THERE IS NO GOD LIKE YOU

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven and said:

"O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below — You who keep Your covenant of love with Your servants who continue wholeheartedly in Your way. You have kept Your promise to Your servant David my father; with Your mouth You have promised and with Your hand You have fulfilled it — as it is today.

"Now Lord, God of Israel, keep for Your servant David my father the promises You made to him when You said, 'You shall never fail to have a man to sit before Me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before Me as you have done.' And now, O God of Israel, let Your word that You promised Your servant David my father come true.”

1 Kings 8:1-22-26

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Between 1 Kings, Chapter 5 and the middle of Chapter 8, we read about all the work invested to build God’s holy temple…a temple that God had willed for Solomon to build back when his father, David, was king.

What did Solomon do after the temple was completed?

In today’s scripture, we find the answer.

For scripture tells us that “Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel” before spreading “out his hands toward heaven” and saying:

"O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below — You who keep Your covenant of love with Your servants who continue wholeheartedly in Your way. You have kept Your promise to Your servant David my father; with Your mouth You have promised and with Your hand You have fulfilled it — as it is today.”

"Now Lord, God of Israel, keep for Your servant David my father the promises You made to him when You said, 'You shall never fail to have a man to sit before Me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before Me as you have done.' And now, O God of Israel, let Your word that You promised Your servant David my father come true.”

These opening words form the beginning of Solomon’s prayer of dedication…the dedication of the temple to the Lord and the expression of honor, glory and praise warranted to the God of Israel. And through these words, we are instructed in several steps we can take as well when we come to a place of dedication…a place where we pause to give God all the honor, glory and praise for something He has helped us complete to success.

First, note the initial actions of Solomon. For he “stood before the altar…in front of the whole assembly of Israel.

Solomon probably could have privately come before the Lord and thanked Him for all He had done in making the project a success. But if he had done it that way, what would have been the benefit gained amongst the very people God has anointed him to lead?

No…God’s praises are to be sung loud and lifted up high before assemblies where all can know of His goodness and grace and providence…and hopefully this is done most in our places of worship…at the altar of the Lord.

Next, note that Solomon, while at the altar of the Lord and before the assembly of Israel, “spread out his hands toward heaven”…lifting them up to the One who sends abundant blessings down from the heavenly realm (James 1:17). And you’ll recall that Paul in his letter to Timothy hoped that men everywhere would lift up holy hands in prayer (1 Timothy 2:8)…just as Solomon did.

Indeed, as we come before God at the altar in the assembly of others, we should then lift up our hands to Him in respect and acknowledgement of His almighty, infinite power and might and our reliance upon Him in order to make it through life’s circumstances. And with this, never let anyone make you feel out of place for lifting hands in God’s presence…for it’s totally biblical as you can see.

And this leads to the final step we see in Solomon’s prayerful opening to his temple dedication as he proclaimed the reasons why he was worshiping and praising God in the company of his fellow Israelites.

For we see how Solomon highlights God’s solitary sovereignty by stating, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below”. Indeed, there was no other god, there is no other god and there will never be another god other than the Lord, the God of Israel…the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He reigns supreme and alone…then, now and forever into the future.

So what does Solomon highlight after God’s omnipotence?

The other thing we see more in God than anywhere else.

Love.

For we see Solomon tell it like it is about the way God loves. For God had kept His “covenant of love” with His servants who had continued wholeheartedly in His way. And the good news for us is that He still does this day as well...not through the Old Covenant of Abraham but rather through the New Covenant sealed in the blood of Jesus…the Son of God who bore the sins of the world out of the same pure love that His Father showed and then rose again to pave the way for others to follow who would only believe and trust Him as Savior (John 3:16).

So God’s solitary sovereignty and covenant love were proclaimed to Israel but Solomon had one more thing to lift up before his people.

For we see where Solomon praises God for keeping His promise to His servant David, Solomon’s father, fulfilling the words of His mouth with the works of His hands as He made Solomon king and promised to continue to keep men in the line of David on the throne as long as they were “careful in all they do to walk before” the Lord as David had done.

Friends…indeed we serve a Lord who is uniquely sovereign and mighty…a Lord who loves unconditionally…a Lord who keeps the covenant promises that He makes.

And my prayer, not just this day but every day, is that we…all of God’s people…would never feel ashamed to come before the assembly of gathered believers to proclaim God’s goodness with hands and voices lifted high in praise.

For there is no God like our God…not in the heaven above or the earth below.

To Him and to Him alone so we owe all honor and glory and praise…now and forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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