Solomon’s prayer

Remember Faithfully.

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Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God. – 1 Kings 8:52-53 ESV

1 Kings 8:22-53

As Solomon wraps up his prayer or dedication for the temple, he reverently reminds God that it was He who set the people of Israel apart as His chosen possession. God was the one who determined to make out of them a great nation. He is the one who had chosen Abraham and had promised to bless the nations through him. “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.  And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3 ESV). God had kept His promise to Abraham, giving him a son in his old age, even though Sarah, his wife, was barren. And while Abraham’s descendants lived in slavery in Egypt, God had blessed them, multiplying them greatly. Then when the time was right, God had delivered them from captivity through the leadership of Moses and brought them to the land of Canaan – the very land He had promised to Abraham years earlier. God had been faithful. He had kept His promises. At the time of Solomon’s prayer, the people of Israel were enjoying the tremendous blessings of God. They were powerful. Their land was peaceful. Their king was wise and merciful. And the newly completed temple would provide them with a place in which to worship their God and receive forgiveness for their sins.

Solomon pleaded with God to continue His track record of mercy, grace and forgiveness. He knew that, as a people, they were completely dependent upon God to provide for and protect them. He was faithful, but they would eventually prove to be unfaithful. And when that time came, Solomon wanted to know that they could cry out to their God and not only be heard, but have their requests for forgiveness and restoration answered. Solomon would have been very familiar with the writings of Moses. He was counting on the fact that God was the one who had established the unique relationship between Himself and the people of Israel. “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8 ESV). In other words, their relationship with God was not based on their merit. It was not because they somehow deserved to be His people. It was because of God’s faithfulness and His willingness to keep the promise He had made to Abraham all those years ago.

Solomon was depending on the consistency of God’s love and faithfulness. He was banking on the fact that God does not change or go back on His word. Moses had written, “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” (Numbers 23:19 NLT). So Solomon’s entire prayer of dedication was based on his understanding of God’s consistent, unchanging, unwavering character. While man will always prove to be unfaithful and unreliable in his relationship with God, our heavenly Father remains the same, now and always. Years later, long after Solomon would prove to be unfaithful and the nation of Israel would be exposed for its ongoing unfaithfulness, the prophet Malachi would write, “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6 ESV). In spite of Israel’s eventual and repeated failure to remain true to God, He would still be keeping His word and maintaining His covenant promises.

God had set Israel apart for Himself. It was He who established their unique status. They had not deserved their position as His possession. They had not sought Him, but He had chosen them from among all the nations of the world. What set them apart from the rest of the world was their one-of-a-kind position as the heritage of God. He had chosen them, multiplied them, blessed them, and given them His name. Now Solomon was asking God to remember them faithfully, no matter what happened in the days ahead. He knew that, as a people, they would prove to be unfaithful. But he also knew that he could count on God – to never leave them or forsake them, to never turn His back on them, to always hear them, and to consistently answer them when they called. For His own name’s sake. “The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease” (Lamentations 3:22 NLT).

Restore Compassionately.

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If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace). – 1 Kings 8:46-51 ESV

1 Kings 8:22-53

Solomon knew that sin was inevitable and unavoidable, “for there is no one who does not sin.” He was not naive enough to think that the nation of Israel could go on indefinitely without breaking God’s commands and experiencing His judgment. And he was well aware of the punishment reserved by God for repeated rebellion against Him. God had warned that failure to obey Him would result in exile from Him. “The Lord will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you away” (Deuteronomy 28:36-37 ESV). The repeated and unrepentant sins of the people would result in the fall of the nation of Israel and their eventual slavery to their captors. That scenario had to look extremely unlikely to Solomon as he stood in the splendor of Jerusalem surrounded by its protective walls, beautiful buildings and unprecedented affluence and peace. But Solomon was wise. He understood the nature of man and the character of God. Men were prone to sin and found faithfulness to God difficult to maintain. And God was true to His word. What He said He would do, He would do. His warnings were real and were to be taken seriously. So Solomon, as he prayed his prayer of dedication for the temple, gave yet another possible scenario – this one illustration a worst-case possibility. What would God do when His people, now in God-ordained captivity because of their sin, called out to Him in repentance, pleading for forgiveness. What will God do if His people call out to Him, saying, “we have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly?” It was Solomon’s hope that God would not only hear from heaven, but compassionately forgive and restore them. Solomon was counting on the unlimited mercy of God, that in spite of the unfaithfulness of the people, God would remain faithful, refusing to turn His back on those whom He had called out and made His own.

