SDfAoWOP: the House

Day Twenty-Nine

I Kings 6:37-38

In the fourth year the foundation of the house of The Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.

Solomon did what his father, David, longed to do. To build a house for The Lord, to make a physical place for each person who desired, to draw close to God. You could work, tending your vines and your crops and your own small house, struggling along to keep body and soul together, and then, at least once a year, make the long journey to come to the house of The Lord. Your sacrifice in hand, a song in your mouth, you could climb up the many long steps to go into the great court, to have your sins atoned for and then to, in the presence of God, for a moment, to rest.

Solomon built the house and it was glorious. In seven years it's walls, it's smooth courts, it's immense columns and pillars, it's many rooms, were fashioned and carved out and adorned. The presence of The Lord descended and filled the whole space, and rested there.

And then, as Solomon wandered away, out of the courts, into the imaginations of his own heart, and Israel after him, the temple stood there, inviting, but crumbling into disrepair and ruin. Long after, a man would walk in and mourn and be angry because of the filth and the sin. He would judge it and then turn and walk out, the presence and Glory of the Most High leaving it, so many thousands of years later.

You are the temple of The Lord. He built you and fashioned you and adorns you with beauty and grace. So far you climbing up many steps to ascend the house of The Lord, The Lord has descended very low to build his rest and presence and glory in you.