special function in this rule, because they were to make the name of God great (8:16, 25, 43, 60; 9:4–5). The church is the successor to the purpose of God in choosing David and Jerusalem; the calling of the church is to make the name of Christ known among all nations so that every knee may bow before him (Phil. 2:11). That honor is not given when God is made something less than a person in his sovereignty over creation, or when Christ is made less than God in choosing to live as a human.
Idolatry as expressed in the vision to Solomon has its origin in the mind. It is not so much a denial of God as a distortion, fashioning God in the ways of other religions or philosophies. Such idolatries may lead to worship of creation rather than the Creator, or they may lead to greed and the destruction of creation. Unhappily, such idolatries have been all too common among confessing Christians, just as they were in Israel. Solomon’s prayers for forgiveness for such failures are most pertinent.
The renewal of the mind created after the image of God is not complete when a decision is made to believe in Christ. Putting off the old and putting on the new is a continual process (Eph. 4:17–24). Learning to know God must begin with his revelation of himself, uncompromised by other philosophies. Theology is of critical importance, as human thought is applied to understanding God in contemporary context. As in Israel, the danger is that those who would follow God may be self-deceived, so they do not even realize when they have become idolatrous.
The seduction of idolatry is evident in values destructive of creation or community. The symptoms of an inadequate concept of God are seen in the behavior of believers. Honor is given to God by delighting in his creation; wonder at the beauty of the earth is the basis for the right use of its resources. Exploitation of the earth for any reason is failure to know God, a sign of idolatry. Order in creation includes respect and honor to other individuals, the exercise of justice in all relationships. Equity must be a priority if respect is to be given to the Creator whose purpose is to bring rest to creation.
Indifference to justice is idolatry, a misrepresentation of who God is as a person. Idolatry is quite readily identified in serving mammon, but it is no less real in disrespect of any of God’s creation or wrong done to other people. The evident examples of idolatry must not obscure the more subtle ways in which it is manifested. Christians must live with a renewed mind, clearly distinguished from the values of the “other nations” who do not know God.
Original Meaning
Installation of the Ark (7:51b–8:13)
AFTER THE BUILDING’S completion, its function as a temple must be established. The articles dedicated to God by a vow are brought to its treasuries (7:51b), and the ark is placed in the Most Holy Place. David devoted to sacred use gifts he had received and the spoils of war (2 Sam. 8:10–11). He also brought to Jerusalem the sacred chest called the “ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim” (1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Sam. 6:2; 1 Chron. 13:6). The “song of the ark” in the days of the wilderness gave testimony to its function (Num. 10:35–36). When the ark set out, Moses would say, “Rise up, O LORD! May your enemies be scattered,” and when it halted he would say, “Return O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel.” When the priests bring the ark into Solomon’s sanctuary, the glory of the divine presence takes possession of it (1 Kings 8:11), just as the glory accompanied it in the desert.
Ceremony is the means by which ordinary objects receive sacred significance. The prophets regularly ridiculed the worship of idols made by human hands (Isa. 40:19–20; Hab. 2:18–19), because the gods supposedly present in the idol either had no real existence or were insignificant before Yahweh in his holy temple (Hab. 2:20).
In ancient Near Eastern ideology, the idol did not represent the presence of the god until the appropriate ceremony had taken place. This was accomplished through an “opening (or washing) of the mouth” ceremony, which may have been a cultic reenactment of the birth of the deity in heaven.4 It was not sufficient merely to fashion an image; while in the sculptor’s workshop (the “gold house”), the work of human hands was thought to come alive making the organs serviceable.5 The dark niche in the temple, accessible only to the priest, was the home of the image and the residence of the god. At festivals, such as the coronation of the monarch, the deity would “appear”; that is, its image would leave the sanctuary and be carried by priests in a shrine on a barque.6 In Coptic the word “festival” was actually derived from the word “to appear.” The appearance of the deity was the central element of the festival.
Solomon assembles the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, the ancestral chieftains to bring the ark up to the temple (8:1). Several groups of people are distinguished: the ordinary people are brought together with their leaders, while the priests actually carry the ark (8:2–3).
The ark processional takes place in the seventh month. Since the temple was completed in the eighth month (6:38), the inauguration of the temple seems to be almost a year later. Perhaps the feast began in the seventh month, but temple building and ceremonies actually conclude in the eighth month, since the festival is extended an extra seven days, with dismissal on the eighth day (cf. vv. 65–66). It is also possible that there are calendar changes, or even different calendars, as was certainly true at later times. The name of the month (Ethanim, meaning “constant flow,” referring to the fall rains) is an old Canaanite name (the seventh month is usually called by its Babylonian name, Tishri); the ancient name probably belongs to the historical record.
The ark and the “Tent of Meeting” are brought up to the temple—the former to be put in the sacred throne room, the latter to be stored with the other sacred items. “Tent of Meeting” is the name used in Exodus to indicate the function of the building (e.g., Ex. 27:21), which was otherwise simply referred to as the dwelling indicating the divine Presence (e.g., 26:1).7 When the Israelites entered the land, the tabernacle was set up at Shiloh (Josh. 18:1), and it was apparently also at Gibeon (2 Chron. 1:3–4). When David conquered Jerusalem and made it the capital, he made this location the place of worship (2 Sam. 6:17). With the building of the temple that tabernacle has no further function but is kept as a sacred treasure.
When the ark is placed beneath the cherubs, the poles are still visible (1 Kings 8:8). The details are insufficient to understand what is meant; if the ark is positioned with the long side across the front of the throne as a footstool, the poles would be at right angles to the length of the building. In this case, the visibility of the poles must be an allusion to a veil, which stands in front of the throne itself to shield the presence of the holy King from the priest as he enters. Such a veil was a part of the Most Holy Place (Ex. 26:31–34). If this is what is described, the poles are visible at the edges of the curtain as the priest comes through the doors into the Most Holy Place.8 Gray thinks the verse is saying that the poles can be seen as the priest enters, but the ends of the poles cannot be seen because of the narrowness of the door.9 Cogan thinks the ark is placed in an east-west orientation so the poles are visible.10 The significant point is that the poles, as a permanent fixture, indicate the presence of the ark (Ex. 25:15). The ark contains only the tablets of the covenant (cf. Ex. 25:21; Deut. 10:5). The pot of manna (Ex. 16:33) and the branch of Aaron that budded (Num. 17:10) are also sacred objects associated with the temple or Holy Place, but are never said to be actually inside the ark in the Old Testament.
The ark is set in the Most Holy Place in thick darkness. A poem recited by Solomon celebrates the significance of this “magnificent temple” (vv. 12–13). God’s temple is the heavens (8:39, 43, 49), but the Most Holy Place with the ark and the cherubs now represent his heavenly temple. In ancient temples the cella of the shrine where the statue resided was referred to as the dwelling place of the god.
Patronage of David (8:14–21)
Bridging Contexts
THE TIME OF DEDICATION. Houses in ancient Israel were dedicated by taking up residence in them, probably amid festivities, rituals, and prayers. If someone had built a house but had not dedicated it (ḥanākô), he was not to go to war but to go back to his house, lest he die in battle and another dedicate it (yaḥnekennû; i.e., go to live in it; Deut. 20:5).26 A curse contained the converse of this dedication: One would build a house but not live in it (28:30). In similar fashion the temple is dedicated (wayyaḥnekû ʾet bêt yhwh) with the visible signs of glory indicating that God has taken up residence within it, accompanied by prayers, sacrifices, and celebrations (1 Kings 8:63). The placement of the ark in the Most Holy Place as the divine footstool is the most significant symbol of the divine Presence.
The dedication of the temple takes place during the major fall festival of Sukkoth (Booths or Tabernacles), a seven-day festival that required a pilgrimage to the central place of worship (Deut. 16:13–15). The seventh month marks the completion of the Israelite harvest, when landowners (heads of houses) could leave for a week without concern for fields or crops. It is probable, however, that there is a theological significance to celebration in the seventh month (possibly almost a year after the completion of the temple in the eighth month; cf. 1 Kings 6:38). Seven-day celebrations, either in the spring or in the fall, were associated with creation and temple building.27
Gudea, king of the Sumerian city of Lagash (twenty-second century B.C.) held a seven-day festival of dedication for the building of Eninnu, the temple of Ningirsu.28 Closer to Solomon, the building of the palace for the rule of Baal was a process of seven days.29 The tabernacle was set up at the time of the spring equinox (Ex. 40:2, 17); Jeroboam dedicated his temples during Tabernacles (1 Kings 12:32–33), and after the Exile the altar was reconstructed at the time of Tabernacles (Ezra 3:1–6). Though the Bible does not explicitly relate the festivals with creation, the associations are present and become the occasion for temple dedication.
The seven-day festivals in the spring and fall were in part a celebration of the new year, similar to other practices in the ancient Near East. In Babylon the akītu Festival of the New Year took place in the first eleven days of the vernal (spring) month of Nisan. On the fourth day the creation epic of Babylon, the Enuma Elish, was read—perhaps in order to reactualize the primordial events of the poem. The New Year’s festival was not just a calendrical milestone, but an actual renewal of the created world. Social, political, and natural chaos were closely associated and were never far away; the efficacious recitation of creation events brought hope for the coming New Year. The New Year’s celebrations in Israel were also associated with harvest and renewal and implicitly with creation itself. Levenson cites a debate between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua (both did their most important teaching about A.D. 80–120) concerning whether creation occurred during the fall festival (Tishri) or spring (Nisan).30
Rabbi Eliezer says, From what text do we know that it was in Tishri that the world was created? Because the Bible says, “And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees.…’” In what month does the earth put forth vegetation and the trees are full of fruit? You have to say that this is Tishri, and that period was the rainy season, so that the rains fell and caused vegetation to sprout, as the Bible says, “a flow would well up from the ground.”
Rabbi Joshua says, From what text do we know that it was in Nisan that the world was created? Because the Bible says, “The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants … and trees of every kind.” In what month is the earth full of vegetation and trees are bringing out fruit? You have to say that this is Nisan, and that period was the season when cattle and game and birds mate, as the Bible says, “The meadows are clothed with flocks, [the valleys mantled with grain].”
Name theology. The blessings and prayer spoken by Solomon express the theological significance that the temple is to have in the life of the nation. There are fourteen references to the name of God in Solomon’s prayer. In Deuteronomistic theology, God chose the temple as the place where his Name was to dwell. This theology of “the Name” is often regarded as a “demythologization” of the divine Presence. Whereas the divine glory filling the temple is thought to show that God himself dwelt there (8:1–14), the corrective taught that only the divine Name dwelt in the temple. The prayer locates God in heaven, which is interpreted to make him transcendent, invulnerable to any catastrophe that might affect his temple. The Name was regarded as a hypostasis of God, the very essence of him being present.
The ark of the covenant rested there, not as the footstool of God present on his throne but as a representation of the special legal bonding uniting God and Israel.31 The temple became the focal point for prayers; prayers uttered in the city, in the land of Israel, or outside the land were to be directed toward the temple. God’s eyes would be directed to the place where his Name dwelt. Under this interpretation the Name theology served to teach the transcendence of God and the centralization of worship. Farmers or soldiers did not need to resort to a local high place, since they could direct their prayers in the direction of the temple where God would hear.
The significance of a place for God’s Name to dwell must be examined more carefully. Idioms have to be understood within their own language context. In the English language the word “hand” connotes different things in various expressions. We may give someone a hand (for a job well done), give a hand to someone (for help needed), give a handout (to someone in need), or give a hand up (to help someone become self sufficient). Nothing in the expression itself can determine the significance of “hand,” nor can the meaning of hand in one of these idioms be used to determine its meaning in another. The distinct meaning in each expression is not shared with the others; the idioms are in no sense synonymous.
