The people of Israel wanted a King, like
the other nations around them. Up to this time, the people were led by Moses, and
the judges, leaders appointed by God. After the years in the wilderness, as
they settled into the land, the people wanted to be a nation like the other
nations around them.
No longer a nomadic people, now they are
settling down and they want what other settled people had, and part of that is
having a King.
Back in 1 Samuel, the people asked Samuel
for a king. Samuel talked with God about it, and then said to the people of
Israel:
1 Samuel 8: 10 - 20
Samuel told the people who were asking for a king what the
Lord had said:
If you have a king, this is how he will
treat you. He will force your sons to join his army. Some of them will ride in his chariots, some will serve in the
cavalry, and others will run ahead of his own chariot. Some of them will be
officers in charge of a thousand soldiers, and others will be in charge of
fifty. Still others will have to farm the king’s land and harvest his crops, or
make weapons and parts for his chariots. Your daughters will have to make
perfume or do his cooking and baking.
The king will take your best fields, as
well as your vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his own officials.
He will also take a tenth of your grain and grapes and give it to his officers
and officials.
The king will take your slaves and your
best young men and your donkeys and make them do his work. He will also take a tenth of your sheep and goats. You will become
the king’s slaves, and you will finally cry out for the Lord to save you from
the king you wanted. But the Lord won’t answer your prayers.
The people would not listen to Samuel.
“No!” they said. “We want to be like other nations. We want a king to rule us
and lead us in battle.”
Saul is the first King of Israel, and
David the second King. David is known as a great king, but he had his share of
problems. David killed Goliath, he was known as a great warrior, but he also
killed Uriah, husband of Bathsheba, after taking Bathsheba as his own. David had
eight wives and at least 20 sons.[i]
While it would be expected that the
eldest son would follow his father as King, this was not the case. While some
of his older sons prepared themselves to lead Israel, David indicated that
Solomon, a son of David and Bathsheba, is the one who will be King. [1 Kings
1:28]
David had wanted to build a temple, but
God said that David’s son would build the temple.
Following the Biblical dating, the temple
was built in the mid-900’s BCE. It’s called both the First Temple and Solomon’s
Temple, and this original building was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE.[ii]
The sacred chest, also known as the ark
of the covenant, held the 2 stone tablets of the ten commandments. This chest
had moved with the people, been to battle, and housed in a tent. But now, Solomon
would build a temple, a place fit for God, and place for keeping the sacred
chest.
Of course, Solomon did not build the
temple on his own.
[1 Kings 5: 13 – 18]
Solomon ordered thirty thousand people
from all over Israel to cut logs for the temple, and he put Adoniram in charge of these workers. Solomon divided
them into three groups of ten thousand. Each group worked one month in Lebanon
and had two months off at home.
He also had eighty thousand workers to
cut stone in the hill country of Israel, seventy thousand workers to carry the
stones, and over three thousand assistants to keep track of the work and to
supervise the workers. He ordered the workers to cut and shape large blocks of
good stone for the foundation of the temple.
Solomon’s and Hiram’s men worked with men
from the city of Gebal, and together they got the stones and logs ready for the
temple.
I wonder how the people felt about being
conscripted into this work?
Did it remind them of their time as
slaves in Egypt?
Did they remember the words of Samuel to
their ancestors about the way the King would take their sons to work for the
king?
Even though Solomon has built a Temple,
he acknowledges that we cannot confine God to a building.
While this might be an interesting story,
I wonder what it tells us today:
· In a world where religion is not the
centre of society
· Where many of us sense God more easily in
places other than this building.
This is part of the story of the presence
of God with people throughout history.
For the people of Israel, the sacred
chest with the stone tablets was very important; what things are important to
this church as we worship God together?
When I asked on Friday evening what
special things were in the church, lots of great answers; including
the Bible,
communion table,
baptismal font,
the cloth on the communion table,
the cross,
the banners,
the lectern,
pulpit
piano
organ
and the wall where the images from the
data projector show up.
They didn’t know all the proper names,
but they did notice lots about what is in the worship space.
The Temple was a place for worshipping
God, and that is why buildings like this one were built – to worship God.
If I asked how we worship God, what would
you include?
The children offered:
prayer
Bible reading
Singing
Saying thank you to God
Caring for people
Being kind
Eating together and
Drinking together
The Sacred Chest was moved into the
Temple during the festival of shelters, this was a festival that reminded the
people of the time they lived in shelters in the wilderness.
Solomon led the people in praise and prayer.
Praise the Lord, the one who brought the
people out of Egypt,
Who freed us from slavery
Who led us through the wilderness
And bought us to a new land as promised.
Lord, our God, there is no other God like
you,
You always keep your promises
You forgive our sins
You are loyal to us
teach us the way to live
Please listen to us when we cry out for
help
For rain during a drought
For courage when surrounded by enemies.
And again, Solomon spoke to the crowd:
Praise the Lord! God was with our
ancestors, and will never abandon us.
We
will now have some time for reflection
[i]
The number of sons mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible is 19. In addition,
two further unnamed sons are recorded as having been born in Jerusalem, one,
probably both, having died in infancy. One of these was the first child born of
David's adulterous relationship with Bathsheba.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sons_of_David
[ii]
https://revgalblogpals.org/2013/10/21/narrative-lectionary-gods-dream-house-1-kings-51-5-81-13/
