1 Kings 5:1-6 also records Solomon’s exchange with King Hiram.
Solomon announced his continuing commitment to build a magnificent temple to the Lord God of Israel, as his father David had instructed him and had started (1). He also announced his plans to build a large palace as his father had done (1).
Solomon needed large cedar logs to build these buildings, a resource that Israel did not have. He sent a message to Hiram, king of Tyre, stating his desire to acquire cedar from the vast forest on Mount Lebanon (3,8).
Solomon’s request contained the confession, “But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him? (6)” The words “contain him” are in most English translations of the Bible. Simply put, Solomon’s God-inspired wisdom was stating the truth that even the heavens are too small a place for the Lord God to live in.
Some may state that this is evidence that God’s Spirit cannot dwell in a human, let alone in the person of Jesus Christ. However, Solomon continued his confession, “…except as a place to make offerings.” The temple was never meant to contain nor imprison all of the essence of God. It was made for humans to present offerings and inquire of the Lord, just as God instructed Moses.
Similar to this, Jesus, who is God in the flesh, is the exact representative of God so that humans may physically interact with God. So was the case of the Lord God with Adam and Eve, who “walked with the Lord God in the cool of the evening. So was the case of one of the three visitors to Abraham. So was the case with Jacob who wrestled with God one night. So is it with Job and the whirlwind, Moses in the cleft of the rock, all the prophets and many more.
Now the Spirit of Jesus is in me, not that all of God is contained in me. Rather, all that is God is part of my being. God is always accessible to me and always always accessing me.
