God Accepts the Temple II Chronicles 7

II Chronicles 7:1 "Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house."

I mentioned in the last chapter that what if you or I built a house for a loved one and when we showed it to them, they said they didn't like or want it.

That did not happen with the temple Solomon built. The LORD honored the temple and the effort that was put forth. The temple came about when David was sitting with the prophet Nathan in his own house and realized the ark was in a tent. He determined to build a house for the LORD's name but was not allowed to do so because of the blood he had shed. Solomon was allowed to build the temple using the preparations David had made and his own. It is wonderful when you do something for someone and they like it.

v12 "And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice."

Although, we know, Israel departed from the LORD and the temple was destroyed, rebuilt and destroyed again, God has not changed his mind about that place and the temple will be rebuilt once again. That will be a great day. (Many references could be placed here, the temple is a study all its own. Daniel and Revelation would make good reading.)

v15&16 "Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually."

I think of the Lord Jesus Christ walking up and down in Israel and his great disappointment when he found the temple being used for profit instead of its intended use (John 2:13-16). Over in Ezekiel, He declares to the prophet(my own perception of the words) , 'look what they have done to my house'. Ezekiel 8:6.

The chapter also contains a warning of what happens to the temple when Israel forsakes the LORD. It also tells Solomon his choice of following the LORD and being blessed or turning aside and not being blessed.

v17-18 "And as for the, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments; Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel."

There is a great desire, in this day, in Israel to rebuild the temple. It is not just a building but rather a mark in time when prophecy will be fulfilled. There are those who do not want it to happen and fight against it, but it will happen when the time is right.

(There were three temples built: by Solomon, by Zerubbabel (see Ezra), by Herod the Great. The last one was destroyed by Titus in AD70 fulfilling Jesus' words of Matt 24:2.)

Psalm 40:17 "But I am poor and needy; yet the LORD thinketh upon me; thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God."

God accepts the temple as a place to put his name.