2 Chronicles 6-7

The Temple is finished. God finally has a permanent earthly dwelling place built at the hands of Solomon just as he commanded. To christen God’s new digs, Solomon gives a prayer of dedication that begins with praise and thanksgiving. He talks about the marvel of the heavens not being able to contain the glory of the Lord, and yet, this house built by human hands will provide board to the creator God. There is a humble plea to remember David and the promises made. This is where things start to get more specific.

Solomon launches into the various situations in which Israel might find themselves and the way in which God should react to said situations. It is almost as if Solomon is laying out the terms and conditions and asking God to click “I agree.” This is covenantal language. This strikes me as being fairly bold as it is Solomon who is trying to present this temple as being acceptable in the eyes of the God who created the heaven and the earth in all their splendor.

 But after this long prayer, God sends down fire which consumes the offering and fills the temple with his Glory. In his prayer, sometimes Solomon uses the word “if” and other times he uses the word “when” to begin points of agreement. I think he probably could have used “when” every single time, but it sounds better if you throw a couple “ifs” in there just to say that the nation didn’t intend on committing all of these infractions. But what its important to note is that God is not agreeing to keep the nation from all punishment, but rather to dissolve his wrath and relent his fist when the people turn once again to him in humility.