317. The Dedication of the Temple

1 Kings 8:1–29

After all the buildings were completed, the new temple was ceremoniously inaugurated in the seventh month, before the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles. Solomon gathered all the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes and of all the families, as representatives of the entire community. The priests brought the old tabernacle and its equipment into the temple to be kept there, and then, while the fragrance of sacrifice filled the courtyard, they carried the Ark of the Lord up to the new sanctuary to the sound of the holy trumpets and the praises of the Levitical singers (2 Ch 5:11,12) and placed it in the Holy of Holies under the wings of the cherubim. When they had left the holy place again, the cloud and the glory of the Lord filled the entire house. Solomon thanked God for confirming his word and for giving him grace to build a house for the name of the Lord. Of course, God still lived in darkness. God made his dwelling place among his people in a new way when the eternal Word became flesh and dwelt among men and revealed his glory, grace and truth to them. Now in the New Covenant, God, Christ, dwells through Word and Spirit in the hearts of believers. But even the present gracious presence of God in the church of Christ is not yet the fullest and most perfect. The fellowship of believers with God is still hidden and invisible and will only be revealed one day. When Christ one day appears visibly and the new Jerusalem comes down to the new earth, then the word: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men” will be completely fulfilled.

After the Lord had made his home in the new temple, Solomon stepped before the altar in the courtyard and said the actual prayer of consecration. First of all he testified that God does not live in houses made by human hands, that the heavens of all the heavens cannot contain him, but that this great God had nevertheless promised his people that his name would dwell in this place. Yes, the great God, the Lord of heaven and earth, who dwells in an unapproachable light, has chosen a place on earth where he can be found by people. We now say: Wherever God’s word is proclaimed and the sacrament is administered, God is present. There he reveals his grace and truth to people.