When Solomon finished praying this prayer of dedication, He got an answer. God responded to each and everyone one of his questions with a resounding, “Yes!” He would tell Solomon, “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT). When you think about it, Solomon was asking something incredibly bold. He was asking God to “forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you.” In other words, if the people found themselves in captivity, it would have been as a result of their repeated rebellion against God. They would be suffering the punishment they deserved. But Solomon was asking God to forgive and forget all that they had done to receive the punishment they so richly deserved. And amazingly, God said that if they would simply humble themselves, pray, seek His face and turn from their sin, He would hear, forgive and restore them. What amazing compassion. What unbelievable mercy and grace. It reminds me of the wonderful words of Paul when he wrote, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 ESV). God knew sin was inevitable and unavoidable for man. That’s why He sent His own Son to pay the penalty for man’s rebellion. He sent Jesus to bear the punishment that mankind deserved. Jesus made it possible for man, once separated from God by sin, to be restored to a right relationship with Him. God showed compassion in the face of man’s rebellion. He did for us what we could never have done for ourselves. Just a few verses earlier in Romans, Paul wrote, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners” (Romans 5:6 NLT). And all we had to do was turn to Him in our weakness and acknowledge our need for Him. The result? He restored us compassionately. He heard our cry, forgave our sins, and made us right with Him. What an amazing, compassionate, loving, merciful God we serve.

Deliver Faithfully.

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If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause. – 1 Kings 8:44-45 ESV

1 Kings 8:22-53

Solomon and the people of Israel were enjoying a time of unprecedented peace and tranquility. Unlike his father David, Solomon was not faced with the constant threat of war or incursions by the Philistines. God had blessed his reign and allowed him to enjoy a time of national prosperity and protection from warfare. But Solomon wasn’t naive. He knew that war was always a real possibility because the Israelites were still surrounded by nations that considered them their enemy. The threat of being attacked was a constant part of their lives. But there was also the distinct possibility that God could lead them into battle. The time could come when God ordained that they take the battle to their enemies, “by whatever way you shall send them.” And if that time came, Solomon knew that the key to victory would be tied to God’s divine assistance. Solomon had been raised by David and no doubt had heard the stories of David’s many victories. His father had probably told him the story of his victory over the giant, Goliath, many times. It was on that occasion that David had boldly proclaimed to his over-sized enemy, “For the battle is the Lord‘s, and he will give you into our hand” (1 Samuel 17:47 ESV). David had ended up defeating Goliath and had gone on to have an illustrious military career, thanks to God’s power and presence in his life.

While Solomon did not have the kind of military experience his father had, he did know that what set Israel apart was their dependence upon God for all their needs – including victory against their enemies. He knew that a God-ordained military campaign without God’s help was doomed to failure. Doing what God calls you to do, but in your own strength, will not work. Attempting to accomplish God’s will without God’s power misses the whole point. God wants to direct, but He also wants to empower. So Solomon prayed that when the time came for God’s people to go into battle, and they turned to Him for help, that He would hear them and provide them with victory. Warfare is always a distinct possibility for the child of God. The enemies of God are many and the time may come when God calls us to go into battle. When that time comes, we must turn to the Lord. We must always remember that the battle is His. Victory or defeat will not be based on our personal strength, but on God’s divine power. Attempting to fight the enemies of God without His help will always lead to defeat. We must turn to Him. We must rely on Him. And while today we may not face physical foes and flesh-and-blood enemies, the battle is just as real. Paul reminds us, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:12-13 ESV). Notice that Paul challenges us to take up “the whole armor of God.” He goes on to describe the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit and the shoes of the gospel of peace. These all come from God. They are the armor that He provides. We are to fight, surrounded by His means of protection and equipped with His weapons of warfare, and “praying at all times in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18 ESV).

