Solomon’s Dedication
6 Then Solomon said,
“The Lord has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.
2 “I have built You a lofty house,
And a place for Your dwelling forever.”3 Then the king [a]faced about and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 4 He said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it with His hands, saying, 5 ‘Since the day that I brought My people from the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man for a leader over My people Israel; 6 but I have chosen Jerusalem that My name might be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ 7 Now it was [b]in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 8 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was [c]in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was [d]in your heart. 9 Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who [e]will be born to you, he shall build the house for My name.’ 10 Now the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for I have risen in the place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord [f]promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 11 There I have set the ark in which is the covenant of the Lord, which He made with the sons of Israel.”
It would have been easy for Solomon to say “hey everybody, look what I did!” Or at the very least, “look what we did!” Instead, Solomon does what we all should do in our triumphs… He gives glory and credit where it is due.
We may be involved in some pretty incredible things, and the building of the temple was no small feat. It was a multi-year building project the likes of which had rivaling anything seen on the earth before. Yet Solomon begins with “Blessed be the Lord, who… has fulfilled it with His hands…”
Whatever we do, we need to always keeps our eyes focused on our Creator, and we need to make sure he gets credit, since God is always in control. As Jesus once said, “without me, you can do nothing.” But with Him, “all things are possible” when we are chasing Him and pursuing His will.