The significance of biblical Name theology must be related to similar expressions in other documents. The expression “to place the name” in the Amarna Letters, as has long been noted in Hebrew lexicons, signifies possession; it is an idiom for ownership.32 Just as the pharaoh owned Jerusalem by placing his name there (EA 287, 288), so Yahweh owned the temple. In a study of comparative linguistics and various biblical name idioms, R. de Vaux was able to show that the Name theology of Deuteronomy did not represent any transformation of the Israelite perception of the mode of divine Presence. He showed that there were four name idioms that were linked to the election formula of the biblical text: the place that Yahweh has chosen in order to establish his Name; the place where Yahweh has chosen to place his Name; the place over which the Name of Yahweh has been pronounced; the place where Yahweh has named his Name.33 De Vaux thought other expressions, such as “a place for the Name to be” and “to build a house for the Name,” did address the issue of God’s presence in the sanctuary.
Six of the references to “Name” in 1 Kings 8 come from the formula “to build a temple for the Name of the LORD” (vv. 17, 18, 19, 20, 44, 48). These are transparently quotations of the promise to Solomon, in which David is assured that his son will build a house and establish the kingdom (2 Sam. 7:13). Solomon is that son, so it is not surprising that this passage should be quoted frequently. The use of “the Name” in this promise is to establish a memorial in order to perpetuate a reputation.34
The Hebrew expression “to make a name” (ʿāśâ šēm) has much the same significance as in English (cf. Gen. 11:4). In the context of the promise, David will not build a house for Yahweh; rather, Yahweh will build a house for David; God will establish his dynasty and establish his name like that of the great ones who are in the earth (2 Sam. 7:9). As a result, the heir of David’s house (Solomon) is appointed to build a house (temple) for the Name (reputation) of Yahweh. The result, David acknowledges, is that God will make his own Name great forever (1 Kings 8:26–27). Normally a king established the legitimacy of his rule by building or refurbishing a temple to the god that had granted his power to rule. The presence of the temple will ensure the continuity of the divine Presence and the security of the throne.
David was denied this symbolic assurance, but in its place God granted a promise by oath as an assurance that his kingdom was secure forever. Building a house for the Name of God in the promise to David signified reputation, not divine Presence. The house built for David (the royal dynasty) and the house built for God (the temple) will perpetuate the renown of both.
The fame or reputation of Yahweh for those from outside of the land is also expressed three times in Solomon’s prayer (1 Kings 8:41–43). Others outside of Israel will have heard of God’s great works, his outstretched arm, and will pray toward the temple. Solomon also considers the times when the people will suffer the curse because of their sin and will make confession (acknowledgment) of the Name (vv. 33, 35). In these instances the Name is simply a euphemism for God himself.
In one occurrence in the prayer the Name idiom is used to express purpose involving the case of the foreigner (8:43): that all may know “that this house I have built bears your Name.” This expression is well known as signifying ownership by means of transference of property (e.g., 2 Sam. 12:28). In Deuteronomy this idiom communicates the elect nature of the people of Israel, whose redeemed state stands as a testimony to the nations of Yahweh’s power to save.35 In Solomon’s prayer it stands as a testimony to Yahweh’s power to save even those foreigners who come to the temple because of God’s reputation for saving acts.
The prayer of Solomon utilizes these Name idioms to make the temple the ultimate symbol of the essentials of the Israelite faith. Two times in the prayer Solomon says that the temple will be a house where God’s Name will be present (vv. 16, 29); this formula makes the temple the place that fulfills the Deuteronomic promise. The temple is the house that fulfills the Davidic promise; it is the elect place over which God’s Name is called; it is the place of covenant preservation, where God’s Name is acknowledged in confession and praise. The temple is the embodiment of the land promised to Israel and marked by God’s Name. The temple is the ultimate symbol of God’s relationship with Israel; it served to memorialize and perpetuate God’s great deeds of redemption amidst Israel and the nations. It is testimony to the reputation of Yahweh. The association between the election of Jerusalem and the election of David is made explicit in God’s choosing the temple as the place for Yahweh’s Name.
Theology of rest. In a concluding blessing Solomon declares that God has given rest to his people and that not a word of all the good things promised through Moses his servant has failed (8:56). This important confession is articulated in Joshua; rest was the consequence of Israel’s inheriting the land, the uncompromised fulfillment of all God promised (Josh. 21:43–45; 23:1, 14). The temple is declared to be God’s resting place; following David’s relentless effort to restore the ark to its proper place, God is called to rise at his resting place (Ps. 132:8). God in turn avers to David that Zion, the temple mount and the seat of the divine throne, will be his resting place for all time (132:13–14). Not only the temple, but the whole land can be declared to be the place of God’s rest (95:11). The concept of the land being God’s resting place prompts David to seek to build a temple for God (2 Sam. 7:1). The mercies shown to him are the foundation of the hope of the nation (Ps. 89:1–4).
Divine rest is interpreted in two ways: Sabbath is to be observed in order to remember that Israel was delivered from the house of bondage in Egypt (Deut. 5:15) and to declare that Yahweh made the heavens and earth in six days (Ex. 20:11). Divine rest at creation was a declaration that the forces of chaos had been conquered. This victory served to ensure that the sure mercies promised to David would endure forever:
You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.
You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
Your arm is endued with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you. (Ps. 89:10–15)
The two interpretations of the Sabbath are in reality the same. Divine rest at creation not only signified the conquest of disorder, but also the establishment of justice and righteousness, the love and loyalty that were part of the covenant mercies to David. Sabbath was the central focus of the creation story (Gen. 2:1–3). The rest of God demonstrated that creative activity was complete and that the work of the Creator was perfect; further, “the explicit portrayal of the creator sleeping functioned as a statement of the deity’s status as the supreme ruler of heaven and earth. The ability to sleep undisturbed was the symbol of the deity’s absolute dominion over the heavens and the earth and the underworld.”36 In ancient Near Eastern creation stories this dominion included the provision of freedom: the emancipation of slaves, the repatriation of captives, restoration of land to the original owners, and provision of land for the poor. In the same way the Psalms declare that justice and right belong to the peace of creation:
For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses. (Ps. 33:4–7)
Israel is not only the benefactor of the divine rest of creation, but is also expected to be a participant in it. The Sabbath, the sabbatical year, and the Sabbath of sabbatical years, the Jubilee, recall the primordial rest in a form in which humans can share. The collective existence of Israel is to participate in the divine rest that consummates creation. The prophets make acts of benevolence a part of right and justice that God seeks. Jeremiah provides an itemized list of such deeds: “Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place” (Jer. 22:3). Justice and compassion are not distinguished in the call for righteousness: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other” (Zech. 7:9–10).
The divine response to Solomon’s prayer in the vision affirms both the election of the royal house and Jerusalem, and the necessity of maintaining the divine rest. God has placed his Name on Jerusalem forever (1 Kings 9:3); this idiom is used exclusively of the chosen place of worship and audience.37 Blessing and cursing elements present in ancient Near Eastern inscriptions were intended to preserve the building against the ravages of time and future neglect and to preserve the memory of the king. These elements are given a distinct function in Solomon’s vision.38 This vision does not concern itself with a future king who might find the building in ruins; the future of the temple and the dynasty depend on allegiance to God and his commandments.
The prophetic concept of God is unlike that of any other religion in ancient time. God is incomparable and incomprehensible, an unrivaled God that all nations are to know (8:60–61). This God demands absolute faithfulness, loyalty, and justice (Deut. 10:14–18). External symbols and rituals can never in themselves secure a relationship with such a God. Circumcision means nothing if there was not a “circumcision of the mind” (10:16), that loyal faithfulness to the covenant that shows complete trust and reverence of God. The external symbols are all designed to show that the God of the covenant cannot be comprehended. The little poem of Solomon (1 Kings 8:12–13) is a reminder of this fact; God dwells where none can see him, for a visible throne room distorts a comprehension of the King of kings.
The prophets believe they know God truly, since he has entered into covenant with them. But they never believe it is possible to know God fully. Finite humans can know their majestic God by analogy, such as the comparison to a king as one of his functions. Israel succumbed to the seduction of idolatry because they failed to understand the absolute nature of God.
The majestic and imposing structure of the temple with all its associated ritual can never be far from the minds of the covenant people. In addition to the regular daily ritual of the priests, in which burnt offering is made to God, lights are maintained, and incense is poured on the hot coals, there are the daily requirements for individual Israelites to observe the regulations of diet, cleanliness, and sacrifice for sins. There is always the danger that rituals become routine, performed without thought for their significance. The dedication of the temple is a reminder of this danger. Building the temple does not fulfill the requirements of the covenant, nor does the meticulous observance of all its associated ritual. All these are a means of confessing the holy and majestic God of the covenant and his involvement in every aspect of daily life.
Contemporary Significance
Contemporary Significance
TEMPLE THEOLOGY FOR the church. Paul describes Christians as those who have access into the presence of God the Father through Christ; peace has been proclaimed to those far and near from God (Eph. 2:16–18). God has brought all peoples together as fellow citizens. The church is described as a temple built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ is the cornerstone; he gives shape to this new edifice that rises as a holy sanctuary (vv. 19–22). In Christ Christians are built together as the new dwelling of God in the Spirit.
The Christian calling has a fundamental continuity with the function of the temple as expressed in Solomon’s dedication prayer. The temple was a manifestation of God’s elective choice of David and Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:16, 29; 9:3). God chose Zion to be his possession, and David was chosen to be ruler over God’s people Israel. The dedication prayer taught the ultimate sovereignty of God over both land and people. The temple was a focal point to which prayers could be made; God, whose temple was the heavens, would attend to his earthly temple night and day (vv. 28–29) and respond in mercy to the prayers of his people.
Solomon’s mission in building the temple was to memorialize and perpetuate the great works of Yahweh, the kingdom anticipated in the promise to David (2 Sam. 7; 1 Kings 8:60). The calling of the Christian church is to show the purpose of God for creation as it is accomplished in his world. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul begins with God’s desires before the cosmos came into being. God planned a family through adoption in Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:3–6a). God in time worked out this mystery, to bring all things together in Christ, earthly and heavenly (1:9–10). Those called to Christ are destined according to the purpose of the one who does all things according to the intent of his will, to be to the praise of his glory (1:11–12).
The fear of the apostle Paul is that Christians might not understand the significance of their calling in the world. In Ephesians, therefore, Paul prays that those in Christ might understand the hope of the Christian:
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Eph. 1:18–23)
Paul’s whole life was driven by the power of this divine purpose; this great calling belongs to all Christians just as much as it did to the apostle. Paul, the least of all saints by his own estimation, felt compelled to go to the ends of the earth in order to proclaim this great mystery that had been hidden in previous times (Eph. 3:8–9). For the apostle, God’s purpose in his choice of David and Jerusalem was but a partial revelation of the greater goal for creation. The proclamation of Solomon was a deeply veiled mystery of what God was doing in the world. Only the death and resurrection of Christ demonstrate how God is drawing all humankind to himself; the purpose of God is to be found in the church, whose reach is universal.
God’s plan for the church must be made known to the greatest of the powers and authorities, particularly those in opposition to God, including those that exercise authority beyond this earth. Again Paul prays fervently that believers might understand this great work within creation, which they represent:
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.39 (Eph. 3:14–19)
Belonging to the church demands that Christians learn to live in accordance with that calling, learning harmony and unity with each other (Eph. 4:1–3). Fundamentally, living as a Christian requires a new way of thinking (4:17–24). Outside of Christ human values are governed by self-interest, the deceit of greed; the apostle calls believers back to the renewal of the original image, righteousness and holiness as they have learned it in Christ (4:22–24). All divisions of humanity are bridged in Christ; all races and classes are brought into harmony, as they are transformed in knowledge according to God’s image (Col. 3:10–11).
