As we’ve seen in the book of Leviticus, all the rules had long since been set for how the sacrificial system would work, with specific offerings required in various ways, with the priests and the altar in the tabernacle; but people shrugged off these laws and offered their own sacrifices their own way on various hilltops: and Solomon did, too (I Kings 3:2-4).

As it turns out, however, God continued to offer Solomon grace rather than condemnation: “if you will walk in my statutes, obey my ordinances, and keep all my commandments by walking in them, then I will establish my promise with you, which I made to your father David” (I Kings 6:12). And indeed, the promise was not just about David and Solomon: for God went on to say “I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel” (6:13).

And so in service to the Lord, Solomon went about the business of building the temple: an impressive building, sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high (6:2), with fine cedar and cypress boards with fine carvings (6:14-18), and gold overlays over everything (6:20-22). He also built a palace for himself: a larger building, as it turned out, one hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high (7:2), again with fine woodwork and stonework (7:2-12).

This story forms another parable for us: like Solomon we feel the challenge of wanting to do well for the Lord, and wanting to do somehow even better for ourselves. Solomon at least built a building for the Lord that was almost as grand as the one he built for himself; we mostly don’t manage that, but instead usually choose the best for ourselves, and give God our leftovers – if there happen to be leftovers. It does not often occur to us to give God the very best choice. Even so, our Lord intends to bless us, and our nation, though we so often fail to live up to the calling God has given us.

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Help us, Lord! We keep offering our offerings according to our own preferences, rather than as you have directed; we keep aiming to have the best for ourselves, and to provide something secondary for you. Teach us, O God, to love you all the way, heart and soul and mind and strength.

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