The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 17 October 2026 – The Relevance Of The Temple
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TOPIC – The Relevance Of The Temple
READ: 1 Kings 8:31-43
31 If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:
32 Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
33 When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:
34 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.
35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:
36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.
37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;
38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:
39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)
40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
41 Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake;
42 (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house;
43 Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.
THE MESSAGE:
Our passage shows the relevance of the Temple in the lives of the Israelites. First, God was to judge and punish the guilty and set free the innocent when an Oath of innocence is taken in front of the altar of the temple. Second, when they suffered loss in wars because of their sins, and they turned to pray in the Temple, God would forgive and save them. In addition to coming to the temple to pray, if due to distance, they prayed towards the Temple concerning any matter, that God would answer them. Foreigners would come from distant lands because of God’s name and when they prayed toward the Temple, God would answer them too.
Of striking significance is his concluding prayer; “All the people of the earth will come to know and fear you, just as your own people Israel do… that this Temple I have built honours your name” (verse 43). Another notable aspect of the prayer is its emphasis on God’s willingness to hear the prayers of not only Israelites, but also foreigners who pray towards the Temple, demonstrating God’s universal love and mercy to all people, regardless of their background. So no matter the nature of the problem we may have, as long as we are connected to God’s altar by prayer, God will answer us and meet us at the points of our needs.
PRAYER: Father, help me to always have reverence for Your place of worship in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
