Solomon took a census of all the foreigners residing in Israel, after the census his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600. – 2 Chronicles 2:17

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 10, 2019): 2 Chronicles 2

Fantasy and graphic novelist author Neil Gaiman comments that he “would like to see anyone, prophet, king or God, convince a thousand cats to do the same thing at the same time.”  Sometimes that is not just a problem with cats. The nations seldom seem to be able to agree even on the most pressing issues in our world. Even within the nations, we are not of one mind. The United States attempts to divide itself into two main political groups, the Republicans and the Democrats, who disagree on almost every issue that is presented to them. But the reality is that even within those two groups there is much disagreement. Rather than seeing each other in a black and white way, it might be better to understand that we live on a continuum, and each one of us is different in our views from the next person.

I have commented in the past that the area in which I live might be one of the few places in the world where the argument is not between the political right and the political left, but rather it is between the political right and the extreme political right. As a centrist, which is how I identify my own political views, it is sometimes an uncomfortable place to exist; and there is much disagreement.

Isaiah calls Solomon’s Temple “a house of prayer for all nations.”

And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord
      to minister to him,
to love the name of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it
    and who hold fast to my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain
    and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
    will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
    a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:6-7).

Ultimately, Isaiah believed that the Temple wasn’t just for Israel, it was House of Prayer for everyone and that if there was a place of agreement, that place should be at the Temple.

But this idea of the Temple being a “House of Prayer for all nations” doesn’t originate with Isaiah. The seed of that idea existed during the days of Solomon and the construction of the Temple. Solomon counted the number of foreigners involved in the construction of the Temple, and that number was over 153,000 workers. The Temple was not just a “House of Prayer for all nations,” it was built with the help and human resources of the nations, which was very appropriate for a God who was Lord over all of the earth. The nations, through their workers, gave agreement to the building of the Temple, even though they disagreed on many other things. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 3