Nougat 15

We often promote the view that God’s love is solely restricted to the Jewish community. We also tend to assume that God’s grace was only extended to Gentiles after Pentecost. Yet, there is evidence in the Hebrew Scriptures to suggest otherwise. One such example is Today’s Holy Nougat

1 Kings 8:41-43 CEVDCI

[41-42] Foreigners will hear about you and your mighty power, and some of them will come to live among your people Israel. If any of them pray toward this temple,

[43] listen from your home in heaven and answer their prayers. Then everyone on earth will worship you, just like your people Israel, and they will know that I have built this temple to honour you.

A Temple Built for Worship

In building that first temple, Solomon had one desire: to honour his God and his father. He invested seven years into the construction, ensuring that God’s blueprint handed down to David was followed to the letter (see 1 Chronicles 28:11-19). We note that the plan was passed to Solomon as God denied David permission to construct it. Lack of permission to construct doesn’t mean that David failed to put all the plans in place. He secured all the lumber, gold and fixtures, making the relevant deals with allies. Solomon only needed to put the plans in motion, which he did willingly.

Self-Check

When tasked with bringing someone else’s dream to fruition, do we give it our best effort?

Application

Some theologians argue that God did not desire a temple to be built for worship, as the tabernacle was enough. That might be true, but we see Solomon claiming the Temple as a rallying point for Jews and Gentiles alike. He sought to symbolise his devotion to God with the completed temple, while ensuring that anyone who wished to worship the Lord could do so without a worry.

Solomon was explicit in naming the Gentiles as potential worshippers. He believed that God’s glory would be revealed to the world, and that they would subsequently seek God’s face on their visits to Israel. That sounds like Naaman, the Ethiopian eunuch, you, or me. We were in God’s plan from the onset, and even Solomon knew it. [It leads us to also wonder yet again whether God approves the current war in the Holy Land. For, we see that Solomon expected that foreigners would willingly live in Israel without expulsion.]

On a slightly different note, I invite us to think about yet another temple … our bodies. As believers whose bodies are temples of the living God (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20), we know that we can incline our hearts to God at all times. For God dwells within and is ready to respond to our every need – whether or not we are Jews.

Although our temples were not built with earthly hands (see Acts 7:48), we know that our lifestyles tell the world how much we love Y’shua. It’s our lifestyles that demonstrate God’s power to the world and cause others to desire Christ’s lordship over their lives.

Point to Ponder

How might we ensure that others are drawn to God’s temple in our hearts?

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May all we seek be found in Christ