1 King 9:1-9
When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, the Lord appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. The Lord said to him: “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’
“But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’”
If... if not - God repeats the promise made to David, with a warning. Solomon ignored this and suffered the consequences, though God did not break his promise of a lasting family line.
Why?
The pray of Solomon to the Lord is great and accepted by the Lord, the Lord promised "My eyes and my heart will always be there", but a warning message is followed.
If your or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I... This temple will become a heap of rubble.
The Temple is a building, more important is observing the command of the Lord. The church is a building either. How the Christians observe the word of the Lord and honor God's name is more important than the building. Our heart is the temple of the Lord!
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若沒有神同在，這個殿只是空殼，神在乎的是聽神的話。無論聖殿蓋的如何宏偉高大，沒有人遵行神的話，也必捨棄，摧毀。神自己的名是否被彰顯?神寧可叫聖殿被毀，神的名被羞愧，為了要人悔改！建造教會也是如此。恩賜能力好像外表的聖殿，但是生命更重要，價值觀，如何待人，如何面對苦難、挫折，是否謙卑?是否堅持神的道，一個傳道人不是看台上所說的更是在台下生活中如何的作為?
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How?
Consecrate my heart and my mind to be a temple of the Lord in my life, may the Holy Spirit guides my way.
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