Solomon's Temple: the prototype of a church that will not exist - 27 August 2006

scripture focus

1 Kings 8:1, 6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43

theme

the immanence of God

summary

churches are necessary for worship,
although heaven will not have any

It is a common misconception today that one can be a Christian without going to church. Indeed, there is a general malaise throughout Western societies that results specifically from an antagonism towards organised religion. Sadly, it is not possible to be spiritual without the instruction and traditions of organised religion. Yet, there is a spiritual hunger in contemporary that is expressed openly, but satisfied poorly.

This last fact begs the question: Why are churches (as an expression of organised religion) necessary to worship God? Shouldn't worship au naturel be the ideal?

Let’s explore together the historical and practical importance of churches for worship, although heaven will not have any.

¹Then 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.

⁶The 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.

¹⁰When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. ¹¹And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.

²²Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven ²³and said:

“O Lord, 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. ²⁴You 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, 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 man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me as you have done.’ ²⁶And now, O 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! ²⁸Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. ²⁹May 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. ³⁰Hear 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 —⁴²for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm— when he comes and prays toward this temple, ⁴³then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and 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.
(1 Kings 8:1, 6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43)

Solomon’s father, David, had so much wanted to build a temple for God (2 Sam 7:1-2). God had called David, protected him, and blessed him beyond expectation. David’s worshipful response was a desire that God be glorified in a permanent structure, rather than a “tent”.

Unfortunately for David, he was a “man of blood” (1 Chron 22:8), a warrior, although divinely-appointed. A temple is a permanent structure erected in a time a peace. Solomon would rule Israel in peace-time, while David was a conquering king who made possible such peace.

Thus, our reading today recounts Solomon’s speech at the grand opening of his temple. His speech “expresses the theology that stands behind the temple building”.

In Judeo-Christian history, there is a long tradition and theology of localising God's presence:

• of Noah, in response to God’s deliverance of his family from the flood (Gen 8:20);

• of Isaac, in response to God’s reaffirmation of his promise to Abraham (Gen 26:25);

• of Jacob, in response to God’s protection from his brother (Gen 35:1,3,7);

2. the tabernacle, a portable tent erected for the service of God by Moses (Ex 33:7-11) and David (2 Sam 6:17)

• God’s presence was visible, in the form of a pillar of cloud, whenever Moses entered the tent to inquire of God

• the ark of the covenant was placed in the tabernacle, an object identified with God

– those who desecrated the Ark were struck down by its divine power (1 Sam. 6:19; 2 Sam. 6:6-7)

• whereas the tabernacle served the people during their years of wandering, a temple is erected when the nation becomes established, transitioning into a powerful kingdom

– during Solomon’s dedication speech, God’s presence is manifested as a cloud, signifying the nation’s transition

– it remains stationary, on which God sits as an invisible deity above the two guardian cherubim (2 Kings 19:15)

– a high-view of the inviolability of the temple and of Jerusalem develops as a consequence of this transition (1 Kings 8:12-13)

• the Babylonian invasion, in 586 bc, resulted in the destruction of Solomon’s temple

• this temple stood over 500 years, through Jesus’ time, until the Roman general Titus destroyed it during a Jewish revolt in 70 ad

– he often went there to worship and to teach (Mt 21:12, 24:1; Mk 12:35; Lk 2:49; Jn 7:14)

– he became enraged and defended its honour against the money-changers (John 2:12-17)

– he claimed that the temple would be rebuilt in three days (Mk 14:58), an allusion to himself as the temple

– the writers of the New Testament understood that the presence of Jesus rendered the temple superfluous —when Jesus was present, God was present (Jn 1:14)

• while theologies of the role of the Church in the world cover a spectrum, the desire to build, as a testimony to the presence of God in the history of an individual Christian community, remains strong throughout the history of Christianity

In the end, no temple will be necessary as God's transcendence (i.e. God’s nature is beyond the natural realm and human comprehension) will be immanent (i.e. come within the limits of human experience and knowledge) —in the apostle John’s vision of the new Jerusalem, there is no need for a temple because God and Jesus will be fully accessible and knowable (Rev 21:22).

The fulness of this future relationship with God highlights the need to localise him now. We experience something of this future relationship by remembering (à la anamnesis) those moments when God’s presence was fully real and experientially valid to us. In the remembering, we make space for a re-encounter with God, being the very purpose of worship.

It is in this regard that, in his dedication prayer, Solomon declares that the people will remain faithful, as per the expectation of God's promise to be faithful to them, while recognising that his temple could not “contain” God (1 Kgs 8:27). Nevertheless, the symbols and rituals of the temple serve to remind God’s people, both then and now, of his promises to us and his expectations of us. As such the symbols and rituals of our worship are necessary elements, since they prepare us for our future with God that is yet to be revealed fully.

Christians have a duty to worship God, yet we worship with an expectation of encountering God. Every song, every prayer, every reading of scripture, every testimony, every standing-up and sitting-down, is a medium through which God can speak to us, if are hearts are truly open to him.

The act of remembering our encounters with God is an important aspect of our worship. Journals, commitment cards, and keepsakes can all act as memorials to those encounters. These memorials help us to re-enter those moments, so as to animate our faith for the future. I would encourage you to establish such memorials for yourself.

When I was a young Christian, a ‘dear old saint’ of my church gave me a study bible. He also gave me three dollars, with which I was to have my name engraved on the cover. I did not spend the money —as such contrivances hold no value for me— but, when I come across that money, I recollect the vibrancy of my early faith and am encouraged.

Indeed, such remembering is an aspect of the reason why I had “Jesus” tattooed onto my right hand.

What are your most precious memories of God? What do you have that help you to remember? To what sort of faithfulness do they encourage you?

Christian worship is not realised fully unless it is done in community —“where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them”, Jesus reminds us (Mt 18:15-20). There is something constitutive of “church” when believers unite together in worship, in fellowship, and in mission.

While there is nothing intrinsically spiritual about the bricks and mortar of our meeting-houses, this building serves God by facilitating our dutiful service and our worshipful invitation to the Spirit. May the worship that occurs in this place, by this community, faithfully serve to bring glory to God and sinners to his throne of grace!

sermon delivered by Ian Forest-Jones
at Hurstville Church of Christ
on Sunday, 27 August 2006 at 10am
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