Blessing God for the Property Blessings He Gives You
May 23, 2016 Year C
1 Kings 8:14-21
It is hard to imagine sometimes that God has blessed you with property. We live in a country that takes pride in the freedom to have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – including the happiness of owning a building. We live with the expectation that it is good if we own things. We buy material items and we are expected to take joy in them.
God doesn’t act this way about property. In this blessing that Solomon gives to the people of Israel, Solomon is speaking on God’s behalf. He praises God because God kept His promises to David, Solomon’s father (1 Kings 8:14). What was that promise? The promise was that there would be someone on the throne from David’s family.
But unlike other civilizations that had a temple for the gods who helped their kings, God never expected a throne on Earth. Since the time of the Exodus, God never said for the people to build a building dedicated to Him (1 Kings 8:16). Think about that. God, Who made the heavens and the Earth, Who made every person and creature on this earth, doesn’t expect His people to build temples dedicated to His name. God is not materialistic in that way.
Yet God honors people who want to build things in God’s name. David originally wanted to build a temple for God’s name (1 Kings 8:17-18). Even though God respected that desire, He allowed Solomon, David’s son, to build a temple (1 Kings 8:19).
God doesn’t need a home (even Jesus didn’t have a home). Instead, the temple was built to honor God. This was a place for the people to remember God and worship Him (1 Kings 8:21). The temple contained the ark of the covenant – a physical reminder of the presence of God in their lives.
Solomon blessed a sacred place such the temple. It was a sacred place that Solomon desired for God. What motivated him? Solomon attributed the motivation to the fulfilled promises of God in His own life (1 Kings 8:20).
I suspect that the temple was built because Solomon wanted to return the favor that God gave in giving Solomon in keeping His promises. First for the promises that God told David that God would give the throne to his son Solomon. Second, I also suspect that Solomon also built the temple because God went up and beyond with His promises to David for Solomon. God also fulfilled personal promises to Solomon after he became king.
After Solomon became king, he asked for wisdom and God gave him much more. God gave him wealth, health, and wisdom. God blessed Solomon. So Solomon wanted to bless God back. If that is true for Solomon, it should be true for you and me. We need to be ready to bless God for the property blessings He gives you.
Prayer: Thank You God for the property blessings You have given me. Thank you for blessing me more than I can imagine.
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