Wearing God’s armor and waiting on God’s power. That is to be the stance of the child of God. The battles will come. The enemies will come against us. But our God is great and His power is unmatchable. We can face any foe with confidence and boldness, knowing that our God fights for us. The battle is His. We must believe that when God’s children call out to Him, He will “hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.” He will do what only He can do. He will provide the victory. But we must pray. We must depend. We must wait. We must believe that He will deliver – faithfully.

Hear Indiscriminately.

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Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake  (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name. – 1 Kings 8:41-43 ESV

1 Kings 8:22-53

It was Peter who wrote, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35 ESV). The apostle Paul seconded this sentiment when he wrote that God, “will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury … God shows no partiality” (Romans 2:6-8, 11 ESV). Solomon knew that God had chosen the people of Israel as His special possession. He was well aware of the fact that they enjoyed a unique relationship with God and were privileged to be called His people. But Solomon also understood that God was the God of all the nations. Their privileged position as His chosen people was in order that they might be a witness to the rest of the world. As they lived in obedience to God’s commands and experienced His abiding presence and power, the nations around them would stand in awe and admiration. Long before the days of Solomon, Moses had told the people, “See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:5-8 ESV).

The relationship between God and His chosen people was not intended to be exclusive, but an example of what it meant for men to live in a right relationship with God. As those outside the nation of Israel watched God work among His people and act on their behalf. they would be intrigued and attracted. As they witnessed Israel’s adherence to God’s commands and jealously watched as He blessed them abundantly, some would find themselves drawn to Israel’s God. Converts to Judaism were a regular occurrence even during the days of Solomon. He knew that there were those from foreign lands who would turn to Yahweh, “for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm.” They would show up at the newly completed temple and pray to God, and when they did, Solomon asked that God would hear them indiscriminately. He knew his God to be accepting of all those who called on Him for His name’s sake. Any who knew God to be the one true god and approached Him humbly and reverently would be heard by Him. But Solomon’s request was based on his desire for God’s glory and fame to be spread around the world and among the nations. He knew that when God heard and answered the prayers of even the non-Israelite, the news of God’s gracious favor would spread. For Solomon this meant “that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel.” He wanted everyone to know, fear and worship God as he did. He desired for God to be known among the nations. His was not a biased and bigoted view that refused to share His God with others. He simply wanted the glory and greatness of his God to be known among all men.

It is interesting to juxtapose Solomon’s outlook with that of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day. They had become intolerant of and even hateful toward anyone who did not measure up to their exacting standards – Jew and Gentile alike. They looked down their noses at Jesus and the disciples. They despised the Romans. They treated the common people with derision. They were far more concerned with their own glory than they were with God’s. Their reputations were far more important to them than His. Yet Solomon begged that God would hear the prayers of the foreigner indiscriminately and answer graciously and mercifully. Why? So that God’s fame and glory might spread. Is that my desire? Do I want to see God’s fame spread among the nations? Do I ask that God would hear the cries of all those who call out to Him, so that they might see the goodness and glory of God? Perhaps if we were more interested in God’s glory being spread, we would care more interested in sharing the good news of God’s grace among the nations. If we really wanted God’s fame to fill the earth, we would more readily desire to see God’s power to be revealed among all people. We would also want to see to it that we illustrated what it looks like to have the God of the universe intimately involved in the everyday affairs of life. We would want our lives to be a testimony to God’s goodness, grace, and glory – “in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you.”

Respond Justly.

