“But will God really dwell on earth?
The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.
How much less this temple I have built?”
I Kings 8:27
The time leading up to the events in I Kings 8 were busy ones for Solomon. He devoted himself to an ambitious construction project: a temple for our great God. It was a seven-year project and the details for the building and its furnishings can be found in I Kings 6 and 7.
By human standards, it was stunning! Magnificent! Spectacular! No detail was overlooked, and no expense spared.
Solomon could be labeled an overachiever; the temple to Israel’s God would outshine any other built for any other false god in any other nation. As he oversaw the planning and construction, he must have been pleased, even proud, as he looked around and compared the temple he had built to those of other nations.
Until the day of dedication. That’s the day he looked up. That’s the day he realized the inadequacy of his temple—of any structure created by any man or king—to host the God of the universe.
And that’s the day he asked, “Will God really dwell on earth?”
Have you ever asked that question? Have you considered its significance?
We’ve just celebrated the coming of God to dwell on earth in the person of Jesus Christ. Emmanuel. God with us.
Our mighty God has condescended to dwell on earth! He is not just the God of up there … but the God of down here. That truth separates Christianity from every other world religion and every cult. God came to us. God came for us.
Solomon was overcome as he realized the smallness of his temple when compared to the greatness of God.
As Christians living post-resurrection, we know our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Like Solomon, we acknowledge our smallness—our inadequacy—when compared to our great God.
Solomon looked up with awestruck wonder and asked, “Will God really dwell on earth?”
And this side of the Cross, we, too can look up and marvel at the truth: God really does dwell in me!
Because of our identity in Christ, His Spirit abides in you and in me. Do we heed His voice? Do we listen for it— and follow His prompts? The life of a believer is refined and transformed as we yield to His will and His way. There is no sweeter or better way to live!
As we read and write verses with the word dwell this month, I pray we are all humbled and grateful, as we marvel anew that God really does dwell in us and chooses to work through us! May we never, ever get over it!
If you are curious about Solomon’s reign as king and the era of I Kings in Israel’s history, we encourage you to check out our video teaching from I Kings. To find the complete playlist on our YouTube channel, click here.
Please also note that Laura will begin a new series of teaching from II Kings this month. Subscribe to our channel to get notifications when each week’s new video posts.
Finally, have you downloaded your copy of the Write the WORD bookmark for January? Visit our Downloads page for this free resources (and others).
In this week’s devotional video, Laura introduces the Write the WORD theme for January and invites you to join us this month as we read, write, and study God’s Word with a focus on verses featuring the word, “dwell.”
