“Sometimes your people Israel will sin against you, and their enemies will defeat them. Then the people will come back to you and praise you. They will pray to you in this Temple.”

It had to have been a glorious day. After years of planning and backbreaking work, the magnificent temple was finally ready. And it was magnificent! More than 20 tons of gold coated the walls. Even the nails were made of gold. The columns at the front of the temple were nearly 60 feet tall and ornately decorated. Intricately woven fabrics of red, purple, and blue adorned the walls. Stonemasons and laborers numbering 150,000 had helped craft the building, with 3,600 foremen supervising the work.

The dedication ceremony had choirs and musicians and 120 priests blowing trumpets accompanying speeches and prayers from the king. The whole of Israel praised God with one voice: “The Lord is good. His faithful love will last forever.” And then the Lord filled the temple with a cloud – the cloud of His glory.

They must have thought it would last forever. Here was God – the creator of the universe – visibly present with them in the house they had built for him.

Nevertheless, in that moment, Solomon could see that the people’s love for God was not strong enough to endure. In his prayer of dedication, he spoke of the times to come when the Israelites would turn from the Lord. He discerned that they would at times be scattered, carried away by their enemies, punished with drought and famine for their sinfulness.

Solomon also foretold, though, that God would remain faithful – even when sinful man did not. He prayed that once the people acknowledged and turned from their sinfulness and returned to the temple – God would hear and answer their prayers.

And God promised that he would. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, the Lord makes one of the most beautiful promises in Scripture: “If my people who are called by my name become humble, and pray, and look for me, and turn away from their evil ways, then I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

It didn’t take long. When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam took the throne. Just five years into his rule, Rehoboam had already led his people away from the Lord. The kingdom was divided, and God allowed the king of Egypt to defeat him. The magnificent treasures of the Temple, and of the king’s palace, were hauled away.

But God remained faithful. And through the generations, when His people have repented, and returned to Him, the Lord has always been there, ready to forgive and to heal. It is a promise we rely on still today. And He is still there waiting whenever His children to return.

By Rob Bullock, Bible League International staff, Indiana, US.