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If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers. – 1 Kings 8:37-40 ESV

1 Kings 8:22-53

At this point in his prayer, Solomon gives an expansive list of potential judgments of God brought on by the sins of the people. He lists famine, pestilence, blight, mildew, insect infestations, plague, sickness and enemy invasion. Solomon knew full well the litany of curses that God had promised to bring if the people of Israel proved to be unfaithful to Him. He had given them a complete list of possible judgments in the book of Deuteronomy. “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you” (Deuteronomy 28:15 ESV). God’s list included:

Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

Cursed shall be the And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron.fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.

Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me.

The Lord will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish.

And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron.

The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them.

And the list goes on. But Solomon knew his God. He knew that if the people sinned and came under the judgment of God, they could turn to God for help. First they would have to know “the affliction of their heart” (1 Kings 8:38). When any Israelite became afflicted enough by the trouble he was experiencing and recognized that the cause of it was his own sin, it should result in him “stretching out his hands toward this house.” In other words, the discipline of God would cause Him to stretch out his hands to God for forgiveness. The imagery here is that of admission of guilt, confession of sin, and a cry for forgiveness. If they would only acknowledge their sin, turn from it, and return to the one who had chosen them as His own, He would forgive them.

Solomon asks God to hear. When these prayers of confession and repentance come to God’s attention, Solomon simply asks God to listen and then to respond justly. He trusted God to do the right thing because he knew that God was a just and righteous God. God alone knows the hearts of men. He knows the difference between true and false repentance. He can tell when someone is crying out simply to escape the pain of punishment, and when someone is legitimately remorseful and truly repentant. God had promised that “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV). It is one thing to know the pain of your heart. It is another thing to humble yourself before the throne of God in repentance, taking ownership for your sin and willingly turning from it back to God. Solomon was counting on the fact that God had promised to hear, forgive and heal. He also knew that God’s punishment for sin, if responded to correctly, would produce a godly fear in the lives of those who returned to God in humble repentance. Paul described it this way: “For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death” (2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT). God’s punishment always has a purpose. He disciplines those whom He loves. He brings just judgment on those who belong to Him, in order that they might return to Him in sorrow and repentance. But like Solomon, we must understand that God knows our hearts. He can tell when our sorrow is sincere and when it is simply worldly sorrow, lacking in repentance. We have to be willing to turn from our sin and return to God. If our only motive is to escape judgment, we miss the point. If we don’t want God more than we want the pleasures of sin, we are not truly repentant. Godly sorrow results in salvation. Worldly sorrow results in death. God’s desire for us is a restored relationship with Him. He longs to bless us. But He also longs that we would desire Him more than we do His blessings.

Discipline Lovingly.

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When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance. – 1 Kings 8:35-36 ESV

1 Kings 8:22-53

This is the third of seven scenarios that Solomon used in his prayer as a means of illustrating the potential unfaithfulness of the people of Israel and to plead for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Solomon was no stranger to the promises of God concerning the land of Canaan. He knew that their very existence as a people and their presence in the land was the work of God. He had chosen them as His own and then provided them with a land in which to live. But their privileged position as His people and their possession of the land came with conditions. God had clearly warned them that, as His chosen people, they would be required to live in obedience to His commands. If they obeyed, they would experience His blessings. If they chose to disobey, their would be ramifications in the form of curses.  “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.  Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you” (Deuteronomy 11:13-17 ESV).

