God had shown his loving heart for Israel by delivering them from slavery out of Egypt. Now God was going to show himself as their Warrior King.
It is as if God put them in this jam to prove that Israel could trust him no matter the circumstance. Just picture the scene. A huge throng of people pressed up against a half mile of water.
Read More trust, presence, warrior, victoryTry to find a sermon or bible study on this passage. Google it! You will find it almost impossible. Nobody wants to preach it simply because the harsh brutality of those times is reflected once again. The consequences and defeat are final. A city is destroyed and a whole people annihilated by the Israelites. Once again for some of you, this offends your modern sensibilities. But you shouldn’t be surprised. We live in brutal times.
Read More promise, presence, brutality, difficultiesThe pivotal point in the narrative, however, is Solomon’s decision to build a house for God’s “Name.” This seems a bit strange for the contemporary reader, but for a Jewish person it makes sense. Why? Because “The Name” (Hebrew:” Ha Shem”) embodies the very presence of the Almighty. Solomon says later as he dedicates the temple that God cannot be confined to any one place, but it is fitting and proper to build a house for and in the “Name” of God.
Read More presence, Jérusalem, name