Solomon called on God to show mercy to all who call on him, including those who did not belong to the nation (1 Kings 8:41–43). Israel must represent God’s kingdom in this world. Paul sees this kingdom as present across all national, ethnic, and cultural boundaries, through the transformation of mind. The peace of Christ is to rule in the lives of all those called to be one with him. The presence of the church is profoundly significant of that which the temple of Solomon is but a shadow. The temple declared God’s ownership of land and his covenant with Israel; the church rises as God’s holy temple in bringing all peoples in harmony as one household.
Discord within the church is a travesty. There is but one Spirit, one hope of the Christian calling, one God and Father of all, over all, through all, in all (Eph. 4:5–6). Failure to demonstrate this unity within the Christian community is a denial of the essence of the church; church leadership is to equip church members so they achieve the fullness of Christ in maturity (4:11–13). The temple declared the universality of God’s grace and love. One who was wronged could find justice (1 Kings 8:31–32); those from a faraway land who had heard of the fame of Yahweh could seek mercy (vv. 41–43); Israel exiled in a distant land could pray and God would hear (vv. 48–50).
The church is to manifest the peace of Christ everywhere that it has a presence. Dissension within the church betrays its calling. Solomon acknowledged that failure would happen to all and they would suffer the consequences (1 Kings 8:46); he prayed that God’s purpose for his inheritance might be preserved (vv. 51–53). The church, as the representation of God’s mercy and love, must learn to forgive and show mercy just as they have received it (Eph. 4:32; 5:1–2).
Creation theology. With the dedication of the temple God had granted rest according to all that he had promised (1 Kings 8:56). The rest of the people of Israel testified to God’s sovereign control of creation and fulfillment of redemption in the lives of the people of Israel. The celebration of the temple dedication on the festival of the New Year testified to the order and beauty of creation, as well as the progress of redemption. Christians need to celebrate both; Christians celebrate redemption on Sunday services and on special events such as Easter, but they often lack a corresponding confession to the beauty of creation. The restoration of creation is an important theme in relation to redemption. The apostle consciously links creation coming to its rest with the redemption of God’s people:
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Rom. 8:20–21)
The exhortation to live in the hope of a future redemption in which creation itself will be liberated from its present bondage is also a call to celebrate the beauty of creation in praise of the Creator. Christians of all people must be concerned about appropriately exercising dominion in the environment in which they live. Their responsibility, as those renewed in mind in the image of the Creator, is to live in his creation in a way that will respect the beauty of creation to the glory of the Creator.
Joseph Sittler declared the theological responsibility to ecological consciousness long before the first Earth Day celebration. He urged that environmental ethics should take its cue from the first question of the Westminster Catechism in the Calvinist tradition. “What is the chief end of man [and woman]? To glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” The motivation for attention to environmental concerns is the delight of all the manifestations of God’s glory in the natural world around us. Christian concern for the environment should not begin with the paralyzing fear of environmental catastrophe (as eminent as it might be), nor with crippling guilt over the human abuse of creation (as dreadful as it might be), but with the joy of living in God’s world. Drawing on Augustine’s distinction between what humans can “use” and what they can “enjoy,” Sittler argues that in matters of ecological responsibility delight is the basis of right use.
The call to celebrate the beauty of creation was a central theme in the theology of Jonathan Edwards. It was his conviction that the natural world is a communication of God’s glory that should fill us all with desire. Edward Parley goes so far as to say that in the work of Jonathan Edwards, “beauty is more central and more pervasive than in any other text in the history of Christian theology.”40 Humans have a particular capacity for joy at the marvel of creation and have a supreme role in the task of giving God glory along with the rest of the natural world (Ps. 8). Edwards understood the Christian to have a renewed capacity to sense the marvel of creation as one of the graces of receiving salvation.
Lane believes that in the thought of Edwards, divine grace included a renewed spiritual capacity to understand the magnificence of the natural world and a more integrated ability to perceive reality through the ordinary channels of sense experience.
For Jonathan Edwards, creation functions as a school of desire, training regenerate human beings in the intimate sensory apprehension of God’s glory mirrored in the beauty of the world. Humans are to respond, in turn, by articulating that glory, bringing it to full consciousness, and by replicating God’s own disposition to communicate beauty as they extend the act of beautifying to the world around them. In other words, the natural world enlarges the human capacity to sense the fullness of God’s beauty and the appreciation of that beauty subsequently leads to ethical action. Nature teaches us God’s beauty which in turn drives us to its continual replication in time and space.41
The annual observance of Earth Day may be an occasion to remind Christians that their faith calls them to make confession of their Creator, as Israel did in the great fall festival of the seventh month, and of the rest that they have come to enjoy in Christ. Janet Schaeffler suggests that it might be good for us to become backyard biologists.42 In your own backyard, mark off an area six feet square, preferably including a bush, a tree, or flowers, along with grass or bare soil. Make use of a magnifying glass, notebooks, and pencils to record the wonder of nature in this small area of God’s creation. Be as thorough as you can. What plants do you find? What kinds of animals? What evidence do you find of creatures that may have passed through this area?
Another suggestion Schaeffler makes is to greet the rising sun. Find a place where you can see the sunrise clearly (this does require getting up before the sun). Each time you see a new color in the sky, thank God for something beautiful. Continue with new and different ideas until the sun is shining brightly, and then head to breakfast with a smile of thanksgiving on your face. (Because looking directly at the sun can damage vision, be sure to look at the sky around the sun or use approved sun blockers.) Or gather the family together to catch the setting sun, the sun’s “closing act.” Talk about how the power of the sun reflects the greatness of God.
Marvel too at the wonders of the night; go on a stargazing trip with your family, it can be in your own backyard.43 Family celebrations should also include ceremony; this might include reading aloud the story of creation (Gen. 1:1–2:4) or a poem from Scripture that thanks God for the beauty of the earth (Ps. 8; 100; 150) or for the marvels of creation (Job 38:1–21; 22–38) and its creatures (38:39–39:30). Song, dance, poetry, or some other form of art can be used to express praise, or compose a prayer that expresses gratitude for the wonders of creation.
Justice and social order. For Israel, order within creation included justice; proper social order was an essential aspect of dominion over creation as the representatives of God. The essence of the covenant oath was to act with justice. Repeatedly Solomon in his prayer asks that God remember his oath with Israel and act with justice (1 Kings 8:49, 59). Solomon does not ask that God “maintain their cause” (KJV, NRSV), which suggests partiality to Israel and misrepresents God; Yahweh was known for justice (Deut. 32:4; Isa. 61:8).
Covenant justice required just actions within society and between nations (Deut. 10:17–21). Justice began with fairness to individual people; the temple was the place of justice in the settlement of disputes between individuals (1 Kings 8:31–32). The rest of Israel was a sign of justice and peace; in the doxology of his prayer Solomon made God’s faithfulness the basis of covenant fidelity (8:56–58). Sabbath observance was the essential sign of creation rest, observance of justice, and conformity to the covenant. Isaiah made it the central observance of all who would be joined to God and his people (Isa. 56:4–8). As Isaiah declared, the temple was a house of prayer for all people who loved the name of the Lord.
Sabbath observance moved from Saturday to Sunday for good early Christian reasons, but modern Christians must not neglect Sabbath. Martin Marty makes reference to Jewish interpretation in his exhortation to Christians to keep the Sabbath as a call to justice.44 In Israel the climax of Sabbath rest was reached in the Jubilee year (šenat hayyôbēl), times for enacting social justice and freeing the earth from human exploitation. The Sabbaths are to be times of release from attachments and habits, addictions and idolatries. Marty quotes Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (who later marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. against racism and the Vietnam War), who wrote following the Holocaust and Hiroshima, both grotesque mockeries of creation:
To set apart one day a week for freedom, a day on which we would not use the instruments which have been so easily turned into weapons of destruction, a day for being with ourselves, a day of detachment from the vulgar, of independence of external obligations, a day on which we use no money … on which [humanity] avows [its] independence of that which is the world’s chief idol … a day of armistice in the economic struggle with our fellow [humans] and the forces of nature—is there any institution that holds out a greater hope for humanity’s progress than the Sabbath?45
Image of God and idolatry. For modern Christians, just as for Old Testament saints, constant vigilance is required to fulfill the purpose of mortals in showing the glory of God within creation, his true temple. The predisposition of Israel was to reduce God to the level of the gods of other religions (1 Kings 9:6–9); the exalted temple, representing the God of all nations, would then become the ridicule of the nations. Justice for Israel was to command the reverence of all nations in giving honor to Yahweh alone (8:43, 60). Abandoning God happened as soon as he was equated with gods of human conception (9:9). The same kind of reduction happens in contemporary thought. The term God is often used to refer to the impersonal (God does not communicate) or deistic (God has no involvement with earthly events). Any concept of God that is impersonal or deistic is not a biblical concept of God and is nothing more than human philosophizing.
The Creator of the universe made his representative image (humans) personal just as he is a person. A personal relationship assumes an awareness of self, an ability to expect respect and commitment from other individuals, and a willingness to show respect by keeping commitments. It is these two qualities that are emphasized about God. God has chosen to mediate his rule of the world through people. David and his people had a special function in this rule, because they were to make the name of God great (8:16, 25, 43, 60; 9:4–5). The church is the successor to the purpose of God in choosing David and Jerusalem; the calling of the church is to make the name of Christ known among all nations so that every knee may bow before him (Phil. 2:11). That honor is not given when God is made something less than a person in his sovereignty over creation, or when Christ is made less than God in choosing to live as a human.
Idolatry as expressed in the vision to Solomon has its origin in the mind. It is not so much a denial of God as a distortion, fashioning God in the ways of other religions or philosophies. Such idolatries may lead to worship of creation rather than the Creator, or they may lead to greed and the destruction of creation. Unhappily, such idolatries have been all too common among confessing Christians, just as they were in Israel. Solomon’s prayers for forgiveness for such failures are most pertinent.
The renewal of the mind created after the image of God is not complete when a decision is made to believe in Christ. Putting off the old and putting on the new is a continual process (Eph. 4:17–24). Learning to know God must begin with his revelation of himself, uncompromised by other philosophies. Theology is of critical importance, as human thought is applied to understanding God in contemporary context. As in Israel, the danger is that those who would follow God may be self-deceived, so they do not even realize when they have become idolatrous.
The seduction of idolatry is evident in values destructive of creation or community. The symptoms of an inadequate concept of God are seen in the behavior of believers. Honor is given to God by delighting in his creation; wonder at the beauty of the earth is the basis for the right use of its resources. Exploitation of the earth for any reason is failure to know God, a sign of idolatry. Order in creation includes respect and honor to other individuals, the exercise of justice in all relationships. Equity must be a priority if respect is to be given to the Creator whose purpose is to bring rest to creation.
Indifference to justice is idolatry, a misrepresentation of who God is as a person. Idolatry is quite readily identified in serving mammon, but it is no less real in disrespect of any of God’s creation or wrong done to other people. The evident examples of idolatry must not obscure the more subtle ways in which it is manifested. Christians must live with a renewed mind, clearly distinguished from the values of the “other nations” who do not know God.
Original Meaning
Dedication Exhortation (8:54–61)
FOLLOWING THE LONG dedicatory prayer Solomon stands to bless the people by giving praise to God for fulfilling his Word (8:56–58). God has given rest to his people; “rest” expresses the fulfillment of the promise that Israel would possess the land and live securely (Deut. 12:9–10). Once the Israelites entered that rest, they were to worship at the place God would choose to place his Name (Deut. 12:11). The place of worship is not necessarily limited to one location; the primary concern of the covenant stipulations is that the people not worship at the Canaanite high places. At the same time the covenant requirement for worship clearly anticipates the ideal of one single location for worship. With the dedication of the temple that ideal has been achieved.