It is with this warning in mind that Solomon prays. He knew full well that there was always a distinct possibility that they would prove to be unfaithful. As a people, their history was replete with stories of unfaithfulness and idolatry. Remaining true to God had proven to be difficult for them. During their 400 years of captivity in Egypt they had forgotten Yahweh and worshiped the gods of their captors. Even after God’s miraculous deliverance from their slavery in Egypt, it had not taken long before they were worshiping the golden calf in the wilderness. When they had arrived in the land of promise, God gave them victories over their enemies, but the people just couldn’t seem to keep their hearts and hands off the false gods of the very nations they had conquered. So the scenario Solomon used in his prayer was far from unlikely or impossible. He knew in his heart that their unfaithfulness was a distinct and potentially dangerous possibility. If Solomon knew anything about God, it was that He kept His word. So He appeals to God’s promise to forgive. But he knows that God’s forgiveness would be conditioned on their repentance and confession. They would have to acknowledge God’s name and turn from their sin. This would have to be more than just a casual, “I’m sorry.” To acknowledge God’s name was to confess that His unique character as the one true God. It was to openly admit that He alone was holy, righteous, almighty and worthy of their worship. And to turn from their sin was to reject all false gods and renounce their improper dependence upon them. Solomon knew that God’s forgiveness would required their genuine repentance. He also knew that God’s punishment of them would always be positive in nature, designed to turn them from their unfaithfulness and return them to a right relationship with Himself. God disciplines His people for their own good, so that they might give Him glory. “For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3:12 NLT). “I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference” (Revelations 3:19 NLT).

The unfaithfulness of God’s people was inevitable, but God made provision for it. In Solomon’s day, it came in the form of the sacrificial system. It required repentance and confession. The shedding of blood was necessary. Sin required punishment. But God provided a means by which sin could be atoned for or covered over. It was through the death of an innocent animal whose life was sacrificed as a substitute or stand-in for the guilty party. But those sacrifices were never intended to be permanent or complete in their effectiveness. They simply foreshadowed a greater sacrifice to come. God would eventually provide His own Son as the perfect, sinless sacrifice for the sins of man. His Son, Jesus Christ, would give His life as payment for the sins of all men – past, present and future. He would die in their place, taking on their punishment and paying their debt so that they might have forgiveness from sin and escape the penalty of death – eternal separation from God. But this gift must be received. The payment made by God through His Son must be accepted. Men must acknowledge their sin and turn to God for the forgiveness made possible through the death of Jesus Christ. Many years after Solomon prayed this prayer, Peter would preach a message to the Jews gathered in Solomon’s Portico, an area just outside the temple. “But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus” (Acts 3:18-20 ESV). Repent. Return. And receive forgiveness from the hand of a loving God.

Forgive Mercifully.

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When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers. – 1 Kings 8:33-34 ESV

1 Kings 8:22-53

Solomon continues his prayer of dedication for the temple. These verses contain the second of seven conditional circumstances that Solomon used as illustrations to appeal to God for His continued mercy and forgiveness. Solomon knew that while they had been experiencing an unprecedented period of peace and tranquility as a nation, that could all change in a heartbeat. All that was necessary was for the people to sin against God. As part of their covenant relationship with them, God had agreed to give them the land of Canaan as their possession. He had promised to bless them and give them victory over their enemies – as long as they remained obedient to Him. But if they failed to remain faithful to Him, they would experience cursing. “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known” (Deuteronomy 11:26-28 ESV). It seems that the primary sin Solomon had in mind was idol worship. He knew that if the people ever worshiped other gods, things would not go well for them. God would punish them for their unfaithfulness. And knowing the track record of the people of Israel, Solomon realized that this was a very real possibility. God had been very clear when He had warned the Israelites what would happen if they proved to be unfaithful. “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them” (Deuteronomy 28:25 ESV). Not only that, “The Lord will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone” (Deuteronomy 28:36 ESV). In other words, their sin against God would result in expulsion from the land and a life of exile as captives of another nation. That is why Solomon mentions God bringing the people back again to the land He had given their forefathers. This was a worse-case scenario as far as Solomon was concerned. In essence, he was playing the “What-if Game”. What if we turn away from you and start worshiping other gods and you punish us by allowing us to be defeated and taken captive by our enemies? Will you still hear us if we repent and forgive us of our sins and restore us to the land?

