Today, we begin 1st Kings Chapter 8.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click HERE.
For the King James Version, click HERE.
Okay, so there’s a ton of theology crammed into this meaty, long chapter.
It can be divided into 3 parts as follows:
PART ONE:
The Ark of the Covenant, along with the remaining furnishings from the Tabernacle in the wilderness and its sacred vessels, is brought into the newly completed Temple on Mount Moriah.
PART TWO:
Solomon offers his prayer dedicating the Temple to the LORD.
PART THREE:
Solomon blesses the assembled people of Israel, and an abundance of sacrifices marks the beginning of the Temple’s regular worship and sacrificial ministry.
There’s also another key detail we shouldn’t let fly over our heads.
There’s a brief mention of SUKKOT.
Otherwise known as the Feast of Tabernacles in gentile land.
Apparently, this coincided with the Temple’s dedication.
One of the most intriguing (and often debated) details in these opening verses is the timing of the dedication itself.
The text tells us that the ceremony took place during the seventh month.
Yet when we look back at 1 Kings 6, we find the following:
“The foundation of the house of ADONAI was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, all parts of the house were completed exactly as designed. Thus he was seven years building it.”-1 Kings 6:37-38
At first glance, the chronology seems confusing.
The Temple’s construction was completed in the eighth month.
Yet its dedication is described as taking place in the seventh month?
What gives?
We’ll dive into those details in a separate post.
Before that, there’s another interesting detail I wanna point out.
In 1 Kings 8, the 7th month is called Etanim.
This is a Phoenician term, homies.
It ain’t Hebrew.
It means something like “endurance” or “strength.”
Why would a Phoenician name be used here instead of a Hebrew one?
I think’s because Solomon wanted to acknowledge King Hiram and the Phoenicians’ contributions to the Temple project.
Ya feeling me here?
Hiram supplied both materials and skilled craftsmen.
So, using a Phoenician month name was a gesture of appreciation for their contributions.
Today, the seventh month is better known as Tishri.
This leads to today’s takeaway.
I dunno if you realized it, but this is a beautiful picture of Jew and Gentile coming together in peace to work together on a project for the Lord.
This has been the Lord’s vision for mankind from the beginning.
Yes, Israel is God’s chosen people.
That will never change.
But God wants peace for all mankind, with His people as the key lightbulb that serves as illumination for all the nations.
That’s the way you should view things.
Instead of being a wicked anti-Semite whose beliefs probably stem from a severe inferiority complex towards God’s people anyway.
If you wanna be blessed by God, bless Israel.
If you wanna be cursed by God, curse Israel.
It really is that simple.
Heck, this formula might as well be considered an immutable law of the universe.
Something as unbreakable as the Law of Gravity.
Either obey it and live.
Or try to break it and die.
Alrighty, I’ll leave it at that for today.
See ya all next time as we begin our journey through this meaty chapter.
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