Tue.’s Devo - The Dedication of the Temple

Read: 1 Kings 8:1-66; Acts 7:51-8:13; Psalm 129:1-8; Proverbs 17:1
Everything in God’s kingdom is timed and orderly. Solomon brought the ark, God’s presence, into his man-made building on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. That feast was to represent how God tabernacled with the children of Israel as they traveled from Egypt to the promised land. It was a feast of how God comes down to earth to live among men.
The transformation on the mountain happened on this day and we know that because Peter wanted to build booths for Elijah and Moses (Luke 9:23-33). Jesus came to earth and embodied the tabernacle of the Lord. When he died he sent his Spirit so that his presence would always dwell in us. Now, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Solomon made it clear that this was an everlasting covenant we had with God. We could break our end of the covenant but God’s would always stand and we could always go back to it. Repentance is the way back to God.
The Feast of Tabernacles lasted a week and in this week they worshipped and offered sacrifices to the Lord. Solomon consecrated his temple to the Lord.
In Acts, we are in part three of Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin. Part one and two was the history lesson of Israel, but part three went for the jugular. Stephen had reached his crescendo and he blasted the religious leaders for being just like their fathers who had the law, but killed everyone who obeyed it. They had killed all the prophets in the past who had come to them and tried to show them the truth so their could repent. They killed the ones who spoke about the Messiah that was to come and now he had come and they had killed him also.
As they rushed at Stephen with rage and hatred, he saw the heavens open and the throne of God. This just made the religious hypocrites madder. They threw Stephen’s robe at the foot of Saul. Little did he realize they were transferring Stephen’s mantle to him in this act.
Stephen was the church’s first martyr and after that persecution broke out agains the church in Jerusalem with Saul being the leader of it. The apostles scattered and took the good news to other nations. The people saw that the power of God out-powered the power of their greatest sorcerers.
Lord, may we go out with the power of the Holy Spirit to bring down strongholds.