The prayer switches to the first person with two concluding petitions (8:59–61). Solomon asks for justice as each day requires, so that all nations may know the truth declared at Mount Sinai: There is but one Lord (v. 60; cf. Deut. 4:35, 39). Solomon in turn petitions for undivided loyalty from the people (v. 61).17 Ironically, this prayer fails to be realized in Solomon’s lifetime (11:4).
Dedication Sacrifices (8:62–66)
Bridging Contexts
THE TIME OF DEDICATION. Houses in ancient Israel were dedicated by taking up residence in them, probably amid festivities, rituals, and prayers. If someone had built a house but had not dedicated it (ḥanākô), he was not to go to war but to go back to his house, lest he die in battle and another dedicate it (yaḥnekennû; i.e., go to live in it; Deut. 20:5).26 A curse contained the converse of this dedication: One would build a house but not live in it (28:30). In similar fashion the temple is dedicated (wayyaḥnekû ʾet bêt yhwh) with the visible signs of glory indicating that God has taken up residence within it, accompanied by prayers, sacrifices, and celebrations (1 Kings 8:63). The placement of the ark in the Most Holy Place as the divine footstool is the most significant symbol of the divine Presence.
The dedication of the temple takes place during the major fall festival of Sukkoth (Booths or Tabernacles), a seven-day festival that required a pilgrimage to the central place of worship (Deut. 16:13–15). The seventh month marks the completion of the Israelite harvest, when landowners (heads of houses) could leave for a week without concern for fields or crops. It is probable, however, that there is a theological significance to celebration in the seventh month (possibly almost a year after the completion of the temple in the eighth month; cf. 1 Kings 6:38). Seven-day celebrations, either in the spring or in the fall, were associated with creation and temple building.27
Gudea, king of the Sumerian city of Lagash (twenty-second century B.C.) held a seven-day festival of dedication for the building of Eninnu, the temple of Ningirsu.28 Closer to Solomon, the building of the palace for the rule of Baal was a process of seven days.29 The tabernacle was set up at the time of the spring equinox (Ex. 40:2, 17); Jeroboam dedicated his temples during Tabernacles (1 Kings 12:32–33), and after the Exile the altar was reconstructed at the time of Tabernacles (Ezra 3:1–6). Though the Bible does not explicitly relate the festivals with creation, the associations are present and become the occasion for temple dedication.
The seven-day festivals in the spring and fall were in part a celebration of the new year, similar to other practices in the ancient Near East. In Babylon the akītu Festival of the New Year took place in the first eleven days of the vernal (spring) month of Nisan. On the fourth day the creation epic of Babylon, the Enuma Elish, was read—perhaps in order to reactualize the primordial events of the poem. The New Year’s festival was not just a calendrical milestone, but an actual renewal of the created world. Social, political, and natural chaos were closely associated and were never far away; the efficacious recitation of creation events brought hope for the coming New Year. The New Year’s celebrations in Israel were also associated with harvest and renewal and implicitly with creation itself. Levenson cites a debate between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua (both did their most important teaching about A.D. 80–120) concerning whether creation occurred during the fall festival (Tishri) or spring (Nisan).30
Rabbi Eliezer says, From what text do we know that it was in Tishri that the world was created? Because the Bible says, “And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees.…’” In what month does the earth put forth vegetation and the trees are full of fruit? You have to say that this is Tishri, and that period was the rainy season, so that the rains fell and caused vegetation to sprout, as the Bible says, “a flow would well up from the ground.”
Rabbi Joshua says, From what text do we know that it was in Nisan that the world was created? Because the Bible says, “The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants … and trees of every kind.” In what month is the earth full of vegetation and trees are bringing out fruit? You have to say that this is Nisan, and that period was the season when cattle and game and birds mate, as the Bible says, “The meadows are clothed with flocks, [the valleys mantled with grain].”
Name theology. The blessings and prayer spoken by Solomon express the theological significance that the temple is to have in the life of the nation. There are fourteen references to the name of God in Solomon’s prayer. In Deuteronomistic theology, God chose the temple as the place where his Name was to dwell. This theology of “the Name” is often regarded as a “demythologization” of the divine Presence. Whereas the divine glory filling the temple is thought to show that God himself dwelt there (8:1–14), the corrective taught that only the divine Name dwelt in the temple. The prayer locates God in heaven, which is interpreted to make him transcendent, invulnerable to any catastrophe that might affect his temple. The Name was regarded as a hypostasis of God, the very essence of him being present.
The ark of the covenant rested there, not as the footstool of God present on his throne but as a representation of the special legal bonding uniting God and Israel.31 The temple became the focal point for prayers; prayers uttered in the city, in the land of Israel, or outside the land were to be directed toward the temple. God’s eyes would be directed to the place where his Name dwelt. Under this interpretation the Name theology served to teach the transcendence of God and the centralization of worship. Farmers or soldiers did not need to resort to a local high place, since they could direct their prayers in the direction of the temple where God would hear.
The significance of a place for God’s Name to dwell must be examined more carefully. Idioms have to be understood within their own language context. In the English language the word “hand” connotes different things in various expressions. We may give someone a hand (for a job well done), give a hand to someone (for help needed), give a handout (to someone in need), or give a hand up (to help someone become self sufficient). Nothing in the expression itself can determine the significance of “hand,” nor can the meaning of hand in one of these idioms be used to determine its meaning in another. The distinct meaning in each expression is not shared with the others; the idioms are in no sense synonymous.
The significance of biblical Name theology must be related to similar expressions in other documents. The expression “to place the name” in the Amarna Letters, as has long been noted in Hebrew lexicons, signifies possession; it is an idiom for ownership.32 Just as the pharaoh owned Jerusalem by placing his name there (EA 287, 288), so Yahweh owned the temple. In a study of comparative linguistics and various biblical name idioms, R. de Vaux was able to show that the Name theology of Deuteronomy did not represent any transformation of the Israelite perception of the mode of divine Presence. He showed that there were four name idioms that were linked to the election formula of the biblical text: the place that Yahweh has chosen in order to establish his Name; the place where Yahweh has chosen to place his Name; the place over which the Name of Yahweh has been pronounced; the place where Yahweh has named his Name.33 De Vaux thought other expressions, such as “a place for the Name to be” and “to build a house for the Name,” did address the issue of God’s presence in the sanctuary.
Six of the references to “Name” in 1 Kings 8 come from the formula “to build a temple for the Name of the LORD” (vv. 17, 18, 19, 20, 44, 48). These are transparently quotations of the promise to Solomon, in which David is assured that his son will build a house and establish the kingdom (2 Sam. 7:13). Solomon is that son, so it is not surprising that this passage should be quoted frequently. The use of “the Name” in this promise is to establish a memorial in order to perpetuate a reputation.34
The Hebrew expression “to make a name” (ʿāśâ šēm) has much the same significance as in English (cf. Gen. 11:4). In the context of the promise, David will not build a house for Yahweh; rather, Yahweh will build a house for David; God will establish his dynasty and establish his name like that of the great ones who are in the earth (2 Sam. 7:9). As a result, the heir of David’s house (Solomon) is appointed to build a house (temple) for the Name (reputation) of Yahweh. The result, David acknowledges, is that God will make his own Name great forever (1 Kings 8:26–27). Normally a king established the legitimacy of his rule by building or refurbishing a temple to the god that had granted his power to rule. The presence of the temple will ensure the continuity of the divine Presence and the security of the throne.
David was denied this symbolic assurance, but in its place God granted a promise by oath as an assurance that his kingdom was secure forever. Building a house for the Name of God in the promise to David signified reputation, not divine Presence. The house built for David (the royal dynasty) and the house built for God (the temple) will perpetuate the renown of both.
The fame or reputation of Yahweh for those from outside of the land is also expressed three times in Solomon’s prayer (1 Kings 8:41–43). Others outside of Israel will have heard of God’s great works, his outstretched arm, and will pray toward the temple. Solomon also considers the times when the people will suffer the curse because of their sin and will make confession (acknowledgment) of the Name (vv. 33, 35). In these instances the Name is simply a euphemism for God himself.
In one occurrence in the prayer the Name idiom is used to express purpose involving the case of the foreigner (8:43): that all may know “that this house I have built bears your Name.” This expression is well known as signifying ownership by means of transference of property (e.g., 2 Sam. 12:28). In Deuteronomy this idiom communicates the elect nature of the people of Israel, whose redeemed state stands as a testimony to the nations of Yahweh’s power to save.35 In Solomon’s prayer it stands as a testimony to Yahweh’s power to save even those foreigners who come to the temple because of God’s reputation for saving acts.
The prayer of Solomon utilizes these Name idioms to make the temple the ultimate symbol of the essentials of the Israelite faith. Two times in the prayer Solomon says that the temple will be a house where God’s Name will be present (vv. 16, 29); this formula makes the temple the place that fulfills the Deuteronomic promise. The temple is the house that fulfills the Davidic promise; it is the elect place over which God’s Name is called; it is the place of covenant preservation, where God’s Name is acknowledged in confession and praise. The temple is the embodiment of the land promised to Israel and marked by God’s Name. The temple is the ultimate symbol of God’s relationship with Israel; it served to memorialize and perpetuate God’s great deeds of redemption amidst Israel and the nations. It is testimony to the reputation of Yahweh. The association between the election of Jerusalem and the election of David is made explicit in God’s choosing the temple as the place for Yahweh’s Name.
Theology of rest. In a concluding blessing Solomon declares that God has given rest to his people and that not a word of all the good things promised through Moses his servant has failed (8:56). This important confession is articulated in Joshua; rest was the consequence of Israel’s inheriting the land, the uncompromised fulfillment of all God promised (Josh. 21:43–45; 23:1, 14). The temple is declared to be God’s resting place; following David’s relentless effort to restore the ark to its proper place, God is called to rise at his resting place (Ps. 132:8). God in turn avers to David that Zion, the temple mount and the seat of the divine throne, will be his resting place for all time (132:13–14). Not only the temple, but the whole land can be declared to be the place of God’s rest (95:11). The concept of the land being God’s resting place prompts David to seek to build a temple for God (2 Sam. 7:1). The mercies shown to him are the foundation of the hope of the nation (Ps. 89:1–4).
Divine rest is interpreted in two ways: Sabbath is to be observed in order to remember that Israel was delivered from the house of bondage in Egypt (Deut. 5:15) and to declare that Yahweh made the heavens and earth in six days (Ex. 20:11). Divine rest at creation was a declaration that the forces of chaos had been conquered. This victory served to ensure that the sure mercies promised to David would endure forever:
You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.
You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
Your arm is endued with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you. (Ps. 89:10–15)
The two interpretations of the Sabbath are in reality the same. Divine rest at creation not only signified the conquest of disorder, but also the establishment of justice and righteousness, the love and loyalty that were part of the covenant mercies to David. Sabbath was the central focus of the creation story (Gen. 2:1–3). The rest of God demonstrated that creative activity was complete and that the work of the Creator was perfect; further, “the explicit portrayal of the creator sleeping functioned as a statement of the deity’s status as the supreme ruler of heaven and earth. The ability to sleep undisturbed was the symbol of the deity’s absolute dominion over the heavens and the earth and the underworld.”36 In ancient Near Eastern creation stories this dominion included the provision of freedom: the emancipation of slaves, the repatriation of captives, restoration of land to the original owners, and provision of land for the poor. In the same way the Psalms declare that justice and right belong to the peace of creation:
For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses. (Ps. 33:4–7)
Israel is not only the benefactor of the divine rest of creation, but is also expected to be a participant in it. The Sabbath, the sabbatical year, and the Sabbath of sabbatical years, the Jubilee, recall the primordial rest in a form in which humans can share. The collective existence of Israel is to participate in the divine rest that consummates creation. The prophets make acts of benevolence a part of right and justice that God seeks. Jeremiah provides an itemized list of such deeds: “Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place” (Jer. 22:3). Justice and compassion are not distinguished in the call for righteousness: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other” (Zech. 7:9–10).
