1 Kings 8: 1 – 66
Why are they missing?
8 Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the City of David, which is Zion. 2 Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 So all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 4 Then they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. 6 Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 8 The poles extended so that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. 9 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. 12 Then Solomon spoke: “The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud. 13 I have surely built You an exalted house, and a place for You to dwell in forever.” 14 Then the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 15 And he said: “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilled it, saying, 16 ‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there; but I chose David to be over My people Israel.’ 17 Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 18 But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’ 20 So the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 21 And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.” 22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven; 23 and he said: “LORD God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. 24 You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. 25 Therefore, LORD God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.’ 26 And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father. 27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! 28 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: 29 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. 30 And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive. 31 “When anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take an oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, 32 then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness. 33 “When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and when they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple, 34 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers. 35 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance. 37 “When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; 38 whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: 39 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men), 40 that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers. 41 “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake 42 (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43 hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name. 44 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. 46 “When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to the land of the enemy, far or near; 47 yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness’; 48 and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name: 49 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause, 50 and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, out of the iron furnace), 52 that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. 53 For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your inheritance, as You spoke by Your servant Moses, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.” 54 And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the LORD, that he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. 55 Then he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: 56 “Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. 57 May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us nor forsake us, 58 that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. 59 And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near the LORD our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, 60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other. 61 Let your heart therefore be loyal to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.” 62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD. 63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the LORD, twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So, the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. 64 On the same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the LORD; for there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the LORD was too small to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings. 65 At that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven more days—fourteen days. 66 On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the LORD had done for His servant David, and for Israel His people.
Have you ever heard anyone saying something like this, ‘When I get to heaven I go a lot of questions for The Big Man to answer?’
In response I say to this person. I do not think you really know our Holy El Shaddai. Our Great God Is Three in One and He Is Omnipresent (everywhere), Omnipotent (all powerful), and Omniscient (all knowing). I go on to tell the person exactly what he will do – ‘If you are fortunate to be with our Lord Jesus, you will prostrate yourself and greatly declare to Him, ‘my Lord and my God’.
I do want to add that there are some questions that I would like to ask Him about. In the bible there are certain situations where we are told something and then are left hanging. For example, Paul told us that he went and saw heaven but then he says it is too wonderful for him to describe. In another situation Paul wanted to travel to Asia to evangelize but he says the Holy Spirit hindered him from going. How were you hindered Paul? You don’t tell us. You leave us with this amazing statement and then move on , Oh, come on Paul.
Today we are going to read a similar drop of significant information and then left without an explanation. In verse 9 we read, “Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
Hebrews chapter 9 reads this, “2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; 3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, 4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.
Here we see described that three items were placed in the Ark, so the question I would liked us all to consider is ‘where did they go?’
I do believe that I have an answer which I credit our Precious Holy Spirit for the answer and which I want to share with you.
Aaron's rod was a symbol of his priestly authority, and it was through the rods of the heads of the twelve tribes that the age-lasting priesthood for Israel was affirmed (Numbers 17) to Aaron following the rebellion of the Levites Korah, Dathan and Abiram (Numbers 16). It was after this attempted coup that our Holy God Yahweh told Moses to bring Aaron's rod (which had overnight budded and produced almonds) to the tabernacle (Numbers 17:10) as a warning against the rebels and as a testimony to all of Israel.
The manna was the food for Israel during their wilderness wandering, and thus represented God's provision prior to their entry into the promised land. In Exodus 16:33 Yahweh commanded Moses to take a pot and put an "omer full of manna" in it and "lay it up before Yahweh to be kept for your generations." And so, we have Aaron's rod and the pot of manna kept in the tabernacle, and Hebrews 9:4 tells us that these were kept within the ark.
Now in the time of Solomon, when the temple was being dedicated we read in 1 Kings 8:9 (and 2 Chronicles 5:10) that "there was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone." Aaron's rod and the golden pot of manna were missing.
These two items were removed because the Aaronic priesthood has ended because of God’s judgement on Aaron’s descendant Eli. So, Aaron’s rod is gone.
As far as the Manna we see here God’s Promises being fully fulfilled. The Israelites are now rightly fixed in the Promised land and there is no more need to ‘Wander’ thus say goodbye to the jar of Manna.
These two unique items that were taken out of the Ark are completed with the coming of the Messiah who Is The High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, and the establishing of Christ's Jesus our Lord’s body as the living, heavenly temple.
