“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 out of the land 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. Nor have I chosen a king to lead my people Israel. But now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place for my name to be honored, and 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. There I have placed the Ark, which contains the covenant that the Lord made with the people of Israel.””
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2 Chronicles‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Life ebbs and flows, but God remains steadfast. He is predictable. For the person who pays attention, the tides of life are predictable. To the person who has fear and respect, the tides of life can be safe and even fun. For the person who is submissive, the tides of life can be navigated. This is all because God is predictable in character, though untamable in essence. This is the orientation of the temple. It acts as a buoy in the sea, orienting us among the waves. When we see it, take heed, maintain it, and our lives become better. But no one makes God conform. We can only conform to him. When we do, it is swim, and when we don’t, it is sink. This is the fact that the temple is meant for. It is a fact that should be constantly reupped in our minds and hearts. We must always return to it. This is easy in choppy waters and desperate times. It is our source of hope in such moments. But in good times, we tend to forget that it is there. We can lose touch with why it was even established. It is times like this that speeches of praise are the most necessary. They are not driven by emotion, which is an important seat of our love for God. Instead, they are driven by intellect, which is arguably the most corrupted area of our being. Our minds, tend to produce pride rather than praise. In peaceful times, this sinful inversion is at its strongest. This is why we ought to build in speeches such as this. Let us not forget to conform the good times as well as the difficult times, to the praise of our God.

God’s Nature: God is predictable in character but untamable in essence.

Temple’s Purpose: The temple acts as a guide, orienting us through life’s challenges and reminding us to conform to God.

Praise in Good Times: Speeches of praise are crucial during peaceful times to counteract pride and maintain focus on God.