The divine response to Solomon’s prayer in the vision affirms both the election of the royal house and Jerusalem, and the necessity of maintaining the divine rest. God has placed his Name on Jerusalem forever (1 Kings 9:3); this idiom is used exclusively of the chosen place of worship and audience.37 Blessing and cursing elements present in ancient Near Eastern inscriptions were intended to preserve the building against the ravages of time and future neglect and to preserve the memory of the king. These elements are given a distinct function in Solomon’s vision.38 This vision does not concern itself with a future king who might find the building in ruins; the future of the temple and the dynasty depend on allegiance to God and his commandments.
The prophetic concept of God is unlike that of any other religion in ancient time. God is incomparable and incomprehensible, an unrivaled God that all nations are to know (8:60–61). This God demands absolute faithfulness, loyalty, and justice (Deut. 10:14–18). External symbols and rituals can never in themselves secure a relationship with such a God. Circumcision means nothing if there was not a “circumcision of the mind” (10:16), that loyal faithfulness to the covenant that shows complete trust and reverence of God. The external symbols are all designed to show that the God of the covenant cannot be comprehended. The little poem of Solomon (1 Kings 8:12–13) is a reminder of this fact; God dwells where none can see him, for a visible throne room distorts a comprehension of the King of kings.
The prophets believe they know God truly, since he has entered into covenant with them. But they never believe it is possible to know God fully. Finite humans can know their majestic God by analogy, such as the comparison to a king as one of his functions. Israel succumbed to the seduction of idolatry because they failed to understand the absolute nature of God.
The majestic and imposing structure of the temple with all its associated ritual can never be far from the minds of the covenant people. In addition to the regular daily ritual of the priests, in which burnt offering is made to God, lights are maintained, and incense is poured on the hot coals, there are the daily requirements for individual Israelites to observe the regulations of diet, cleanliness, and sacrifice for sins. There is always the danger that rituals become routine, performed without thought for their significance. The dedication of the temple is a reminder of this danger. Building the temple does not fulfill the requirements of the covenant, nor does the meticulous observance of all its associated ritual. All these are a means of confessing the holy and majestic God of the covenant and his involvement in every aspect of daily life.
Contemporary Significance
Contemporary Significance
TEMPLE THEOLOGY FOR the church. Paul describes Christians as those who have access into the presence of God the Father through Christ; peace has been proclaimed to those far and near from God (Eph. 2:16–18). God has brought all peoples together as fellow citizens. The church is described as a temple built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ is the cornerstone; he gives shape to this new edifice that rises as a holy sanctuary (vv. 19–22). In Christ Christians are built together as the new dwelling of God in the Spirit.
The Christian calling has a fundamental continuity with the function of the temple as expressed in Solomon’s dedication prayer. The temple was a manifestation of God’s elective choice of David and Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:16, 29; 9:3). God chose Zion to be his possession, and David was chosen to be ruler over God’s people Israel. The dedication prayer taught the ultimate sovereignty of God over both land and people. The temple was a focal point to which prayers could be made; God, whose temple was the heavens, would attend to his earthly temple night and day (vv. 28–29) and respond in mercy to the prayers of his people.
Solomon’s mission in building the temple was to memorialize and perpetuate the great works of Yahweh, the kingdom anticipated in the promise to David (2 Sam. 7; 1 Kings 8:60). The calling of the Christian church is to show the purpose of God for creation as it is accomplished in his world. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul begins with God’s desires before the cosmos came into being. God planned a family through adoption in Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:3–6a). God in time worked out this mystery, to bring all things together in Christ, earthly and heavenly (1:9–10). Those called to Christ are destined according to the purpose of the one who does all things according to the intent of his will, to be to the praise of his glory (1:11–12).
The fear of the apostle Paul is that Christians might not understand the significance of their calling in the world. In Ephesians, therefore, Paul prays that those in Christ might understand the hope of the Christian:
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Eph. 1:18–23)
Paul’s whole life was driven by the power of this divine purpose; this great calling belongs to all Christians just as much as it did to the apostle. Paul, the least of all saints by his own estimation, felt compelled to go to the ends of the earth in order to proclaim this great mystery that had been hidden in previous times (Eph. 3:8–9). For the apostle, God’s purpose in his choice of David and Jerusalem was but a partial revelation of the greater goal for creation. The proclamation of Solomon was a deeply veiled mystery of what God was doing in the world. Only the death and resurrection of Christ demonstrate how God is drawing all humankind to himself; the purpose of God is to be found in the church, whose reach is universal.
God’s plan for the church must be made known to the greatest of the powers and authorities, particularly those in opposition to God, including those that exercise authority beyond this earth. Again Paul prays fervently that believers might understand this great work within creation, which they represent:
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.39 (Eph. 3:14–19)
Belonging to the church demands that Christians learn to live in accordance with that calling, learning harmony and unity with each other (Eph. 4:1–3). Fundamentally, living as a Christian requires a new way of thinking (4:17–24). Outside of Christ human values are governed by self-interest, the deceit of greed; the apostle calls believers back to the renewal of the original image, righteousness and holiness as they have learned it in Christ (4:22–24). All divisions of humanity are bridged in Christ; all races and classes are brought into harmony, as they are transformed in knowledge according to God’s image (Col. 3:10–11).
Solomon called on God to show mercy to all who call on him, including those who did not belong to the nation (1 Kings 8:41–43). Israel must represent God’s kingdom in this world. Paul sees this kingdom as present across all national, ethnic, and cultural boundaries, through the transformation of mind. The peace of Christ is to rule in the lives of all those called to be one with him. The presence of the church is profoundly significant of that which the temple of Solomon is but a shadow. The temple declared God’s ownership of land and his covenant with Israel; the church rises as God’s holy temple in bringing all peoples in harmony as one household.
Discord within the church is a travesty. There is but one Spirit, one hope of the Christian calling, one God and Father of all, over all, through all, in all (Eph. 4:5–6). Failure to demonstrate this unity within the Christian community is a denial of the essence of the church; church leadership is to equip church members so they achieve the fullness of Christ in maturity (4:11–13). The temple declared the universality of God’s grace and love. One who was wronged could find justice (1 Kings 8:31–32); those from a faraway land who had heard of the fame of Yahweh could seek mercy (vv. 41–43); Israel exiled in a distant land could pray and God would hear (vv. 48–50).
The church is to manifest the peace of Christ everywhere that it has a presence. Dissension within the church betrays its calling. Solomon acknowledged that failure would happen to all and they would suffer the consequences (1 Kings 8:46); he prayed that God’s purpose for his inheritance might be preserved (vv. 51–53). The church, as the representation of God’s mercy and love, must learn to forgive and show mercy just as they have received it (Eph. 4:32; 5:1–2).
Creation theology. With the dedication of the temple God had granted rest according to all that he had promised (1 Kings 8:56). The rest of the people of Israel testified to God’s sovereign control of creation and fulfillment of redemption in the lives of the people of Israel. The celebration of the temple dedication on the festival of the New Year testified to the order and beauty of creation, as well as the progress of redemption. Christians need to celebrate both; Christians celebrate redemption on Sunday services and on special events such as Easter, but they often lack a corresponding confession to the beauty of creation. The restoration of creation is an important theme in relation to redemption. The apostle consciously links creation coming to its rest with the redemption of God’s people:
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Rom. 8:20–21)
The exhortation to live in the hope of a future redemption in which creation itself will be liberated from its present bondage is also a call to celebrate the beauty of creation in praise of the Creator. Christians of all people must be concerned about appropriately exercising dominion in the environment in which they live. Their responsibility, as those renewed in mind in the image of the Creator, is to live in his creation in a way that will respect the beauty of creation to the glory of the Creator.
Joseph Sittler declared the theological responsibility to ecological consciousness long before the first Earth Day celebration. He urged that environmental ethics should take its cue from the first question of the Westminster Catechism in the Calvinist tradition. “What is the chief end of man [and woman]? To glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” The motivation for attention to environmental concerns is the delight of all the manifestations of God’s glory in the natural world around us. Christian concern for the environment should not begin with the paralyzing fear of environmental catastrophe (as eminent as it might be), nor with crippling guilt over the human abuse of creation (as dreadful as it might be), but with the joy of living in God’s world. Drawing on Augustine’s distinction between what humans can “use” and what they can “enjoy,” Sittler argues that in matters of ecological responsibility delight is the basis of right use.
The call to celebrate the beauty of creation was a central theme in the theology of Jonathan Edwards. It was his conviction that the natural world is a communication of God’s glory that should fill us all with desire. Edward Parley goes so far as to say that in the work of Jonathan Edwards, “beauty is more central and more pervasive than in any other text in the history of Christian theology.”40 Humans have a particular capacity for joy at the marvel of creation and have a supreme role in the task of giving God glory along with the rest of the natural world (Ps. 8). Edwards understood the Christian to have a renewed capacity to sense the marvel of creation as one of the graces of receiving salvation.
Lane believes that in the thought of Edwards, divine grace included a renewed spiritual capacity to understand the magnificence of the natural world and a more integrated ability to perceive reality through the ordinary channels of sense experience.
For Jonathan Edwards, creation functions as a school of desire, training regenerate human beings in the intimate sensory apprehension of God’s glory mirrored in the beauty of the world. Humans are to respond, in turn, by articulating that glory, bringing it to full consciousness, and by replicating God’s own disposition to communicate beauty as they extend the act of beautifying to the world around them. In other words, the natural world enlarges the human capacity to sense the fullness of God’s beauty and the appreciation of that beauty subsequently leads to ethical action. Nature teaches us God’s beauty which in turn drives us to its continual replication in time and space.41
The annual observance of Earth Day may be an occasion to remind Christians that their faith calls them to make confession of their Creator, as Israel did in the great fall festival of the seventh month, and of the rest that they have come to enjoy in Christ. Janet Schaeffler suggests that it might be good for us to become backyard biologists.42 In your own backyard, mark off an area six feet square, preferably including a bush, a tree, or flowers, along with grass or bare soil. Make use of a magnifying glass, notebooks, and pencils to record the wonder of nature in this small area of God’s creation. Be as thorough as you can. What plants do you find? What kinds of animals? What evidence do you find of creatures that may have passed through this area?
Another suggestion Schaeffler makes is to greet the rising sun. Find a place where you can see the sunrise clearly (this does require getting up before the sun). Each time you see a new color in the sky, thank God for something beautiful. Continue with new and different ideas until the sun is shining brightly, and then head to breakfast with a smile of thanksgiving on your face. (Because looking directly at the sun can damage vision, be sure to look at the sky around the sun or use approved sun blockers.) Or gather the family together to catch the setting sun, the sun’s “closing act.” Talk about how the power of the sun reflects the greatness of God.
Marvel too at the wonders of the night; go on a stargazing trip with your family, it can be in your own backyard.43 Family celebrations should also include ceremony; this might include reading aloud the story of creation (Gen. 1:1–2:4) or a poem from Scripture that thanks God for the beauty of the earth (Ps. 8; 100; 150) or for the marvels of creation (Job 38:1–21; 22–38) and its creatures (38:39–39:30). Song, dance, poetry, or some other form of art can be used to express praise, or compose a prayer that expresses gratitude for the wonders of creation.