The tablets remained in the ark which had its place in the "heart" of the temple: a figure of the new covenant when His law (the law of the Spirit of "The Life in Christ Jesus" – Romans 8:2) would be placed within our hearts – as we were made to be new creatures in Him.
Let’s see what additional great teaching our Precious Holy Spirit wants to share with us.
The moment for which Solomon had waited had eventually arrived. The Temple itself was now fully completed and stood there in its pristine glory, and all the furniture and embellishments had been made and put in place. Now the next thing that was necessary was to bring into it all that was ‘holy’ (set apart wholly to God. What was ‘holy’, of course, especially included the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH, the most sacred item of them all, for it bore the Name of YHWH and indicated His invisible presence among. But along with it was the sacred Tabernacle and its holy furnishings.
Such an event required the bringing together of all who counted in Israel, and they came up seven days before the Feast of Tabernacles and with all due ceremony brought the Ark from its Sacred Tent and set it up in the Most Holy Place. It was accompanied by all that was looked on as holy, including the ‘ancient’ Tabernacle, which may have then been stored in the room constructed over the Most Holy Place, although the only other item kept in use was the brazen altar (which explains why it has never been mentioned. And once the Ark was in its place, and the priests had left the Most Holy Place, the glory of YHWH filled His house under cover of the sacred cloud. It was an indication that He did not despise or reject what they had done, for He recognized that what they had done had been done because they were seeking to glorify Him. It is an indication to us that God always graciously acknowledges our genuinely best efforts, even though they might not be quite what He would have hoped for, and in this case, He wanted Israel to know that He was still with them and watching over them. It was His way of putting His seal on what they had done.
8 Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the City of David, which is Zion.
There is a distinct echo here of 2 Samuel 6, but that is partly because this is precisely what would happen on such an occasion. First of all the notable men of Israel/Judah would be assembled together, probably at a sacred feast (the seventh month was the month of the feast of Tabernacles). Then the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH, which had rested in its place in the Sacred Tent in the citadel of David, (which was on the southern part of hill of Jerusalem and was at that time exclusively named Zion), was now brought out from there with due solemnity up to the Temple mount on the northern plateau (which would from now on be included in the term Zion) in order to be set up in the Most Holy Place in the new Temple. (
2 Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
As required by the Law of Moses all the men of Israel gathered at the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month (Leviticus 23.34-35). But this time their coming together was also at the special summons of the king, for they gathered seven days before the feast. They assembled ‘to king Solomon’. All the concentration was on him. And the feast would then last for fourteen days (verse 65), the initial seven days of dedication being followed by the actual Feast of Tabernacles, thus making it twice the usual length.
3 So all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 4 Then they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up.
All that was seen as holy in Israel was now brought up into the Temple in the presence of the elders of Israel, it was brought by ‘the priests, with the assistance of the Levites’.
5 Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.
These sacrifices, made in the presence of the Ark (and thus where YHWH had recorded His Name), were felt to be necessary because of the precarious situation brought about by moving the Ark. They did not want a repetition of the incident of Uzzah (2 Samuel 6.7).
6 Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.
The priests brought the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH and there they set it down under the wings of the massive Cherubim which Solomon had had made. They were there as guardian Cherubim, and as a reminder that YHWH’s Name could not be approached or touched. And the wings of the Cherubim were spread out so that they reached out over and covered the Ark and the staves.
8 The poles extended so that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.
God’s instructions had been that the staves should not be taken out of the rings on the Ark but should be left in place (Exodus 25.15).
9 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
The only articles that were in the Ark were the two tables of stone put there by Moses at Horeb (Sinai) when YHWH made His covenant with His people when they came out of the land of Egypt (Exodus 25.16). The reason for mentioning this was to remind His people of the original covenant made with them at Sinai which was still binding on them, and was the one thing in the Ark. It was not simply an historical aside or a list of contents In other words it is emphasizing that that covenant was central to all their worship, and to all that the Ark stood for. Nothing had been, or was to be, added.
10 And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
The Ark having been set down in the Most Holy Place, the priests retired, never to enter it again (apart from the High Priest once a year after suitable preparation). And it was then that the most remarkable thing happened. No doubt to their wondering astonishment ‘the cloud’ (the one known about from Exodus 40.34) filled the house of YHWH. It was a sign that YHWH was putting His seal on the Temple as the new Central Sanctuary and Dwelling place of YHWH.