God would answer those questions as soon as Solomon had finished his prayer. God responded clearly and affirmatively. “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV). God will consistently forgive those who come to Him with truly repentant and contrite hearts. The writer of Lamenations reminds us, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;  they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV). Solomon knew his God to be holy and just, demanding faithfulness and unwavering obedience from His people. But he also knew His God to be loving, merciful and forgiving. The whole idea of the temple and the sacrificial system it accommodated was to take advantage of God’s prescribed plan for receiving forgiveness from sin. God had provided a means by which His people could remain in a right relationship with Him. He knew they would sin. He was well aware that they would fall short of His expectations. So He provided forgiveness through sacrifice. Blood had to be shed. Payment had to be made. Confession and repentance had to be expressed. Then forgiveness and restoration could be enjoyed. 

Solomon was appealing to the unwavering mercy of God. Even if the worse-case scenario should happen, he wanted to know that God’s mercy would be available. And it would be. That is the story of the Bible. In spite of man’s sin and rebellion against Him, God continues to show mercy. And since the sacrificial system could never fully take away the sins of man, God mercifully sent His Son as the once-for-all sacrifice or payment for all sin. Paul tells us that God was mercifully holding off His judgment against the sins of man until His Son came. “For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past” (Romans 3:25 NLT). Jesus became the final sacrifice for mankind’s sins. He was the fully acceptable sacrifice that satisfied the justice of God and allowed Him to show mercy to sinful men who come to Him with repentant hearts and in full dependence upon the sacrifice of His Son. Solomon knew God to be merciful, so he appealed to that mercy. He was counting on what he knew about God. He knew full well the words of God. “When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them” (Deuteronomy 4:30-31 ESV). Without God’s mercy, man is hopeless. But God is faithful, just, loving and good. He has provided a way. He has made forgiveness available through His Son.

Judge Rightly.

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If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness. – 1 Kings 8:31-32 ESV

1 Kings 8:22-53

Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple was based on a long-term perspective and was God-focused in nature. He was doing far more than simply commemorating the completion of a construction project. He was asking God to continue to find favor with the people of Israel and hear their prayers and forgive any future sins they would inevitably commit. In essence, Solomon was praying that God would continue to extend mercy to His people. Solomon used seven scenarios to illustrate potential situations that might arise in the lives of the people of Israel. This particular one had to do with personal sins. He knew that there were going to be plenty of cases where the people of Israel broke God’s covenant by committing sins against one another. Many of God’s laws regulated the relationships between individuals. Six of the original ten commandments had to do with unacceptable behavior between fellow Israelites. They were not to lie, murder, bear false witness, covet, steal or commit adultery. They were to honor their parents. But God knew that they were incapable of keeping His laws, so He provided the sacrificial system as a means for receiving atonement and forgiveness. Like the tabernacle in the wilderness, the temple was intended to be the sole place where Israelites could come to confess and repent of their sins and seek forgiveness from God. So Solomon asked that God would hear their confessions and judge rightly. As a king, Solomon would have known how difficult it was to make right judgments based on the words of men. He was considered incredibly wise, but even Solomon did not have the ability to look into men’s hearts or order to determine the truth of their words. One of the roles of the king was to judge his people and settle disputes. Solomon would have done this on a regular basis. He would have had to listen to testimonies and hear arguments, then make a determination based on the facts as he knew them to be. There must have been times when he questioned his own decisions, wondering if he had made the right determination.

So Solomon asked that God would hear the cases of His people and judge rightly between the just and the unjust. Solomon was asking God to be the righteous judge, condemning where necessary and vindicating when appropriate. He knew God to be just and fair in all His dealings. He also knew that God could not be tricked, deceived, or manipulated. He could look into the hearts of men and see the truth. He could judge rightly because He was omniscient, with intimate knowledge of the hearts and minds of men. So Solomon simply asked God to listen to the confessions of the people and judge as only He could – justly and righteously at all times. What a comfort to know that God never condemns unjustly. He never makes the wrong decision. God has never punished the righteous person wrongly. Yes, we see all kinds of people get away with all kinds of evil. We see unjust people do unjust things and never suffer any consequences. But we tend to view things from a limited perspective. We don’t have a long-term outlook on life or the ability to see what God is going to do in the future. God can and will vindicate all wrongdoing. He will bring all sinners to account. We may not see it in our lifetime or be allowed to witness His justice in action, but we can rest assured that God will judge rightly and righteously one day. The psalmist described God as, “a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day” (Psalm 7:11 ESV). He makes righteous judgments – all the time. We may not see them when they take place. We may not agree with His timing. But we can trust that what God decides is always right and just. He will condemn the wicked and vindicate the righteous – if not now, He will do so in the future.