Justice and social order. For Israel, order within creation included justice; proper social order was an essential aspect of dominion over creation as the representatives of God. The essence of the covenant oath was to act with justice. Repeatedly Solomon in his prayer asks that God remember his oath with Israel and act with justice (1 Kings 8:49, 59). Solomon does not ask that God “maintain their cause” (KJV, NRSV), which suggests partiality to Israel and misrepresents God; Yahweh was known for justice (Deut. 32:4; Isa. 61:8).
Covenant justice required just actions within society and between nations (Deut. 10:17–21). Justice began with fairness to individual people; the temple was the place of justice in the settlement of disputes between individuals (1 Kings 8:31–32). The rest of Israel was a sign of justice and peace; in the doxology of his prayer Solomon made God’s faithfulness the basis of covenant fidelity (8:56–58). Sabbath observance was the essential sign of creation rest, observance of justice, and conformity to the covenant. Isaiah made it the central observance of all who would be joined to God and his people (Isa. 56:4–8). As Isaiah declared, the temple was a house of prayer for all people who loved the name of the Lord.
Sabbath observance moved from Saturday to Sunday for good early Christian reasons, but modern Christians must not neglect Sabbath. Martin Marty makes reference to Jewish interpretation in his exhortation to Christians to keep the Sabbath as a call to justice.44 In Israel the climax of Sabbath rest was reached in the Jubilee year (šenat hayyôbēl), times for enacting social justice and freeing the earth from human exploitation. The Sabbaths are to be times of release from attachments and habits, addictions and idolatries. Marty quotes Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (who later marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. against racism and the Vietnam War), who wrote following the Holocaust and Hiroshima, both grotesque mockeries of creation:
To set apart one day a week for freedom, a day on which we would not use the instruments which have been so easily turned into weapons of destruction, a day for being with ourselves, a day of detachment from the vulgar, of independence of external obligations, a day on which we use no money … on which [humanity] avows [its] independence of that which is the world’s chief idol … a day of armistice in the economic struggle with our fellow [humans] and the forces of nature—is there any institution that holds out a greater hope for humanity’s progress than the Sabbath?45
Image of God and idolatry. For modern Christians, just as for Old Testament saints, constant vigilance is required to fulfill the purpose of mortals in showing the glory of God within creation, his true temple. The predisposition of Israel was to reduce God to the level of the gods of other religions (1 Kings 9:6–9); the exalted temple, representing the God of all nations, would then become the ridicule of the nations. Justice for Israel was to command the reverence of all nations in giving honor to Yahweh alone (8:43, 60). Abandoning God happened as soon as he was equated with gods of human conception (9:9). The same kind of reduction happens in contemporary thought. The term God is often used to refer to the impersonal (God does not communicate) or deistic (God has no involvement with earthly events). Any concept of God that is impersonal or deistic is not a biblical concept of God and is nothing more than human philosophizing.
The Creator of the universe made his representative image (humans) personal just as he is a person. A personal relationship assumes an awareness of self, an ability to expect respect and commitment from other individuals, and a willingness to show respect by keeping commitments. It is these two qualities that are emphasized about God. God has chosen to mediate his rule of the world through people. David and his people had a special function in this rule, because they were to make the name of God great (8:16, 25, 43, 60; 9:4–5). The church is the successor to the purpose of God in choosing David and Jerusalem; the calling of the church is to make the name of Christ known among all nations so that every knee may bow before him (Phil. 2:11). That honor is not given when God is made something less than a person in his sovereignty over creation, or when Christ is made less than God in choosing to live as a human.
Idolatry as expressed in the vision to Solomon has its origin in the mind. It is not so much a denial of God as a distortion, fashioning God in the ways of other religions or philosophies. Such idolatries may lead to worship of creation rather than the Creator, or they may lead to greed and the destruction of creation. Unhappily, such idolatries have been all too common among confessing Christians, just as they were in Israel. Solomon’s prayers for forgiveness for such failures are most pertinent.
The renewal of the mind created after the image of God is not complete when a decision is made to believe in Christ. Putting off the old and putting on the new is a continual process (Eph. 4:17–24). Learning to know God must begin with his revelation of himself, uncompromised by other philosophies. Theology is of critical importance, as human thought is applied to understanding God in contemporary context. As in Israel, the danger is that those who would follow God may be self-deceived, so they do not even realize when they have become idolatrous.
The seduction of idolatry is evident in values destructive of creation or community. The symptoms of an inadequate concept of God are seen in the behavior of believers. Honor is given to God by delighting in his creation; wonder at the beauty of the earth is the basis for the right use of its resources. Exploitation of the earth for any reason is failure to know God, a sign of idolatry. Order in creation includes respect and honor to other individuals, the exercise of justice in all relationships. Equity must be a priority if respect is to be given to the Creator whose purpose is to bring rest to creation.
Indifference to justice is idolatry, a misrepresentation of who God is as a person. Idolatry is quite readily identified in serving mammon, but it is no less real in disrespect of any of God’s creation or wrong done to other people. The evident examples of idolatry must not obscure the more subtle ways in which it is manifested. Christians must live with a renewed mind, clearly distinguished from the values of the “other nations” who do not know God.
Original Meaning
Dedication Sacrifices (8:62–66)
THE CLOSING SUMMARY of the temple dedication at the Festival of Booths brings the account back to the events of the introduction (cf. vv. 1–2).18 Further details are added; representatives have gathered from north to south, from Hamath to the Egyptian boundary.19 Hamath on the Orontes is the most northern boundary of Israel at its maximum extent (Josh. 13:5; 2 Kings 14:25), probably the limit of David’s conquests in his wars with the Arameans (2 Sam. 8:3–10).20 The celebrations for the dedication of the temple last seven days, with an additional seven days of celebration of the feast (cf. 2 Chron. 7:9–10). Sacrifices were offered during the time of the installation of the ark (1 Kings 8:5), and they are offered continuously throughout the celebrations of dedication and the time of the festival.
The sacrifices previously described as being without number (v. 5) are here enumerated in terms of oxen and sheep (v. 63). Communal peace offerings introduce the sacrifices and appear to be the central aspect of the dedication. The main function of these offerings is to provide food for the table; these sacrifices are for joyous occasions of celebration.21 Worshipers and priests share the peace offerings, providing a bonding of the community and a celebration of the covenant (Lev. 7:11–15, 30–36). The blood, fat, and entrails of the peace offering are devoted to God (3:3–5). The quantity of these offerings, plus the burnt offerings and grain offerings given to God, is so great that the great bronze altar does not have sufficient capacity (1 Kings 8:64). The entire court was consecrated for the occasion.
Sacrifices were an essential part of the ritual in ancient temple dedications. The central event was the divine possession of the temple (cf. vv. 11–12), which was necessarily accompanied with great celebration and sacrifices for the occasion. The significance of the temple dedication is expressed in the language of its own culture. Hurowitz is able to cite numerous parallel examples from Mesopotamian literature.22 Esarhaddon dedicated the Assur temple by placing the god in his eternal dais and offered countless sacrifices. His dignitaries and the people celebrated for three days in the temple courtyard.
Covenant Confirmation (9:1–9)
Bridging Contexts
THE TIME OF DEDICATION. Houses in ancient Israel were dedicated by taking up residence in them, probably amid festivities, rituals, and prayers. If someone had built a house but had not dedicated it (ḥanākô), he was not to go to war but to go back to his house, lest he die in battle and another dedicate it (yaḥnekennû; i.e., go to live in it; Deut. 20:5).26 A curse contained the converse of this dedication: One would build a house but not live in it (28:30). In similar fashion the temple is dedicated (wayyaḥnekû ʾet bêt yhwh) with the visible signs of glory indicating that God has taken up residence within it, accompanied by prayers, sacrifices, and celebrations (1 Kings 8:63). The placement of the ark in the Most Holy Place as the divine footstool is the most significant symbol of the divine Presence.
The dedication of the temple takes place during the major fall festival of Sukkoth (Booths or Tabernacles), a seven-day festival that required a pilgrimage to the central place of worship (Deut. 16:13–15). The seventh month marks the completion of the Israelite harvest, when landowners (heads of houses) could leave for a week without concern for fields or crops. It is probable, however, that there is a theological significance to celebration in the seventh month (possibly almost a year after the completion of the temple in the eighth month; cf. 1 Kings 6:38). Seven-day celebrations, either in the spring or in the fall, were associated with creation and temple building.27
Gudea, king of the Sumerian city of Lagash (twenty-second century B.C.) held a seven-day festival of dedication for the building of Eninnu, the temple of Ningirsu.28 Closer to Solomon, the building of the palace for the rule of Baal was a process of seven days.29 The tabernacle was set up at the time of the spring equinox (Ex. 40:2, 17); Jeroboam dedicated his temples during Tabernacles (1 Kings 12:32–33), and after the Exile the altar was reconstructed at the time of Tabernacles (Ezra 3:1–6). Though the Bible does not explicitly relate the festivals with creation, the associations are present and become the occasion for temple dedication.
The seven-day festivals in the spring and fall were in part a celebration of the new year, similar to other practices in the ancient Near East. In Babylon the akītu Festival of the New Year took place in the first eleven days of the vernal (spring) month of Nisan. On the fourth day the creation epic of Babylon, the Enuma Elish, was read—perhaps in order to reactualize the primordial events of the poem. The New Year’s festival was not just a calendrical milestone, but an actual renewal of the created world. Social, political, and natural chaos were closely associated and were never far away; the efficacious recitation of creation events brought hope for the coming New Year. The New Year’s celebrations in Israel were also associated with harvest and renewal and implicitly with creation itself. Levenson cites a debate between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua (both did their most important teaching about A.D. 80–120) concerning whether creation occurred during the fall festival (Tishri) or spring (Nisan).30
Rabbi Eliezer says, From what text do we know that it was in Tishri that the world was created? Because the Bible says, “And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees.…’” In what month does the earth put forth vegetation and the trees are full of fruit? You have to say that this is Tishri, and that period was the rainy season, so that the rains fell and caused vegetation to sprout, as the Bible says, “a flow would well up from the ground.”
Rabbi Joshua says, From what text do we know that it was in Nisan that the world was created? Because the Bible says, “The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants … and trees of every kind.” In what month is the earth full of vegetation and trees are bringing out fruit? You have to say that this is Nisan, and that period was the season when cattle and game and birds mate, as the Bible says, “The meadows are clothed with flocks, [the valleys mantled with grain].”
Name theology. The blessings and prayer spoken by Solomon express the theological significance that the temple is to have in the life of the nation. There are fourteen references to the name of God in Solomon’s prayer. In Deuteronomistic theology, God chose the temple as the place where his Name was to dwell. This theology of “the Name” is often regarded as a “demythologization” of the divine Presence. Whereas the divine glory filling the temple is thought to show that God himself dwelt there (8:1–14), the corrective taught that only the divine Name dwelt in the temple. The prayer locates God in heaven, which is interpreted to make him transcendent, invulnerable to any catastrophe that might affect his temple. The Name was regarded as a hypostasis of God, the very essence of him being present.
The ark of the covenant rested there, not as the footstool of God present on his throne but as a representation of the special legal bonding uniting God and Israel.31 The temple became the focal point for prayers; prayers uttered in the city, in the land of Israel, or outside the land were to be directed toward the temple. God’s eyes would be directed to the place where his Name dwelt. Under this interpretation the Name theology served to teach the transcendence of God and the centralization of worship. Farmers or soldiers did not need to resort to a local high place, since they could direct their prayers in the direction of the temple where God would hear.