11 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
And the result was that the priests could not enter the Holy Place to perform their functions, for the presence of the cloud was veiling the presence of the glory of YHWH which filled the whole house. Adding to the placement of gold throughout the Temple the Glory of our Great God Yahweh was blinding.
The speech that follows is an interesting one. To quite some extent Solomon’s words here read like a defense of what he was doing, and an attempt to prove that it was in line with YHWH’s will, and with the covenant that YHWH had made with His people when He delivered them out of Egypt. They reveal his own awareness of the fact that the people were not as a whole comfortable with the transfer of the Tabernacle from its acknowledged position in ‘the great high place’ in Gibeon, a recognized Israelite city, sanctified by its past as one of the first cities to become YHWH’s during the conquest, when it meant that it would be moved to a city which up until the time of David had been openly Canaanite. Thus, instead of positively extolling the benefits of the Temple, he busied himself with presenting his arguments as to why they should accept it as YHWH’s will, based on His covenant with David.
It is noteworthy from this point of view that he failed to mention Jerusalem or Zion in his speech even once, and while there was a mild hint of it in the negative reference in verse 16, nowhere did he suggest that Jerusalem was the city chosen by YHWH for the purpose. It was almost as though he did not want to draw their attention to the fact that he had built the Temple in Jerusalem. Rather he stressed that YHWH had chosen David, and that the building of the Temple arose from that fact, and that YHWH had confirmed His agreement with David’s plan on that basis, and because the purpose of his heart was right. Thus, he wanted the Temple to be permitted by YHWH to David, the one whom He had chosen, and then as built by his son in accordance with YHWH’s wishes.
12 Then Solomon spoke: “The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud. 13 I have surely built You an exalted house, and a place for You to dwell in forever.”
His idea was presumably that although YHWH dwells in thick darkness and cannot therefore be seen in the fullness of what He Is yet nevertheless by building the Temple with its Most Holy Place which was inaccessible to man and in total darkness, he had made it possible for YHWH to live among His people. It was his hope that it would mean that God would be forever with His people. Fortunately, the presence of God with His people was not dependent on there being a Temple.
There was undoubtedly a bit of self-glamorization about this statement (‘I have surely built you’), for the Temple was not necessary for this purpose. The Ark itself was sufficient evidence that YHWH was among His people because it was ‘called by His Name (2 Samuel 6.2).
14 Then the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.
Having briefly dedicated the Temple to YHWH the king now turned to the people, many of whom were not equally convinced that this Temple was such a good thing. And from his position he takes on the role as a priestly intercessor of his people, he blessed ‘all the assembly of Israel’ while they stood on their feet before him. Please note that the words of the blessing sound very much like a defense of what he was doing. He was after all bringing about a major transformation of the religion of Israel. From the people’s viewpoint the ancient and revered Tabernacle in its ancient high place was being replaced by this brand new, and undoubtedly gorgeous Temple, which had, however, been built on a high place connected with what had within living memory been a pagan city. It was foreign to their thinking, and many, especially among the more conservative citizens, would not have been very happy about the situation at all. It went against all their treasured traditions and involved the ‘disappearance’ of the sacred Tabernacle. So, Solomon was seeking to win them round to acceptance of the Temple. And he sought to do it by fixing their attention on God’s choice of David, who had made them so prosperous and secure, and asking them to see it in that light. What this did do, however, was help to establish the importance of the Davidic covenant.
15 And he said: “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilled it, saying,
He praised ‘YHWH, the God of Israel’ and stressed that it was He Who had spoken directly to David their ‘father’ (‘your father’ being intended to make them feel a part of it) and had now by His own hand fulfilled it. Thus, he wanted them to see it as all of God.
16 ‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there; but I chose David to be over My people Israel.’
Then he stressed the words of YHWH, words which are, however, as he cites them, nowhere previously recorded. We should note that the emphasis was on ‘NOT dwelling in a house, but on living in a tent’, and certainly NOT on ‘choosing out a city’. And Solomon basically acknowledged this when he stressed that YHWH’s choice initially was not of a city but of a person.
17 Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
Solomon acknowledged that the idea of building a physical Temple was very much that of David. He was using the love that they had had for David for all he was worth. But even then, notice that it was as something that was in David’s heart, not as something that came from YHWH’s heart.
18 But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’
But then he stressed that Yahweh had given His approval to David’s continuing demand, because He saw that it was made from a genuine heart and a right motive. This approval appears to have been given late in David’s life (1 Chronicles 21), after the incident of the numbering of Israel. It is clear that the initiative came from David and received YHWH’s approval rather than it being proposed by our Father God.
