THE CONSECRATION OF THE TEMPLE OF GOD WITHIN


MONDAY, FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME  

1 Kings 8:1-7,9-13; Ps 132:6-10; Mk 6:53-56

The Consecration of the Temple of the Lord

After his coronation as the king of Israel, Solomon offered a thousand holocausts to God in thanksgiving and consecration of himself to God at the high place in Gibeon. After constructing the Temple in Jerusalem, Solomon planned with the elders of the people to bring the ark of the covenant into the Temple he had built for God in Jerusalem in grand style. “All the men of Israel assembled round King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, at the time of the feast (that is, the seventh month), and the priests took up the ark and the Tent of Meeting with all the sacred vessels that were in it. In the presence of the ark, King Solomon and all Israel sacrificed sheep and oxen, countless, innumerable. The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the Debir of the Temple, that is, in the Holy of Holies, under the cherub’s wings.” The solemnity that marked the transfer of the ark of the covenant to the Temple demonstrated Solomon’s love and dedication to the God of Israel at this stage. Again, the innumerable sacrifices of sheep and oxen, compared to the thousand holocausts he offered at Gibeon in thanksgiving for the gift of the throne, speak volumes about his willingness to dedicate himself and the whole of Israel to the worship of God.

The ark of the covenant is the visible reminder of God’s presence among them in a covenantal communion. Hence, its presence in the Temple signifies God’s presence in there. This is why they placed it in the Holy of Holies, where only the high priests enter. Because the solemnity matched the devotion of King Solomon and the people, God showed his approval of their dedication and worship. “Now when the priests came out of the sanctuary, the cloud filled the Temple of the Lord, and because of the cloud the priests could no longer perform their duties: the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s Temple.” The external clouds that filled the Temple were God’s way of encouraging and approving their dedication to Him. God sends such external or sensible delights when our external act of worship corresponds or represents the devotion of our hearts and minds to God and his statutes. The truth remains that God does not dwell in a temple built by human hands, as the scriptures testify. His desire is always to occupy the temple he made for himself within us. Thus, his approval or blessing of the man-made temples or churches is because these serve as a means of the dedication of our minds and hearts to God. It is based on this deeper meaning of the Temple that we consider King Solomon a type of Jesus Christ, the Man of Peace.

On this spiritual and mystical meaning of King Solomon’s building and consecration of the Temple of Jerusalem, we consider faith to be the means for us to be part of the real Temple of Jerusalem, being constructed by the Messiah, the Son of David. Without faith, it is impossible to please God or to worship in the true or heavenly Temple. Therefore, whoever invites the Lord God to go up to his place of rest, like Solomon, must first purify himself by the blood of the Lamb, which is more efficacious than the innumerable sheep and oxen offered by King Solomon to dedicate the Temple in Jerusalem. The Word of God, by assuming our flesh and blood, has built a fitting dwelling and holy Temple for God in Spirit. He dedicated the holy Temple by his holy life, surrounded by his faithful, in place of the men who surrounded King Solomon at his dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. God shows his approval of the spiritual Temple dedicated by Jesus Christ, the Son of David, by answering the prayers of all who supplicate through his name. As the Gospel testifies: “And wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were cured.” God answers all our prayers when we sincerely pray through Jesus Christ in the Church, for he has consecrated all of us, who believe in his name, into a dwelling place of God through the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray: Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care, that, relying solely on the hope of heavenly grace, they may be defended always by your protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.  

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