"God Always Keeps His Word"
1 Kings 8:1-6,10-11,22-30,41-43
1 Then King Solomon
summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of
the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the
Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 2 All the Israelites came
together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim,
the seventh month. 3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took
up the ark, 4 and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting
and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up,
5 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about
him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could
not be recorded or counted. 6 The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s
covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy
Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.
10 When the priests
withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. 11 And
the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory
of the Lord filled his temple.
22 Then Solomon stood
before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread
out his hands toward heaven 23 and said: “Lord, the God of Israel, there is no
God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love
with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 24 You have kept
your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised
and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today. 25 “Now Lord, the God
of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him
when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on
the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to
walk before me faithfully as you have done.’ 26 And now, God of Israel, let
your word that you promised your servant David my father come true. 27 “But
will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot
contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 28 Yet give attention to
your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the
prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. 29 May your eyes
be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My
Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays
toward this place. 30 Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people
Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place,
and when you hear, forgive.
41 “As for the foreigner
who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land
because of your name— 42 for they will hear of your great name and your mighty
hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, 43 then
hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you,
so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do
your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your
Name.
The Ark contained the
presence of God (i.e. the two tablets where the 10 Commandments were written by
the Finger of God). God had always kept His promises to King David and to his
son Solomon. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
We must know that God is
always with us and He will always keep His promises to us. With the death and
resurrection of Christ, God established a New Covenant (agreement) with us. God
promises that if we accept Christ as Our Savior, our benefits will be great: we
are forgiven for our sins, God's laws are inscribed in our hearts, we are
saved, we become a new person, we are healed, our eyes and ears are opened to
the truth, we are set free, we have eternal life, we exist in the peace of the
Lord, we overcome the world, we have emotional and financial stability, we are
blessed exceedingly and abundantly, we are children of God, we become heirs to
the Kingdom of Heaven, we are royalty, we get to live in God's kingdom now,
Christ resides in our hearts, we have dominion over the earth and over the
enemy, we shine as a brilliant light and help to bring others out of the
darkness.
Everyone, from all parts of
the world, must come to know what God has promised and that ...
"God Always Keeps His Word"