II Chronicles 6: The Promise - And Danger - Of The Temple

The king kneels in verse 13 and dedicates the house he has built for the Lord.  His prayer reveals both the promise and the danger of the Temple.

The promise of the Temple is that it has become a point of spiritual intersection between God in His heaven and the people of earth.  Solomon knows that God does not live in a house (vs. 18).  Yet Solomon urges God to consider the Temple to be His "home on earth."  The heart of his prayer is, "May your eyes be open day and night toward this house, the place where you promised to set your name, and may you heed the prayer that your servant prays toward this place" (vs. 20).

He then lists many circumstances in which he urges God to answer the prayers of His people when directed toward the Temple: when seeking national forgiveness, when ascertaining the truth in court, when persevering through famine, plague or infestation, when at war, and when in captivity.  He even includes a petition that foreigners may be heard by God when they, too, pray toward the Temple.  In Solomon's mind, the Temple acts as a spiritual antenna, receiving the prayers of God's people and redirecting them to Heaven.

The danger of the Temple is its ability to be turned into an idol.  Because the Temple becomes a virtual stand-in for the presence of God, it would be easy for God's people to make the leap of trusting in the Temple instead of trusting in God.  Indeed, this happened at various points in Israel's history.  When Babylon threatened, the people assumed they were safe in Jerusalem because surely nothing bad could happen to the Temple (but see II Chronicles 7 about that!)

Even today, I have seen people confuse "the Church" with "God."  Sometimes that may be the physical structure of their sanctuary, and resisting any change in the church as tampering with the divine.  But it can also mean people (and pastors) who place the Church as an organization on a pedestal co-equal with God.  The Temple is important, the Church is precious, but don't make the mistake of turning such things into idols!