Staying Near To God's Heart

12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. 13 I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.” 14 Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. 15 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying, 16 ‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there. But I chose David to be over my people Israel.’ 17 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ 20 Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 And there I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.” 22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 25 Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ 26 Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father. 27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. 31 “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, 32 then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness. 33 “When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, 34 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers. 35 “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance. 37 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, 38 whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, 39 then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), 40 that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers. 41 “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake 42 (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name. 44 “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause. 46 “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, 47 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 48 if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace). 52 Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. 53 For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

Near To The Heart of God

This hymn was born out of tragic circumstances. Cleland McAfee (1866-1944) suffered the loss of two infant nieces to diphtheria in 1903. McAfee was preacher and choir director of the campus Presbyterian church at Park College, Parkville, Mo. His daughter described the account in her book, Near to the Heart of God. Hymnologist William J. Reynolds quotes the account: “The family and town were stricken with grief. My father often told us how he sat long and late thinking of what could be said in word and song on the coming Sunday.... So he wrote the little song. The choir learned it at the regular Saturday night rehearsal, and afterward they went to Howard McAfee’s home and sang it as they stood under the sky outside the darkened, quarantined house. It was sung again on Sunday morning at the communion service....

There is a place of quiet rest, Near to the heart of God, A place where sin cannot molest, Near to the heart of God. O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God, Hold us, who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God. There is a place of comfort sweet, Near to the heart of God, A place where we our Savior meet, Near to the heart of God. There is a place of full release, Near to the heart of God, A place where all is joy and peace, Near to the heart of God.

Solomon’s temple.

David had intended to build a house for God. a 1 Chronicles 28.2-3

1 Chronicles 28:2–3 ESV

2 Then King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. 3 But God said to me, ‘You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.’

1 Kings 5:5 ESV

5 And so I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to David my father, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’

The Glory of the Temple- 1 Kings 5-7

David wanted to build the Temple but was forbidden because he was a man of war. 1 Chronicles 22:8 n

David gave Solomon the architectural design for the temple. I Chronicles 28:11-12 n

David accumulated treasures and building materials for the building of the temple. 1 Chronicles 29:2-6 n

The cost of the temple in today’s money is estimated to equal 3 to 6 billion dollars. n

Solomon began construction of the Temple 490 years after Israel came out of Egypt. 2 Chronicles 3:2 n

The Temple site was located on Mt. Moriah where Abraham had offered Isaac. Genesis 22:2 n The temple was built of great stones, cedar beams and boards overlaid with gold. 1 Kings 6:14-22; 7:9-12 n

The construction took 7 years.

Dedication: 1 Kings 8:26-66; 2 Chronicles 7:4-11 - Solomon offered; • 220,000 oxen • 120,000 sheep - A 14 day feast was held. n

The temple was built by: • 30,000 Israelites • 150,000 Canaanites • Phoenician artist s • Craftsmen from Tyre n

The Temple faced east and was built after the general plan of the Tabernacle—but twice the size. • 90 feet long • 30 feet wide • 45 feet high n The Temple itself: • The Holy Place was 60’ long by 30’ wide. • The Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies) was 30’ by 30’. • The Most Holy Place was separated from he Holy Place by a veil. n Furniture in The Holy Place, 1 Kings 6:23-28 • Golden Altar of Incense • 5 golden Candlesticks on the north side • 5 golden Candlesticks on the south side • 5 tables of showbread on the north side • 5 tables of showbread on the south side n Furniture in the Most holy Place (Holy of Holies) • The Ark of the Covenant n The Bronze Altar was 30’ square by 15’ high n The Brazen Laver (called a “sea”) was 15’ in diameter and 8’ deep, and sat on 12 bronze oxen

Tear apart this text: Let’s Dismantle This Document!!

But, before we do… look at 1 Kings 8.17 It explains everything I just told you about the temple- how it really got going.

1 Kings 8:17 ESV

17 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

Solomon had met with the spiritual leaders of Israel and told them of his father’s heart- he had a heart to build a house for God.

1 Kings 8:22–23 ESV

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart;

Walk Before You With all their heart. Heart was the center of being- the center of life- who a person was.

Body-

Nephesh- spirit

Heart-center of one’s being; moral judgments, who a person is.

1 Kings 8:37–38 ESV

37 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, 38 whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house,

Heart- how one is afflicted and communicating that to God.

What’s Bugging You?

1 Kings 8:46–48 ESV

46 “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, 47 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 48 if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name,

Hearts Can Turn. Hearts can change.

Israel was in fact taken into bondage. This Temple was in fact plundered. Israel in fact remained in bondage in Babylon for 70 years before they turned back to God and returned to Israel to rebuild.

As David finished his prayer, he spoke the following words and blessing on the people of Israel in 1 Kings 8.61

1 Kings 8:61 ESV

61 Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

David had finished his prayer to God, and is blessing the people. See 1 Kings 8.54-61

1 Kings 8:54–61 ESV

54 Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. 55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, 58 that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. 59 Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, 60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. 61 Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

David has exhorted the people’s hearts to be right and he blessed them to that end.

1 Kings 8.39 is key- God knows our hearts. Look at 1 Kings 8.39

1 Kings 8:39 ESV

39 then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind),

Who knows what evil lies in the hearts of men? It isn’t the shadow that knows, it is God.

God appeared to Solomon to remind him that with his privileges came great responsibilities; that He would establish his throne forever if the people followed the Lord in obedience; but that He would cut off the nation if they sinned. Unfortunately, the nation lapsed into sin and unbelief, and the prophecy of 9:6–9 came true. The beautiful and costly temple was plundered and destroyed in 586 B.C. , about 400 years later, when the Babylonians took the people captive.

Bottom Line:

The Condition Of Your Being Is More Important Than The Presence Of A Building

The condition of your being is more important than the presence of a building.

The condition of your being is more important than your presence in a building.

Individual Christians are the temple of God.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Collectively, the church is God’s temple. See Eph 2.21

Ephesians 2:21 ESV

21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

Locally, we are the temple of God. See 1 Cor 3.16

1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV

16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

There are coronary artery atherosclerotic calcifications.

Plaque in the Heart.

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