Page 96 - Satan in the Sanctuary

98 Satan in the Sanctuary

LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy
strength" (v.41).
God appeared to Solomon by night, shortly after his
prayer, and accepted the holy Temple: "I have heard thy
prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for a house of
sacrifice" (2 Ch 7:12).
A miracle accompanied the opening of the Temple for
normal worship. "The house was filled with a cloud . . .
so that the priests could not stand to minister ... the glory
of the LORD had filled the house of God" (2 Ch 5:13-14).
This harked back to Moses' interviews with God as re-
counted in Exodus 19:9, "And the LORD said unto Moses,
Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud" and in 20:21, "And
the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the
thick darkness where God was."
So the Temple was established, and it became a wonder
of the ancient world. Centuries passed and the house of
God prevailed.
And that might have made an end to the story of un-
remitting tragedy that is the history of the Jews, but the
people fell from God's favor. As the years went on, the
Jews forgot the terrible struggle of their ancestors for the
promised land and for the Temple.
Their ever-present prophets were on the job; Isaiah and
particularly Jeremiah, constantly reminded the people that
God required complete faith and strict adherence to their
heritage. They foresaw terrible destruction in Israel be-
cause of the superficial worship. They warned of God's
wrath.
Four hundred years after King Solomon dedicated the
great Jerusalem Temple it was sacked and burned to the
ground by an invading army. The Babylonians conquered
Israel, broke down the walls of Jerusalem, set a torch to