Page 95 - Satan in the Sanctuary

Moses to Moshe—A Bloody Site 97

laid everywhere. Two gold-plated cherubim guarded the
ark of the covenant.
The labor involved was tremendous. We must appreciate
that the porch before the main structure rose 180 feet—
which would qualify this structure as a modern skyscraper.
Huge blocks of solid stone had to be raised to this breath-
taking twenty-story height. The construction took a force
of 150,000 laborers seven years to accomplish.
The dedication ceremony must have been something to
behold! King Solomon had a brass scaffold built in the
midst of the court, from which he prayed a dedicatory
prayer before the people.
This prayer, recorded in 2 Chronicles 6, reaches mag-
nificent heights of gratitude and entreaty to God, and is
in character not unlike the Lord's Prayer. Solomon, too,
asks forgiveness for his people's trespasses and deliverance
from evil. He recounts for the benefit of the mesmerized
congregation the promises of God to his father David and
the passing down of the Temple responsibility to himself.
He speaks to God in front of the assembly:
And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the
presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread
forth his hands . . . and said, O LORD God of Israel,
there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth;
which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy
servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts (2 Ch
6:12-14).
He prays with great humility: "But will God in very
deed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and
the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less
this house which I have built!" (v.18).
He dedicates the Temple: "Now, therefore, arise, O