The Significant Name of God (1)
His Presence in the temple built by Solomon
André H. Roosma
7 May 2020 (NL original: 8 Nov. 2014)
On this website I have already published several documents about
the glorious Name of the God of Israel: YaHUaH - The Name above all
names.1
In recent weeks (the Dutch original of this article I
wrote in Nov. 2014) I was led to discover several interesting things.
In the meantime, I have briefly incorporated some of them into a new edition
of the large research report ‘The
wonderful and lovely Name of the God Who was there, Who is there, and Who
will be there’  , but in this new series I want to go into a
little more detail on specific issues. This time, it is about the question:
For what purpose did Solomon build the great temple in Yerushalaïm?
First, I want to share something I noticed in the Bible. This is about King
Solomon (he was called Shelomoh
in the Hebrew text that has been handed down to us), the son of the
famous king David of Isra’el. The Bible tells us that he built the first great
temple in honor of YaHUaH, the God of Isra’el, and as a place to worship
Him. At first sight, however, the wording is somewhat unusual. For example, in
the announcement by God Himself:
He (Solomon) will
build a house for My name; and I will establish the throne of his
kingdom forever.
2 Shemu’el 7: 13
In the words of Solomon to the befriended King Chiram of Phenicia, whom he
needed for the materials because of his large fleet and because of the
Phoenician cedar forests:
You know that my father David could not build a
house for the Name of YaHUaH his God, because of the wars with
which they surrounded him, until YaHUaH gave them under the soles of
his feet.
But now YaHUaH, my God, has given me rest all around; there is no
adversary, and no evil happening.
And behold, I purpose to build a house for the Name of YaHUaH,
my God; just as YaHUaH spoke to my father David, saying, Your son,
whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for
My Name.
1 Kings 5: 3-5
[By the way, you will also notice the first words in this: that Phoenician
king knew a thing or two about YaHUaH! Praise was given to YaHUaH
from David, under his government, also in the countries around! So that this
foreign king apparently knew about YaHUaH and about His deeds with
Isra’el, and about David’s love for Him!]
Even more extensively we read about it at the dedication of that temple,
after it was built:
And it happened, when the priests went out from the
holy place, that a cloud filled the house of YaHUaH. And the priests
could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of YaHUaH had filled the house of YaHUaH.
Then Shelomoh said, YaHUaH said He would
dwell in a heavy cloud. After all, I have built a house, a residence for You, a
permanent place for You to dwell in for ever. And the king turned his face around and
blessed the whole community of Isra’el; and the entire community of Isra’el
stood. And he said, Blessed be YaHUaH, the God of Isra’el, Who spoke
with His mouth to David my father, and fulfilled it by His hand, saying,
From the day that I delivered my people Isra’el out of Egypt, I have chosen no
city out of all the tribes of Isra’el to build a house that my name should
be there; but I chose David to be over My people Isra’el. And it was in
the heart of my father David to build a house for the Name of YaHUaH,
the God of Israel. But YaHUaH said to David my father: That it was
in your heart to build a house for My Name, you did good that it was in your
heart. However, you will not build that house; but your son, who will come
out of your loins, will build that house for My name. And YaHUaH has
established His word that He had spoken; for I have risen in the place of
my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, just as YaHUaH
has promised; and I have built a house for the Name of YaHUaH, the
God of Isra’el. And I have a place there for the ark, in which is the
covenant of YaHUaH, which He made with our fathers, when He brought
them out of the land of Egypt.
And Shelomoh stood before the altar of
YaHUaH, in front of all the community of Isra’el, and extended his
hands to heaven; and he said: YaHUaH, God of Isra’el, there is no
other God like You, above in heaven, nor below on earth, Who keeps the
covenant and the lovingkindness with Your servants who walk before You with
all their heart; Who have kept to your servant David my father according to
what you had promised to him; for you have spoken with your mouth, and have
fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. And now YaHUaH, God
of Isra’el, hold fast to what You have said to Your servant David my father,
saying, No man will be cut off from before Me who will sit on the throne
of Isra’el; provided that your sons keep their way, to walk before Me,
just as you walked before Me. And now, O God of Isra’el, let Your word
come true, which You have spoken to Your servant, my father David.
But truly, would God dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens, yes, the
heaven of the heavens could not contain You, how much less this house
that I have built?! Yet, turn to the prayer of your servant, and to
his supplication, YaHUaH, my God, to hear the cry and the prayer
that Your servant prays before You today. That your eyes may be open night
and day over this house, over this place, of which you said, My name
will be there; to hear the prayer that Your servant will pray in this place.
Hear then the supplication of Your servant, and of Your people Isra’el,
that shall pray towards here; and hear, from the place of Your dwelling,
heaven, yes, hear and forgive. ...
1 Kings 8: 10-30
What strikes me here is that the whole passage talks about the temple
as a house for the Name of God; not for God Himself but for His
Name.
In all my research of the Bible and of the old Biblical script,
I have had to project myself into the thinking of the time. I often notice
that God guides me in this in a special way and that what I discover
is sometimes extremely simple. So, too, in this case.
What happens when you call someone’s name? What is the effect of it?
The effect, if that person at least hears you and wants to listen to
you, is that he or she comes to you and listens to what you have to say.
Calling someone’s name thus effectuates his or her presence, even in a
listening attitude.
In the above passages, wherever they speak of the Name of
YaHUaH, we can almost seamlessly replace this expression with His
presence and His listening to the prayers of His people!
One could say:
The great Name of YaHUaH here represents His
presence and His listening to the prayers of His people!
Hallelu YaH !
Notes
| 1 |
The names in the Bible have meaning. That is why I
transliterate them carefully so that they remain recognizable. Especially
the glorious Name of God I represent here as accurately as possible from the
oldest Hebrew original, instead of replacing this grand personal Name of The
Most High by a common word, such as ‘Lord’. For more background
information see:
André H. Roosma, ‘Life, security and belonging in joyful adoration,
from the hand of God’ , brief Hallelu-YaH article about the Biblical Name of God in the earliest
Hebrew (old Semitic) script, January 2011.
André H. Roosma, ‘The Shema‘ – the First Testament declaration of faith (1)’, Hallelu-YaH! web article, February 2012.
André
H. Roosma, ‘The
wonderful and lovely Name of the God Who was there, Who is there, and Who
will be there’ , extensive Accede! / Hallelu-YaH! study, July 2009. |
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