Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes—the leaders of the ancestral families of the Israelites. They were to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. So all the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn in the month of Ethanim.

When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. The priests and Levites brought up the Ark of the Lord along with the special tent and all the sacred items that had been in it. There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count!

Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt.

When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord.

Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!”

Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father, ‘From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple should be built to honor my name. But I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.’”

Then Solomon said, “My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the Lord told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.’

“And now the Lord has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. And I have prepared a place there for the Ark, which contains the covenant that the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.” (New Living Translation)

I admit, at many times, that I am prone to melancholy. I tend to be quick at accepting blame, and rather slow at owning my good work. Another way of putting this is that it is easier to give than to receive.

Those who have endured a lot of hard circumstances, and persevered through many adversities, can sometimes be reticent to accept the good, the abundant, and the beautiful, whenever it comes to us in this life.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop, far too many people hold back themselves from receiving and enjoying the really good things in life. They worry that the goodness will disappear, or be taken away; and so, they withhold gratitude and blessing, whenever they are in the presence of great abundance.

Just so you know, in case there are those of you who need to hear it spelled out plainly: That’s messed up.

People are meant to be abundantly generous, as well as wildly receptive. It’s likely why there are so many spiritually unhealthy persons in the world.

Bless their hearts, they give a lot, without receiving much, and then their spiritual diarrhea makes it so they can’t give anymore. And they oftentimes give to those who are in such a habit of receiving (and not giving) that the receiver’s spiritual constipation becomes a terrible problem.

Let’s avoid both extremes by letting ourselves both give and receive with equal abandon. No one can be spiritually growing, healthy, and mature without the dynamic of giving and receiving.

Solomon knew how to do both. King Solomon was the king of abundance. He accepted and received big; and he gave and blessed big. Nobody before him or after him received and gave more.

The Temple, in all of its glory and grandeur, with the Ark of the Covenant encrusted with gold as the central object in the building, was all for a God who doesn’t live in houses, a God who is invisible.

In Solomon’s dedication of the Temple, he made it clear that the God of Israel is not, and cannot, be restricted to, or located within, a single place. Thus, the Lord is limitless, and not subject to any human manipulation.

God is free to give with great abandon. And God is also free to take away. Blessed be the name of the Lord God. If we continually try and anticipate or predict what God will do, we will likely be a nervous ball of anxiety all of the time, wondering when the unexpected and/or unwanted will visit us.

It is much better to receive the good things the Lord gives us, and enjoy them while we have them.

Nothing is permanent, with the exception of relationships and love. So, if we can connect the temporal material things of this life in service to the immaterial realities of this universe, then we are in a position to experience peace, joy, and satisfaction.

If and when the material disappears, or is taken away, then it shall neither defeat us, nor destroy us. For our relational connections with God and others exist, and are free flowing, with the energy of gracious receiving and giving as the conduit of abundant life.

Melancholy is important and has its place for us in this present life; yet, so do things like celebration, dedication, joy, exuberance, emotional commitment, and open love. Indeed, to have these in abundance is a reflection of the God of abundance, in whose name we are bold to pray:

God of abundance, you have fed us with the bread of life and cup of salvation; you have united us with Christ and one another; and you have made us one with all your people in heaven and on earth. Now send us forth in the power of your Spirit, that we may proclaim your redeeming love to the world and continue forever in the risen life of Christ our Savior. Amen.