The significance of a place for God’s Name to dwell must be examined more carefully. Idioms have to be understood within their own language context. In the English language the word “hand” connotes different things in various expressions. We may give someone a hand (for a job well done), give a hand to someone (for help needed), give a handout (to someone in need), or give a hand up (to help someone become self sufficient). Nothing in the expression itself can determine the significance of “hand,” nor can the meaning of hand in one of these idioms be used to determine its meaning in another. The distinct meaning in each expression is not shared with the others; the idioms are in no sense synonymous.
The significance of biblical Name theology must be related to similar expressions in other documents. The expression “to place the name” in the Amarna Letters, as has long been noted in Hebrew lexicons, signifies possession; it is an idiom for ownership.32 Just as the pharaoh owned Jerusalem by placing his name there (EA 287, 288), so Yahweh owned the temple. In a study of comparative linguistics and various biblical name idioms, R. de Vaux was able to show that the Name theology of Deuteronomy did not represent any transformation of the Israelite perception of the mode of divine Presence. He showed that there were four name idioms that were linked to the election formula of the biblical text: the place that Yahweh has chosen in order to establish his Name; the place where Yahweh has chosen to place his Name; the place over which the Name of Yahweh has been pronounced; the place where Yahweh has named his Name.33 De Vaux thought other expressions, such as “a place for the Name to be” and “to build a house for the Name,” did address the issue of God’s presence in the sanctuary.
Six of the references to “Name” in 1 Kings 8 come from the formula “to build a temple for the Name of the LORD” (vv. 17, 18, 19, 20, 44, 48). These are transparently quotations of the promise to Solomon, in which David is assured that his son will build a house and establish the kingdom (2 Sam. 7:13). Solomon is that son, so it is not surprising that this passage should be quoted frequently. The use of “the Name” in this promise is to establish a memorial in order to perpetuate a reputation.34
The Hebrew expression “to make a name” (ʿāśâ šēm) has much the same significance as in English (cf. Gen. 11:4). In the context of the promise, David will not build a house for Yahweh; rather, Yahweh will build a house for David; God will establish his dynasty and establish his name like that of the great ones who are in the earth (2 Sam. 7:9). As a result, the heir of David’s house (Solomon) is appointed to build a house (temple) for the Name (reputation) of Yahweh. The result, David acknowledges, is that God will make his own Name great forever (1 Kings 8:26–27). Normally a king established the legitimacy of his rule by building or refurbishing a temple to the god that had granted his power to rule. The presence of the temple will ensure the continuity of the divine Presence and the security of the throne.
David was denied this symbolic assurance, but in its place God granted a promise by oath as an assurance that his kingdom was secure forever. Building a house for the Name of God in the promise to David signified reputation, not divine Presence. The house built for David (the royal dynasty) and the house built for God (the temple) will perpetuate the renown of both.
The fame or reputation of Yahweh for those from outside of the land is also expressed three times in Solomon’s prayer (1 Kings 8:41–43). Others outside of Israel will have heard of God’s great works, his outstretched arm, and will pray toward the temple. Solomon also considers the times when the people will suffer the curse because of their sin and will make confession (acknowledgment) of the Name (vv. 33, 35). In these instances the Name is simply a euphemism for God himself.
In one occurrence in the prayer the Name idiom is used to express purpose involving the case of the foreigner (8:43): that all may know “that this house I have built bears your Name.” This expression is well known as signifying ownership by means of transference of property (e.g., 2 Sam. 12:28). In Deuteronomy this idiom communicates the elect nature of the people of Israel, whose redeemed state stands as a testimony to the nations of Yahweh’s power to save.35 In Solomon’s prayer it stands as a testimony to Yahweh’s power to save even those foreigners who come to the temple because of God’s reputation for saving acts.
The prayer of Solomon utilizes these Name idioms to make the temple the ultimate symbol of the essentials of the Israelite faith. Two times in the prayer Solomon says that the temple will be a house where God’s Name will be present (vv. 16, 29); this formula makes the temple the place that fulfills the Deuteronomic promise. The temple is the house that fulfills the Davidic promise; it is the elect place over which God’s Name is called; it is the place of covenant preservation, where God’s Name is acknowledged in confession and praise. The temple is the embodiment of the land promised to Israel and marked by God’s Name. The temple is the ultimate symbol of God’s relationship with Israel; it served to memorialize and perpetuate God’s great deeds of redemption amidst Israel and the nations. It is testimony to the reputation of Yahweh. The association between the election of Jerusalem and the election of David is made explicit in God’s choosing the temple as the place for Yahweh’s Name.
Theology of rest. In a concluding blessing Solomon declares that God has given rest to his people and that not a word of all the good things promised through Moses his servant has failed (8:56). This important confession is articulated in Joshua; rest was the consequence of Israel’s inheriting the land, the uncompromised fulfillment of all God promised (Josh. 21:43–45; 23:1, 14). The temple is declared to be God’s resting place; following David’s relentless effort to restore the ark to its proper place, God is called to rise at his resting place (Ps. 132:8). God in turn avers to David that Zion, the temple mount and the seat of the divine throne, will be his resting place for all time (132:13–14). Not only the temple, but the whole land can be declared to be the place of God’s rest (95:11). The concept of the land being God’s resting place prompts David to seek to build a temple for God (2 Sam. 7:1). The mercies shown to him are the foundation of the hope of the nation (Ps. 89:1–4).
Divine rest is interpreted in two ways: Sabbath is to be observed in order to remember that Israel was delivered from the house of bondage in Egypt (Deut. 5:15) and to declare that Yahweh made the heavens and earth in six days (Ex. 20:11). Divine rest at creation was a declaration that the forces of chaos had been conquered. This victory served to ensure that the sure mercies promised to David would endure forever:
You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.
You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
Your arm is endued with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you. (Ps. 89:10–15)
The two interpretations of the Sabbath are in reality the same. Divine rest at creation not only signified the conquest of disorder, but also the establishment of justice and righteousness, the love and loyalty that were part of the covenant mercies to David. Sabbath was the central focus of the creation story (Gen. 2:1–3). The rest of God demonstrated that creative activity was complete and that the work of the Creator was perfect; further, “the explicit portrayal of the creator sleeping functioned as a statement of the deity’s status as the supreme ruler of heaven and earth. The ability to sleep undisturbed was the symbol of the deity’s absolute dominion over the heavens and the earth and the underworld.”36 In ancient Near Eastern creation stories this dominion included the provision of freedom: the emancipation of slaves, the repatriation of captives, restoration of land to the original owners, and provision of land for the poor. In the same way the Psalms declare that justice and right belong to the peace of creation:
For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses. (Ps. 33:4–7)
Israel is not only the benefactor of the divine rest of creation, but is also expected to be a participant in it. The Sabbath, the sabbatical year, and the Sabbath of sabbatical years, the Jubilee, recall the primordial rest in a form in which humans can share. The collective existence of Israel is to participate in the divine rest that consummates creation. The prophets make acts of benevolence a part of right and justice that God seeks. Jeremiah provides an itemized list of such deeds: “Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place” (Jer. 22:3). Justice and compassion are not distinguished in the call for righteousness: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other” (Zech. 7:9–10).
The divine response to Solomon’s prayer in the vision affirms both the election of the royal house and Jerusalem, and the necessity of maintaining the divine rest. God has placed his Name on Jerusalem forever (1 Kings 9:3); this idiom is used exclusively of the chosen place of worship and audience.37 Blessing and cursing elements present in ancient Near Eastern inscriptions were intended to preserve the building against the ravages of time and future neglect and to preserve the memory of the king. These elements are given a distinct function in Solomon’s vision.38 This vision does not concern itself with a future king who might find the building in ruins; the future of the temple and the dynasty depend on allegiance to God and his commandments.
The prophetic concept of God is unlike that of any other religion in ancient time. God is incomparable and incomprehensible, an unrivaled God that all nations are to know (8:60–61). This God demands absolute faithfulness, loyalty, and justice (Deut. 10:14–18). External symbols and rituals can never in themselves secure a relationship with such a God. Circumcision means nothing if there was not a “circumcision of the mind” (10:16), that loyal faithfulness to the covenant that shows complete trust and reverence of God. The external symbols are all designed to show that the God of the covenant cannot be comprehended. The little poem of Solomon (1 Kings 8:12–13) is a reminder of this fact; God dwells where none can see him, for a visible throne room distorts a comprehension of the King of kings.
The prophets believe they know God truly, since he has entered into covenant with them. But they never believe it is possible to know God fully. Finite humans can know their majestic God by analogy, such as the comparison to a king as one of his functions. Israel succumbed to the seduction of idolatry because they failed to understand the absolute nature of God.
The majestic and imposing structure of the temple with all its associated ritual can never be far from the minds of the covenant people. In addition to the regular daily ritual of the priests, in which burnt offering is made to God, lights are maintained, and incense is poured on the hot coals, there are the daily requirements for individual Israelites to observe the regulations of diet, cleanliness, and sacrifice for sins. There is always the danger that rituals become routine, performed without thought for their significance. The dedication of the temple is a reminder of this danger. Building the temple does not fulfill the requirements of the covenant, nor does the meticulous observance of all its associated ritual. All these are a means of confessing the holy and majestic God of the covenant and his involvement in every aspect of daily life.
Contemporary Significance
Contemporary Significance
TEMPLE THEOLOGY FOR the church. Paul describes Christians as those who have access into the presence of God the Father through Christ; peace has been proclaimed to those far and near from God (Eph. 2:16–18). God has brought all peoples together as fellow citizens. The church is described as a temple built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ is the cornerstone; he gives shape to this new edifice that rises as a holy sanctuary (vv. 19–22). In Christ Christians are built together as the new dwelling of God in the Spirit.
The Christian calling has a fundamental continuity with the function of the temple as expressed in Solomon’s dedication prayer. The temple was a manifestation of God’s elective choice of David and Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:16, 29; 9:3). God chose Zion to be his possession, and David was chosen to be ruler over God’s people Israel. The dedication prayer taught the ultimate sovereignty of God over both land and people. The temple was a focal point to which prayers could be made; God, whose temple was the heavens, would attend to his earthly temple night and day (vv. 28–29) and respond in mercy to the prayers of his people.
Solomon’s mission in building the temple was to memorialize and perpetuate the great works of Yahweh, the kingdom anticipated in the promise to David (2 Sam. 7; 1 Kings 8:60). The calling of the Christian church is to show the purpose of God for creation as it is accomplished in his world. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul begins with God’s desires before the cosmos came into being. God planned a family through adoption in Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:3–6a). God in time worked out this mystery, to bring all things together in Christ, earthly and heavenly (1:9–10). Those called to Christ are destined according to the purpose of the one who does all things according to the intent of his will, to be to the praise of his glory (1:11–12).
The fear of the apostle Paul is that Christians might not understand the significance of their calling in the world. In Ephesians, therefore, Paul prays that those in Christ might understand the hope of the Christian:
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Eph. 1:18–23)
Paul’s whole life was driven by the power of this divine purpose; this great calling belongs to all Christians just as much as it did to the apostle. Paul, the least of all saints by his own estimation, felt compelled to go to the ends of the earth in order to proclaim this great mystery that had been hidden in previous times (Eph. 3:8–9). For the apostle, God’s purpose in his choice of David and Jerusalem was but a partial revelation of the greater goal for creation. The proclamation of Solomon was a deeply veiled mystery of what God was doing in the world. Only the death and resurrection of Christ demonstrate how God is drawing all humankind to himself; the purpose of God is to be found in the church, whose reach is universal.
