On the one hand, Jesus truly reveals to us a God who accepts us as we are, with all our illnesses, needs, psychological difficulties, and childhood complexes, regardless of our merits or our unworthiness. All this is true, as is the fact that...
On the one hand, Jesus truly reveals to us a God who accepts us as we are, with all our illnesses, needs, psychological difficulties, and childhood complexes, regardless of our merits or our unworthiness. All this is true, as is the fact that, through faith and striving toward God, many problems are sometimes resolved, illnesses are healed, or we, which is no less valuable, become able to look at all these hardships of life differently - as people say, through God's own eyes - to understand their meaning and draw benefit from them. And without doubt this last thing too can be included in what today's Gospel passage calls "healings," if by them we mean divine actions through which our mind, our whole life, though far from ideal, begins to acquire a certain wholeness, and we gain the ability to rise above oppressive problems and grasp something new and unexpected about life and about God.
On the other hand, one gets the impression that, despite the huge number of healing scenes and other miracles in the Gospel, Mark, following the Spirit and Jesus' intentions, wanted to say something more. Recovery or changes for the better may happen or may not happen, although in any case hope for the better remains. Yet in the depths of all these hopes or disappointments there lies a call addressed to every person: to look to the root and try to receive with one's whole being that suffering and distress are synonyms of human life. And overcoming them is possible only by shifting our attention from our own "sores" to the suffering and pain of other people, as Jesus did. For sharing in the suffering of others can act as an anesthetic for our own, and at the same time helps make life more bearable and, most important, not deprived of consolations and of joy shared with others.
8 The chief men of Israel called together, Ki1 8:1-2.
The ark fixt in the most holy place, Ki1 8:3-9.
God takes possession of it by a cloud, Ki1 8:10-12.
Solomon tells the people the occasion of their meeting, Ki1 8:13-21.
The prayer of dedication, Ki1 8:22-53.
He dismisses the assembly with a blessing and an exhortation, Ki1 8:54-61.
Offers abundance of sacrifices, Ki1 8:62-66.
8:1 Elders - The senators, and judges, and rulers. Heads - For each tribe had a peculiar governor. Chief - The chief persons of every greatfamily in each tribe. Jerusalem - Where the temple was built. Bringthe ark - To the top of Moriah, upon which it was built; whither theywere now to carry the ark in solemn pomp. City of David - Where Davidhad placed the ark, which is called Zion, because it was built upon thathill.
8:2 All Israel - Not only the chief men, but a vast number of the common people. The feast - The feast of the dedication, to whichSolomon had invited them. Seventh month - Which time he chose withrespect to his peoples convenience, because now they had gathered in alltheir fruits, and were come up to Jerusalem, to celebrate the feast oftabernacles. But the temple was not finished till the eighth month,chap.Ki1 6:38, how then could he invite them in the seventh month? Thiswas the seventh month of the next year. For although the house in allits parts was finished the year before, yet the utensils of it were notthen fully finished: and many preparations were to be made for this greatand extraordinary occasion.
8:3 The priests - For although the Levites might do this, Num 4:15, yet the priests did it at this time, for the greaterhonour of the solemnity; and because the Levites might not enter intothe holy - place, much less into the holy of holies, where it was to beplaced, into which the priests themselves might not have entered, if thehigh - priest alone could have done it.
8:4 The tabernacle - That made by Moses, which doubtless before this time had been translated from Gibeon to Zion, and now togetherwith other things, was put into the treasuries of the Lord's house, toprevent all superstitious use of it, and to oblige the people to come upto Jerusalem, as the only place where God would now be worshipped.
8:5 Sacrificing - When the ark was seated in its place: for although they might in the way offer some sacrifices, as David did; yet that wasnot a proper season to offer so many sacrifices as could not be numbered.This is more particularly related below, ver. Ki1 8:62-64, which is heresignified by way of anticipation.
8:6 Cherubim - Of Solomon's new made cherubim, not of the Mosaic cherubim, which were far less, and unmovably fixed to the ark,Exo 37:7-8, and therefore together with the ark, were put underthe wings of these cherubim.