However, once He had given His permission YHWH did insist that the house be built by one who was a man of peace. He did not want His house to be a celebration of bloodshed in war, and as a memorial of bloody victories. He wanted it to be seen rather as a symbol of peace and security. Thus, He had insisted that the building of the house be left to David’s son, born from his loins. If such a house was to be built it was David’s son, brought up in peace, who should build a house for His Name.
To build a house for His Name meant to build a house where His presence could be revealed and where the Ark, which bore His Name (2 Samuel 6.2), could find a home
20 So the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
Then Solomon sought to convince them that the Temple was therefore based on Yahweh establishing His word, on the grounds that Solomon himself had now risen up in David’s place and had sat on the throne of Israel as Yahweh had promised, and had therefore built the house for the Name of YHWH the God of Israel, as a reminder of His presence and as a home for the Ark which was called by His Name (2 Samuel 6.2).
21 And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
He then sought to link the Temple with the deliverance from Egypt and the covenant made at Sinai. For he pointed out that the Ark which he had set in the Temple was the very Ark in which was the covenant of YHWH, the covenant that YHWH had made with His people when He had delivered them out of the land of Egypt (Exodus 20). Thus, the Temple was now linked closely with the covenant, and had been built because of YHWH’s words to David.
He no doubt hoped that that was the end of the matter. But as the future would reveal, many of the people were far from convinced. The Central Sanctuary in Jerusalem would not later have taken such a hold on Israel that it would prevent the split into two kingdoms.
Having, as he hoped, reconciled the people to having the Temple in Jerusalem as their Central Sanctuary, Solomon now reminded God of His covenant, and of His covenant love, admitted that the Temple that he had built could not really contain the God of Heaven and earth, the One Whom even the Heaven of heavens could not contain, and prayed that God would bless them as a result of their having their Temple. He asked Him to listen to their prayers when they prayed towards it, and as a result offer them forgiveness for their sins when they sinned and then repented and went on to list seven possibilities of the way in which He could show His mercy when they had sinned and then sought His mercy.
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven;
The most solemn moment of the dedication of the Temple had now come and as the intercessor of Israel Solomon had well prepared himself. He stood before the altar of YHWH in the presence of all of assembled Israel and spread forth his hands towards Heaven. But as already mentioned, he would shortly be so moved by some of the things that he was praying about that, by the end of the prayer, he would be on his knees (verse 54).
23 and he said: “LORD God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. 24 You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day.
His prayer was firmly based on the covenant that Yahweh Father God had made with his father David, which also intimately affected him, although very much as a part of the continuing covenant of Sinai.
25 Therefore, LORD God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.’
Solomon then called on YHWH to keep with David his father what He had promised him concerning the continuance of his house on the throne of Israel.
26 And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father.
Solomon then again prayed that God, as the God of Israel, would let the word that He had spoken be verified. Note the threefold progression in verses 24-26. ‘You have kept -- and have fulfilled it to this day’. ‘Now therefore keep --’. ‘Let your word be verified --.’ He was basing everything on God’s promise to David and looking not only for the continuation of his own kingship, but, in the final two statements, for the final everlasting kingdom.
27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!
Solomon was very much aware of the greatness and the glory of God as revealed in the Scriptures and recognized that such a God could not be limited to earth, even though He might have dealings with man on earth. He was after all the ‘Creator of Heaven and earth’ (Genesis 1.1), ‘the Judge of all the earth’ (Genesis 18.25), the One Who had a stairway between earth and Heaven and ministered on earth through His angels (Genesis 28.12-17), the One Who ‘will be what He will be’ (Exodus 3.14), the deliverer from and destroyer of mighty Egypt (Exodus 20.2), the God of Sinai Who could come and go as He would (Exodus 19.16-18), God Almighty (Genesis 17.1). How then could such a God be confined to a building on earth?
28 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today:
Solomon asked that our Supreme Majestic Holy God listen to and respond to His servant’s prayer and supplication.
29 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place.
His prayer was that Yahweh would now accept this new Temple as he had accepted the Tabernacle so that The God Of Israel eyes would be opened towards this house night and day, causing Him to listen to all the prayers that Solomon His servant would, as Israel’s intercessor, pray towards this place.