We must learn to trust God and allow Him to rule and judge as He sees fit. He knows what is best. He operates on a different time schedule than we do. He sees things we cannot see. He knows the hearts and minds of men. He always metes out appropriate justice and judgment, in His time. We can always trust Him to deal with us as we deserve, even when we don’t know the motivations of our own hearts. God sees the sin we are oblivious and blind to. He can tell the difference between wrong actions motivated by right desires and right actions done for the wrong reasons. And He always deals with us righteously and justly. We can count on that.

Listen and Forgive.

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Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, “My name shall be there,” that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. – 1 Kings 8:28-30 ESV

1 Kings 8:22-53

While Solomon was well aware of the fact that the great temple he had just finished constructing was insufficient to contain God, he was counting on God’s promise that His name would be there. God had told David, Solomon’s father, “Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever” (1 Chronicles 22:9-10 ESV). The temple was to be built as a sort of monument to the character and nature of God. It’s beauty, richness, elaborate architectural detail and design were all intended to reflect the nature of God. It’s sole purpose was for making sacrifice and receiving forgiveness. It was a tribute to the holiness, mercy, love and forgiveness of God.

So Solomon appealed to God to hear his prayer. He knew that, without God’s presence, the building he had just had constructed would be nothing. It would be powerless to assist the Israelites in their times of need. After all, it was just a building. It was nothing more than a symbol of God’s power, mercy, and love. It could not save them. If God did not show up and hear the prayers and accept the sacrifices they offered up, they were doomed. Which is why Solomon asked “that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house.” The temple was to be the place where they came to meet with God. It was where they would make their annual sacrifice of atonement to God in the hopes of receiving forgiveness for their sins. So it was essential that God see them and constantly be aware of their circumstances, as well as hear them when they cried out to Him.

Solomon knew full well that God was not going to take up residence in the temple. His dwelling place was in heaven. But he believed that God had chosen the people of Israel as His special possession. He had set them apart as His own and had determined to reveal His power and presence to them and through them. They were nothing without God. In fact, the only thing that set them apart as a people was their relationship with God. “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8 ESV). God had chosen them, not the other way around. Their very existence as a nation was due to God’s mercy and love. But Solomon knew that while God had been consistently faithful to them over the years, they had proven to be incredibly and repeatedly unfaithful in return. Which is why the sacrificial system was so essential. It was also why the temple was so important. Solomon was asking God to hear and forgive. He knew that the forgiveness of God was critical to their ongoing existence as a people. They were going to sin. It was inevitable. As a result, they would be required to bring their sacrifices and offer their prayers of confession and repentance. But if God did not hear them, they would be doomed. They would fall under His wrath and judgment. So Solomon appealed to God based on His character. He prayed based on God’s promises. His request was for future forgiveness. While they were obviously enjoying God’s blessings at that moment, all of that could change in a heartbeat if the people disobeyed God by breaking His laws. And Solomon knew that was inevitable and unavoidable. It would prove to be true in his own life. So he begged God to listen to their prayers of confession and contrition and honor their pleas of repentance with His forgiveness.

