Temple Dedication (1 Kings 8)

How did Solomon dedicate the temple to the Lord and bless the people to His service? Who does the temple ultimately picture? Let’s begin in 1 Kings 8.

How did Solomon bring the sacred box containing the engraved stones of the covenant, the ten commandments, into the temple?

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. (1 Kings 8:1-11 ESV)

Did Solomon then give a special blessing of the entire congregation that was there?

Then Solomon said: The Lord said that He would dwell in thick darkness. I have indeed built an exalted temple for You, a place for Your dwelling forever. The king turned around and blessed the entire congregation of Israel while they were standing. He said: May the Lord God of Israel be praised! He spoke directly to my father David, and He has fulfilled the promise by His power. He said, “Since the day I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city to build a temple in among any of the tribes of Israel, so that My name would be there. But I have chosen David to rule My people Israel.” It was in the desire of my father David to build a temple for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. But the Lord said to my father David,“ Since it was your desire to build a temple for My name, you have done well to have this desire. Yet you are not the one to build it; instead, your son, your own offspring, will build it for My name.” The Lord has fulfilled what He promised. I have taken the place of my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built the temple for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. I have provided a place there for the ark, where the Lord’s covenant is that He made with our ancestors when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. (1 Kings 8:12-21 HCSB)

What did Solomon say to God in his prayer of dedication about His promise to David?

Then Solomon took his place in front of the Lord’s altar in the presence of the entire congregation of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven, and said: “Lord God of Israel, there is no one like you, God in heaven above or on the earth below, who watches over his covenant, showing gracious love to your servants who live their lives in your presence with all their hearts. It is you, Lord God, who have kept your promise to my father, your servant David, that you made to him. Indeed, you made a commitment to my father David and then personally fulfilled what you had promised today. Now therefore, Lord God of Israel, keep your promise that you made to my father, your servant David, when you said, ‘You will not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants will watch their lives, to live in my presence just as you have lived in my presence.’ Now therefore, God of Israel, may your promise that you made to your servant David my father be fulfilled… and yet, will God truly reside on earth? Look! Neither the sky nor the highest heaven can contain you! How much less this Temple that I have built! Pay attention to the prayer of your servant and to his request, Lord my God, and listen to the cry and prayer that your servant is praying in your presence today. Let your eyes always look toward this Temple night and day, toward the location where you have said ‘My name will reside there.’ Listen to the prayer that your servant prays in this direction. Listen to the requests from your servant and from your people Israel as they pray in this direction, listen from the place where you reside in heaven, then hear and forgive. (1 Kings 8:22-30 ISV)