Will God Dwell on Earth?

"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27 ESV)

At the dedication of the temple, Solomon posed a profound theological question that anticipates the mystery of Christmas. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones draws our attention to this rhetorical question that finds its ultimate answer in the incarnation.

Lloyd-Jones observes that Solomon's question expresses appropriate awe at God's transcendence. How could the infinite be contained within finite space? How could the eternal be localized in temporal dimensions? How could the Creator be housed in a created structure? The question reveals the vast gulf between divine and human existence—a gulf that seems unbridgeable.

Solomon recognizes that even the magnificent temple he constructed remains inadequate to contain God's fullness. The phrase "heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you" acknowledges divine transcendence—God exists beyond all created dimensions. Yet Solomon's prayer also expresses hope that God will somehow manifest His presence in this dedicated space—that transcendence will be complemented by immanence.

Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that the temple itself foreshadowed a greater reality. Its sacrifices, furnishings, and ceremonies all pointed toward the coming Messiah. The Holy of Holies, where God's presence dwelt in darkness behind veils and curtains, anticipated a time when God would reveal Himself openly in human form.

The temple embodied a paradox—God both present and not present, both revealed and concealed, both accessible and inaccessible. Lloyd-Jones notes that this tension persisted throughout Israel's history until Christmas provided the resolution. In Christ, God does indeed dwell on earth, not in a building but in a person. The One whom "heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain" willingly confined Himself to human form.

Solomon could not have fully comprehended how his question would be answered. He built the best dwelling place human hands could construct, while recognizing its inherent inadequacy. Yet God had planned something far more wonderful—not a dwelling made with hands but a body prepared by the Holy Spirit.

This Christmas, marvel at the answer to Solomon's ancient question. Yes, God indeed dwells on earth—not in temples of stone but in the person of His Son. The question that perplexed Israel's wisest king finds resolution in Bethlehem's manger. What Solomon could only question rhetorically, we can know definitively through the Word made flesh.

Listen to all of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermons on Christmas at mljtrust.org.