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Discussions Prophets and Writings

1st Kings 8:22-53: Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of God’s people-temple

King Solomon built a structure for God’s presence to occupy in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), but Solomon’s prayer points toward God’s people’s being the dwelling place of God.

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Appointments With God Atonement Discussions Prophets and Writings Tabernacles

1st Kings 8:1-21: Shadow of Yom Kippur, Sukkot in dedication of first Temple

The lessons of God’s covering His people’s rebellion and moving His dwelling among His people, symbolized in the appointed times of Yom Kippurim and Sukkot, were acted out on a human level during the dedication of the first temple.

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Apostolic Writings Appointments With God Chanukah Discussions Prophets and Writings

Chanukah: Will this happen again?

Yeshua gave an important message in the Temple on the Festival of Dedication — Chanukah — and the scribes and Pharisees asked Yeshua at that time an important question about His being the Messiah. What did He tell them, and why didn’t He directly answer their question? The lessons of Chanukah applied then and to the coming Day of the LORD.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings

1st Kings 7:40-51: Moving from copper Snake world to God’s golden kingdom

Continuing the 1st Kings 7 exploration of the lessons of the design of the temple Solomon built for God, we see a division of copper and gold items. The lesson of copper in the outer temple area and gold in the inner temple area is God wants to clean us by moving us from the world of the Snake to God’s world.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings

1st Kings 7:23-39: Symbols of the temple cleaning basins

Continuing the lessons from the items in the temple Solomon built for God, we look at the washing basins and see a parallel between the design elements and the role of God’s Spirit in cleaning the lives of believers and our role in that.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings

1st Kings 7:13-22: Prophecy of the two temple pillars

Like with the previous passages on the design of the temple and Solomon’s palace, the design of the two pillars at the entrance of the temple reveals the prophecy by Ezekiel’s lying on one side and the other. Solomon was prophesying the number of years the temple would stand before being destroyed.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings

1st Kings 7:1-12: Lessons from the design of Solomon’s palace

A description of the design of Solomon’s palace seems more appropriate for an architecture textbook than the Scriptures. Yet the elements of the design tap frequent symbols in Scripture, pointing to the roles of “priest” and “king” in the Messianic Age.