30 And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.
He then joined Israel with himself and prayed that Yahweh would not only hear his prayers on behalf of the people but would also hear His people’s prayers as well.
Solomon then listed seven ways in which YHWH’s people, and indeed other people, might call on Him or sin against Him, desiring His response.
1. The first was in the cause of justice when men came before YHWH on oath
2. the second was when they might be smitten by their enemies because they had sinned against Him
3. the third was if the heavens were shut up so that there was no rain, for the same reason
4. the fourth was if natural disasters affected the land
5. the fifth was where foreigners might come to the Temple for His Name’s sake
6. the sixth was when His people went out to battle
7. and the seventh was if ever they found themselves captive in a foreign land.
31 “When anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take an oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, 32 then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.
The first scenario was where a man was called on to swear an oath before the altar in the Temple as to whether he was guilty or not. In such a case the prayer was that Yahweh would respond justly and hear what was sworn, and act accordingly, condemning the guilty and bringing his judgment on his own head, and declaring the righteous to be righteous because he truly was ‘in the right’.
33 “When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and when they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple, 34 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers.
The second scenario was one where Israel were smitten before their enemies because they had sinned against YHWH. The prayer was that if they then turned again to YHWH (repented), and confessed His Name (believed), and made supplication towards the Temple as the place where YHWH had established His Name’, then YHWH would hear from Heaven, and forgive their sin, and allow them remain in the land which He had promised and given to their fathers. In other words that they might not be driven out of their land in the way that YHWH had commanded that they drive the Canaanites out of it. Note the emphasis on ‘hear’ and ‘forgive’ and the consequence.
35 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.
The next example is when heaven is shut up so that there is no rain because they have sinned against YHWH. The land of Israel was especially dependent on rain because it had almost no permanent rivers. Thus, rain at the proper season was vital for their agriculture.
37 “When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; 38 whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: 39 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men), 40 that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.
Solomon then turned his thoughts towards the many natural disasters that could come on the land - famine, pestilence, blasting (by the winds from the desert), mildew (a parasite fungus resulting from overmuch rain), locust and caterpillar, belligerent enemies, sickness and plague, and the plague within men’s hearts that set them to praying. And once they had recognized the plague that was in their hearts and spread forth their hands towards YHWH’s house (the Temple), Solomon asked that YHWH would hear ‘in Heaven His dwelling-place’, and would forgive, and work within His people a heart that feared His Name.
41 “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake 42 (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43 hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.
This quite remarkable emphasis on YHWH’s openness to the prayers of foreigners brings out Solomon’s breadth of vision. It visualized a time when foreigners would hear of what God had done and would come to the Temple to seek the God of Israel.
It is a prayer that assumes a state of peace, expansion and prosperity like the time of Solomon, a time when Israel’s messengers and traders were going out to the world and were being received as honored guests, and when the fame of Israel was being spread abroad. Then foreigners would learn of YHWH’s greatness and of what He had done for Israel, especially in delivering them from Egypt, and would come to worship Him and pray in His Temple. (Solomon was trying to bring home to the people the great vision that he had in building the Temple). And his prayer was that YHWH would hear the prayers of such people, and that YHWH would answer them from Heaven and do what they asked, so that all the peoples of the earth might know His Name, and fear Him, just as His people did. And the result would be that their answered prayer, they would know that this Temple was distinctive from all others and was called by the Name of YHWH, because in a very real sense YHWH had manifested His presence there by answering their prayers.
44 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
The final scenario is of the case where the war is being taken to the enemy (and therefore very different from verse 33 and having worse possible consequences) because YHWH has sent them. Then when from the land to which they have gone (‘by whatever way you shall send them’) they pray to YHWH towards the city which He has chosen, and the house which Solomon has built in His Name, he asks that YHWH will hear their prayer and supplication in Heaven, and hear and maintain their cause, giving them victory.
46 “When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to the land of the enemy, far or near; 47 yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness’; 48 and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name:
But in all cases victory could not be assumed, even though they have been sent by YHWH. For there they might well sin against Him (always an especial danger during a belligerent campaign) and as a result YHWH might be angry with them and deliver them to the enemy so that they were carried off captive to their enemy’s land, whether far or near of slaves to sell on or keep for their own use.
49 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause, 50 and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them
The word used for ‘sinning’ here indicates gross rebellion. Thus, the forgiveness is greatly needed. We note again the centrality of forgiveness in response to repentance, and the emphasis again that YHWH will hear them ‘in Heaven’. As we have seen forgiveness was a subject emphasized. The whole point is that in the place of their captivity they would experience the compassion of their captors because they had repented towards Him.
