College and Career: January- March 2020

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation

College and Career is the young adult quarterly directed toward students and young adults as they venture into the world of higher education and work. This quarterly is designed for young adults and stresses the issues and concerns of young Christians. The lessons are both challenging and rewarding, and they present practical approaches towards cur

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Dec 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781681676227

Book preview

Focal Scripture: 1 Kings 8:1–13 • Background Scripture: 1 Kings 8:1–13; 2 Chronicles 5:1–14

LET’S GET STARTED

Who doesn’t like a good party or an occasion to fellowship? Whether it is a birthday, a bat or bar mitzvah, an anniversary, a wedding reception, or a social gathering, at some point, all of us have celebrated something. While nothing is wrong with celebrating, one must be careful that the event doesn’t become the celebration. What’s important is the original intent of celebrating.

Today’s lesson is about celebrating God. It explores how the people of Israel celebrated God by making Him the central and immutable feature of the temple. Commissioned by Solomon and built by the people, construction of the temple ushered in a new era of religious fidelity and also allowed for a deeper sense of God’s presence to be felt among the people.

REMEMBER THIS

I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. (1 Kings 8:13, KJV)

Additional Resource:

Boyd’s Commentary for the Sunday School

Get into the Lesson

1. WHY WE CELEBRATE (1 KINGS 8:1–2)

Our lesson begins seven years after the temple project was commissioned. The anticipation of its completion was almost palpable. Sparing no expense to ensure the temple décor was a worthy domain for God’s presence to abide, Solomon added the finishing touch. He decreed that the Ark of the Covenant be moved from the city of David and relocated to the temple’s most sacred space—the holy of holies.

When Solomon assembled the elders, the heads of the tribes, and the chief fathers (v. 1), his intent was to build broad-based support for this new national worship format. Israel’s elders were older, respected leaders who advised the king. The heads of the tribes also were mature, older men responsible for learning the Law and leading the families of the twelve tribes to comply with its precepts. And like the elders and tribal leaders, the chief fathers were those who served as heads of household and demonstrated a more sectarian influence over the immediate family. The more invested everyone was in the transition process of their religious practice, the more meaningful the act of worship would be.

What are some things that prevent believers from making God the center of their life?

The Ark of the Convent and its relocation from the city of David to the temple were of pivotal importance to the people of Israel. The Ark was a special repository that contained relics that served as symbols of God’s provision, power, and protection during the people of Israel’s nomadic era living in the wilderness. Its placement in the temple confirmed for them that God’s presence had taken up permanent resident, abiding among them as they lived in the Promised Land.

The time of this celebration was during the feast in the month of Ethanim. This was a strategic choice of Solomon, because it was the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles referred to in Leviticus 23:33–43, a weeklong celebration commemorating the Israelite’s forty-year journey from bondage in Egypt to their promised home in Canaan. This feast occasioned nicely with Solomon’s attempt to relocate the Ark to the temple. God had secured a permanent dwelling place in Canaan for the children of Israel, and they now were able to celebrate the Lord’s permanent dwelling place.

2. HOW WE CELEBRATE (1 KINGS 8:3–9)