Reflection

 DEVOTION

1^ST KINGS

REFLECTION

1 Kings 7:41-51

41 the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; 42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars); 43 the ten stands with their ten basins;  44 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;   45 the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls. All these objects that Huram made for King Solomon for the temple of the LORD were of burnished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all these things unweighed, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined. 48 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in the LORD's temple: the golden altar; the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; 49 the lampstands of pure gold (five on the right and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary); the gold floral work and lamps and tongs; 50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Place, and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple. 51 When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated — the silver and gold and the furnishings — and he placed them in the treasuries of the LORD's temple.

NIV

There was so much burnished bronze that it was left unweighted. What would be the purpose of accounting for how much there was? We are also not told how much all the stone, cedar, gold, and silver weighed either, for there was so much, an abundance of everything that was used for the temple of the LORD. Why should it be any other way? However, there was a tremendous amount of details so the temple would be the most magnificent place, the center of life in Jerusalem. Still, it was just a building, and compared to the glories of heaven, it was but a dim reflection. This is the amazing story of our deliverance from the darkness of this world. Jesus, who was before the beginning of time and who created all that was created, lived in the most glorious of glories that is above all else and beyond our abilities to comprehend how incredibly glorious it is, left all that to come to earth in the form of man for the singular purpose to save us from our sins. There was a way to describe the temple, but we cannot truly describe the glories of heaven, or, for that matter, God himself. Yet, Jesus told us that if we have seen him, we have seen the Father. His word gives us enough of His description, or at least of his character, that we do know the Father. But to understand the glory might be more difficult, yet we are supposed to reflect the glory of God in ever-increasing glory. The temple was supposed to reflect the glory of God, and it was full of gold, silver, bronze, and all sorts of preciousness. We do not have the gold or silver or cedar or bronze, but we are full of preciousness in the sight of the Lord. We are precious to him, and he calls us the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that is how we can reflect the glory of God. He dwells within us, shining his light within, and it should be shining so brightly that it shines out of us, reflecting His glory. That is why Jesus told us that we have become the light of the world. Wherever we stand, there can be no total darkness, for our light should be shining so brightly that it reflects the light of God. If we are reflecting that much light, how could we ever appear gloomy or downcast? We wonder if we spend too much time concerned about our physical appearance, or the condition of our physical bodies, thus our countenance is not reflective of God, and we have forgotten that we are to reflect Him. Let us lift up our Lord, and He will lift us up so that we can walk as the light, with the appearance of light, with a shining demeanor, reflecting the glory of God.