51 (for they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, out of the iron furnace),
YHWH, Father God had proved they are His people by delivering them and declaring His great favor towards them, both in the covenant and in giving them the land. They were His chosen race, His holy nation, His treasured possession (Exodus 19.5-6).
52 that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You.
The statement ‘That your eyes may be open’ takes up the thought of their being His people and His inheritance. That is why His eyes will be open towards them, not because of their own deserving, but because He has chosen them as His own.
53 For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your inheritance, as You spoke by Your servant Moses, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.”
For the reason why YHWH would hear them was not to be because of the Temple, but because He had separated them from all the people of the earth to be His inheritance And this was in accordance with the Law of Moses in Exodus.
It was a fitting statement on which to end his prayer, for it made clear that in the end it was not the Temple which was the be-all and end-all of things in his eyes, but the people. It was they who were YHWH’s treasured possession, and it was because He had chosen them and delivered them and made them His own within the covenant. They were a people separated to Him.
54 And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the LORD, that he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.
Solomon had now concluded ‘praying all this prayer and supplication towards YHWH’, and we learn that such had been his fervor that he had fallen on his knees with his hands still outstretched towards Heaven. Everyone who has truly prayed knows something of this experience, commencing by standing or sitting, and being so moved that they finish up on their knees. If only he could have maintained this zeal for YHWH to the end how different things would have been. But like so many he would get caught up by the world.
55 Then he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: 56 “Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses.
Having completed his prayer Solomon then stood and blessed ‘the assembly of Israel’, pointing out that YHWH had fulfilled, in an even greater way than He had previously, His promise to Israel of rest from all their enemies. He saw his day as being the culmination of all God’s promises of rest, for as he looked around the kingdom appeared stable, and no enemies were remotely threatening.
57 May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us nor forsake us, 58 that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers.
Solomon then expressed the heartfelt desire that YHWH would be with them as His people. His hope was based on the evidence of YHWH’s faithfulness through history.
But he recognized that God’s blessing depended on obedience, and so he called on God to incline their hearts to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, statutes and judgments. He recognized that it could only be as a result of God’s specific work on their hearts that they were likely to be obedient (Philippians 2.13).
59 And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near the LORD our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, 60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other.
He then expressed the wish that the prayer that he had prayed might be near to God day and night so that He might ‘maintain the cause of His servant, and the cause of His people Israel, as every day shall require’. But, of course, the only way to ensure that that would be so would be to continue to pray it daily. Stale and repetitive prayers are of little value. And that was where Solomon (Israel’s intercessor), despite all his wisdom, would fail.
61 Let your heart therefore be loyal to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”
He then called on the people to make this true by having hearts that were fully dedicated towards God and to His covenant so that they would walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as they were doing at this time. The call was for full obedience to the covenant as expressed in the Law of Moses.
62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD.
The blessing then resulted in a whole-hearted response from Israel as the king and all the people ‘offered sacrifice’ before YHWH.
63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the LORD, twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So, the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.
The huge crowds gathered on this special occasion, urged on by the king, would require huge amounts of meat so all the people could enjoy the feast.
64 On the same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the LORD; for there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the LORD was too small to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
In fact, so huge were the numbers of offerings and sacrifices that the bronze altar, which had been brought from the Tabernacle was insufficient for the task. The brazen altar would be required for the morning and evening burnt offerings and meal offerings, and for the special burnt offerings and sin offerings of the Feast of Tabernacles (Numbers 29.12-39), thus to handle the fat from the multitudinous wellbeing offerings as well would have proved too much for it. So, the middle of the Inner court was hallowed especially for the purpose.
65 At that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven more days—fourteen days.
The number of people present at the feast is emphasized. There were more than attended the usual annual feasts. (No doubt Solomon’s invitation had been hard to refuse). For they formed ‘a great assembly’, coming from as far north as Libo-Hamath, a city roughly a hundred and sixty miles north of Dan (Dan was the most northern part of Israel prior to the time of David.
66 On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the LORD had done for His servant David, and for Israel His people.
And on ‘the eighth day’ of the Feast of Tabernacles (Solomon gave permission for the feast to end and the people to go home, and they returned to their ‘tents’ (their temporary booths) full of rejoicing ready, for the homeward journey on the next day.