Solomon did not take the forgiveness of God for granted. He did not treat it lightly. But we do. We have grown so accustomed to the idea that all our sins are forgiven in Christ, that we no longer feel the need to own up to them or confess them. The apostle John reminds us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV). Our forgiveness is a done deal. Jesus Christ has provided forgiveness for all our sins – past, present, and future – through His death on the cross. But that does not mean that we can sin at will and without any sense of remorse or expression of repentance. Our sin is still an affront to a holy God. We have His forgiveness available to us, but we must acknowledge our sin and confess it to God. Solomon valued the forgiveness of God. He built an entire structure just for the purpose of securing that forgiveness. God has given us His Son. We don’t have to build or sacrifice anything. All we need to do is confess. And God will forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Amazing, but also amazingly easy to take for granted.

Our Uncontainable God.

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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

1 Kings 8:22-53

As Solomon prepared to dedicate the temple he had just constructed, he offered a prayer of consecration to God. He was setting apart this very special building as the dwelling place of God. But even as he prayed, he realized the futility and extreme absurdity of what they were doing. They very idea of men trying to create a structure adequate or large enough to contain the God of the universe was absurd. Solomon’s prayer reveals his understanding of God’s immensity and transcendence. While the false gods worshiped by other nations could easily be contained in temples and shrines, the God of Israel was far too great and omnipresent to be contained in a single structure, regardless of how beautiful or large it might be. God Himself had said, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the LORD, have spoken!” (Isaiah 66:1-2 ESV).

So was all the effort and expense Solomon had put into building the temple nothing but a waste of time? No. God had given Solomon permission to build the temple for which his father David had long dreamed. Solomon was well aware of the history of Israel’s exodus from Egypt and the stories regarding the tabernacle. It was within the Holy of Holies that God’s shekinah glory rested. God had ordained the construction of the tabernacle and had agreed to meet with His people there. Within the tabernacle, hidden from the view of men, the glory of God hovered over the mercy seat which sat on top of the Ark of the Covenant. It was there, once a year, that the high priest sprinkled the blood of a spotless animal in order to atone for the sins of the people. It was David’s original intent to create a new dwelling place for the Ark. Ever since the people had lived within the land of Canaan, the Ark had been without a proper resting place. So David had dreamed of creating a house in which to keep the Ark. “Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, ‘See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent’” (2 Samuel 7:1-2 ESV). God had approved of David’s plan, but it was Solomon who was allowed to bring it to fruition. The marvelous structure Solomon had constructed was not intended to contain or house God. That would have been impossible. It was created to provide a proper home for the Ark and allow for the continued atonement for the sins of the people of God. But the sacrifices made each year within the temple had to be more than just religious rituals performed out of some sense of duty. God expected the sacrifices to be accompanied by repentance and a sense of contrition. Years later, the prophet Isaiah would write, “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite’” (Isaiah 57:15 ESV). Isaiah would also end up warning the people regarding their casual use of the temple and their contemptuous regard for the sacrificial system. Speaking on behalf of God, Isaiah wrote: “‘What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the Lord. ‘I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony? Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me!’” (Isaiah 1:11-13 NLT).

The temple could not contain God. And the sacrifices of men could not obligate God to forgive them for their disregard and disrespect for His holiness. As God had said, “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.” God didn’t live in the temple. He lived within the hearts of those who loved Him and recognized their need for Him. Our God is uncontainable and uncontrollable. We can’t manipulate Him or make Him do what we want. We can’t live our lives according to our own standards and then expect Him to bless us just because we go to church, periodically read our Bibles, or offer up the occasional prayer. As those who claim to believe in Jesus Christ, we are the dwelling place of the most High God. We are His temple. He lives within us. Paul reminds us, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV). “For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord’” (2 Corinthians 6:16-17 ESV). What an amazing reality. The uncontainable, uncontrollable God of the universe has chosen to dwell among us. He has determined to live within us. We don’t need a building. All we need is belief in the redemptive work of His Son Jesus Christ and hearts that are willing to repent of our love affair with sin and self. Then God Himself takes up residence within us. Paul writes, “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:7-8 NLT). The undeserving contains the uncontainable. The unremarkable contains the uncontrollable.