1 Kings 8:12-21: For the Name of God

Verse 15: 

The king said, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David.

◇ The temple was completed by Solomon. And he placed the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord in the sanctuary, under the wings of the cherubim. The word that the Lord had spoken to David was fulfilled. It was not David who had hoped to build the temple of God, but his son who would build the temple for the name of the Lord. 

On the surface, it seems like Solomon built the temple, but in reality, it was the Lord who built the temple for his own name (Verse 15). It was God who prepared and worked through David and Solomon, and it was God who completed the work. God used David and Solomon as tools to work for his name.

David and Solomon are tools of God. They are valuable tools used by God. How wonderful it would have been if Solomon had recognized himself as a tool of God until the end. If he had not mistaken the grace bestowed upon him as his own and had not been arrogant, how great it would have been.

And in verses 12-21, the phrase "the name of the Lord" appears five times. In other words, the temple was built for the name of the Lord. It was not built for Solomon or for the people of Israel, but solely for the name of the Lord (Verse 20). Everything that Solomon, the servant (tool) of God, does is for the name of God. The work of many prophets is for the name of God. The work that Jesus did was for the name of God. The work we do today is also for the name of God. It is not for our name.

♧ God, even though it seems like I am the one doing things, I am just a tool. God, please prepare me through your word and prayer so that I lack nothing as a tool! And make me obey for your name. Holy Spirit, lead me in truth!