God’s plan for the church must be made known to the greatest of the powers and authorities, particularly those in opposition to God, including those that exercise authority beyond this earth. Again Paul prays fervently that believers might understand this great work within creation, which they represent:
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.39 (Eph. 3:14–19)
Belonging to the church demands that Christians learn to live in accordance with that calling, learning harmony and unity with each other (Eph. 4:1–3). Fundamentally, living as a Christian requires a new way of thinking (4:17–24). Outside of Christ human values are governed by self-interest, the deceit of greed; the apostle calls believers back to the renewal of the original image, righteousness and holiness as they have learned it in Christ (4:22–24). All divisions of humanity are bridged in Christ; all races and classes are brought into harmony, as they are transformed in knowledge according to God’s image (Col. 3:10–11).
Solomon called on God to show mercy to all who call on him, including those who did not belong to the nation (1 Kings 8:41–43). Israel must represent God’s kingdom in this world. Paul sees this kingdom as present across all national, ethnic, and cultural boundaries, through the transformation of mind. The peace of Christ is to rule in the lives of all those called to be one with him. The presence of the church is profoundly significant of that which the temple of Solomon is but a shadow. The temple declared God’s ownership of land and his covenant with Israel; the church rises as God’s holy temple in bringing all peoples in harmony as one household.
Discord within the church is a travesty. There is but one Spirit, one hope of the Christian calling, one God and Father of all, over all, through all, in all (Eph. 4:5–6). Failure to demonstrate this unity within the Christian community is a denial of the essence of the church; church leadership is to equip church members so they achieve the fullness of Christ in maturity (4:11–13). The temple declared the universality of God’s grace and love. One who was wronged could find justice (1 Kings 8:31–32); those from a faraway land who had heard of the fame of Yahweh could seek mercy (vv. 41–43); Israel exiled in a distant land could pray and God would hear (vv. 48–50).
The church is to manifest the peace of Christ everywhere that it has a presence. Dissension within the church betrays its calling. Solomon acknowledged that failure would happen to all and they would suffer the consequences (1 Kings 8:46); he prayed that God’s purpose for his inheritance might be preserved (vv. 51–53). The church, as the representation of God’s mercy and love, must learn to forgive and show mercy just as they have received it (Eph. 4:32; 5:1–2).
Creation theology. With the dedication of the temple God had granted rest according to all that he had promised (1 Kings 8:56). The rest of the people of Israel testified to God’s sovereign control of creation and fulfillment of redemption in the lives of the people of Israel. The celebration of the temple dedication on the festival of the New Year testified to the order and beauty of creation, as well as the progress of redemption. Christians need to celebrate both; Christians celebrate redemption on Sunday services and on special events such as Easter, but they often lack a corresponding confession to the beauty of creation. The restoration of creation is an important theme in relation to redemption. The apostle consciously links creation coming to its rest with the redemption of God’s people:
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Rom. 8:20–21)
The exhortation to live in the hope of a future redemption in which creation itself will be liberated from its present bondage is also a call to celebrate the beauty of creation in praise of the Creator. Christians of all people must be concerned about appropriately exercising dominion in the environment in which they live. Their responsibility, as those renewed in mind in the image of the Creator, is to live in his creation in a way that will respect the beauty of creation to the glory of the Creator.
Joseph Sittler declared the theological responsibility to ecological consciousness long before the first Earth Day celebration. He urged that environmental ethics should take its cue from the first question of the Westminster Catechism in the Calvinist tradition. “What is the chief end of man [and woman]? To glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” The motivation for attention to environmental concerns is the delight of all the manifestations of God’s glory in the natural world around us. Christian concern for the environment should not begin with the paralyzing fear of environmental catastrophe (as eminent as it might be), nor with crippling guilt over the human abuse of creation (as dreadful as it might be), but with the joy of living in God’s world. Drawing on Augustine’s distinction between what humans can “use” and what they can “enjoy,” Sittler argues that in matters of ecological responsibility delight is the basis of right use.
The call to celebrate the beauty of creation was a central theme in the theology of Jonathan Edwards. It was his conviction that the natural world is a communication of God’s glory that should fill us all with desire. Edward Parley goes so far as to say that in the work of Jonathan Edwards, “beauty is more central and more pervasive than in any other text in the history of Christian theology.”40 Humans have a particular capacity for joy at the marvel of creation and have a supreme role in the task of giving God glory along with the rest of the natural world (Ps. 8). Edwards understood the Christian to have a renewed capacity to sense the marvel of creation as one of the graces of receiving salvation.
Lane believes that in the thought of Edwards, divine grace included a renewed spiritual capacity to understand the magnificence of the natural world and a more integrated ability to perceive reality through the ordinary channels of sense experience.
For Jonathan Edwards, creation functions as a school of desire, training regenerate human beings in the intimate sensory apprehension of God’s glory mirrored in the beauty of the world. Humans are to respond, in turn, by articulating that glory, bringing it to full consciousness, and by replicating God’s own disposition to communicate beauty as they extend the act of beautifying to the world around them. In other words, the natural world enlarges the human capacity to sense the fullness of God’s beauty and the appreciation of that beauty subsequently leads to ethical action. Nature teaches us God’s beauty which in turn drives us to its continual replication in time and space.41
The annual observance of Earth Day may be an occasion to remind Christians that their faith calls them to make confession of their Creator, as Israel did in the great fall festival of the seventh month, and of the rest that they have come to enjoy in Christ. Janet Schaeffler suggests that it might be good for us to become backyard biologists.42 In your own backyard, mark off an area six feet square, preferably including a bush, a tree, or flowers, along with grass or bare soil. Make use of a magnifying glass, notebooks, and pencils to record the wonder of nature in this small area of God’s creation. Be as thorough as you can. What plants do you find? What kinds of animals? What evidence do you find of creatures that may have passed through this area?
Another suggestion Schaeffler makes is to greet the rising sun. Find a place where you can see the sunrise clearly (this does require getting up before the sun). Each time you see a new color in the sky, thank God for something beautiful. Continue with new and different ideas until the sun is shining brightly, and then head to breakfast with a smile of thanksgiving on your face. (Because looking directly at the sun can damage vision, be sure to look at the sky around the sun or use approved sun blockers.) Or gather the family together to catch the setting sun, the sun’s “closing act.” Talk about how the power of the sun reflects the greatness of God.
Marvel too at the wonders of the night; go on a stargazing trip with your family, it can be in your own backyard.43 Family celebrations should also include ceremony; this might include reading aloud the story of creation (Gen. 1:1–2:4) or a poem from Scripture that thanks God for the beauty of the earth (Ps. 8; 100; 150) or for the marvels of creation (Job 38:1–21; 22–38) and its creatures (38:39–39:30). Song, dance, poetry, or some other form of art can be used to express praise, or compose a prayer that expresses gratitude for the wonders of creation.
Justice and social order. For Israel, order within creation included justice; proper social order was an essential aspect of dominion over creation as the representatives of God. The essence of the covenant oath was to act with justice. Repeatedly Solomon in his prayer asks that God remember his oath with Israel and act with justice (1 Kings 8:49, 59). Solomon does not ask that God “maintain their cause” (KJV, NRSV), which suggests partiality to Israel and misrepresents God; Yahweh was known for justice (Deut. 32:4; Isa. 61:8).
Covenant justice required just actions within society and between nations (Deut. 10:17–21). Justice began with fairness to individual people; the temple was the place of justice in the settlement of disputes between individuals (1 Kings 8:31–32). The rest of Israel was a sign of justice and peace; in the doxology of his prayer Solomon made God’s faithfulness the basis of covenant fidelity (8:56–58). Sabbath observance was the essential sign of creation rest, observance of justice, and conformity to the covenant. Isaiah made it the central observance of all who would be joined to God and his people (Isa. 56:4–8). As Isaiah declared, the temple was a house of prayer for all people who loved the name of the Lord.
Sabbath observance moved from Saturday to Sunday for good early Christian reasons, but modern Christians must not neglect Sabbath. Martin Marty makes reference to Jewish interpretation in his exhortation to Christians to keep the Sabbath as a call to justice.44 In Israel the climax of Sabbath rest was reached in the Jubilee year (šenat hayyôbēl), times for enacting social justice and freeing the earth from human exploitation. The Sabbaths are to be times of release from attachments and habits, addictions and idolatries. Marty quotes Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (who later marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. against racism and the Vietnam War), who wrote following the Holocaust and Hiroshima, both grotesque mockeries of creation:
To set apart one day a week for freedom, a day on which we would not use the instruments which have been so easily turned into weapons of destruction, a day for being with ourselves, a day of detachment from the vulgar, of independence of external obligations, a day on which we use no money … on which [humanity] avows [its] independence of that which is the world’s chief idol … a day of armistice in the economic struggle with our fellow [humans] and the forces of nature—is there any institution that holds out a greater hope for humanity’s progress than the Sabbath?45
Image of God and idolatry. For modern Christians, just as for Old Testament saints, constant vigilance is required to fulfill the purpose of mortals in showing the glory of God within creation, his true temple. The predisposition of Israel was to reduce God to the level of the gods of other religions (1 Kings 9:6–9); the exalted temple, representing the God of all nations, would then become the ridicule of the nations. Justice for Israel was to command the reverence of all nations in giving honor to Yahweh alone (8:43, 60). Abandoning God happened as soon as he was equated with gods of human conception (9:9). The same kind of reduction happens in contemporary thought. The term God is often used to refer to the impersonal (God does not communicate) or deistic (God has no involvement with earthly events). Any concept of God that is impersonal or deistic is not a biblical concept of God and is nothing more than human philosophizing.
The Creator of the universe made his representative image (humans) personal just as he is a person. A personal relationship assumes an awareness of self, an ability to expect respect and commitment from other individuals, and a willingness to show respect by keeping commitments. It is these two qualities that are emphasized about God. God has chosen to mediate his rule of the world through people. David and his people had a special function in this rule, because they were to make the name of God great (8:16, 25, 43, 60; 9:4–5). The church is the successor to the purpose of God in choosing David and Jerusalem; the calling of the church is to make the name of Christ known among all nations so that every knee may bow before him (Phil. 2:11). That honor is not given when God is made something less than a person in his sovereignty over creation, or when Christ is made less than God in choosing to live as a human.
Idolatry as expressed in the vision to Solomon has its origin in the mind. It is not so much a denial of God as a distortion, fashioning God in the ways of other religions or philosophies. Such idolatries may lead to worship of creation rather than the Creator, or they may lead to greed and the destruction of creation. Unhappily, such idolatries have been all too common among confessing Christians, just as they were in Israel. Solomon’s prayers for forgiveness for such failures are most pertinent.
The renewal of the mind created after the image of God is not complete when a decision is made to believe in Christ. Putting off the old and putting on the new is a continual process (Eph. 4:17–24). Learning to know God must begin with his revelation of himself, uncompromised by other philosophies. Theology is of critical importance, as human thought is applied to understanding God in contemporary context. As in Israel, the danger is that those who would follow God may be self-deceived, so they do not even realize when they have become idolatrous.
The seduction of idolatry is evident in values destructive of creation or community. The symptoms of an inadequate concept of God are seen in the behavior of believers. Honor is given to God by delighting in his creation; wonder at the beauty of the earth is the basis for the right use of its resources. Exploitation of the earth for any reason is failure to know God, a sign of idolatry. Order in creation includes respect and honor to other individuals, the exercise of justice in all relationships. Equity must be a priority if respect is to be given to the Creator whose purpose is to bring rest to creation.
Indifference to justice is idolatry, a misrepresentation of who God is as a person. Idolatry is quite readily identified in serving mammon, but it is no less real in disrespect of any of God’s creation or wrong done to other people. The evident examples of idolatry must not obscure the more subtle ways in which it is manifested. Christians must live with a renewed mind, clearly distinguished from the values of the “other nations” who do not know God.