Bm – Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication 1 Kings 8:22-30 and 2 Chronicles 6:12-21

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication
First Kings 8:22-30 and Second Chronicles 6:12-21

Solomon’s prayer of dedication DIG: Which of God’s purposes had Solomon seen fulfilled already? What promises does he hope to see fulfilled in the future? Why does Solomon pray as he does in First Kings 8:27-30? Why is that so crucial? What false impression might some get about the Temple? About God’s locale? Why then would people pray toward the Temple?

REFLECT: On a scale of one (Yeshua is my buddy) to ten (Ha’Shem is so holy I could never approach Him), how would you rate your reverence toward ADONAI? What would be your rule of thumb for rating yourself? In which direction do you want to grow – more casual or more formal? Why? More spontaneous or more planned out? Does posture matter in prayer?

Every request that Solomon prayed for is answered in Yeshua Messiah.

Solomon’s prayer is critical for understanding First and Second Kings, in terms of both theology and literary structure. The prayer stands as the climax of Solomon’s grand ambition to build a house for God. It identifies the central practical and theological question raised by that building project: Will the God of heaven really dwell with His people on earth? The prayer anticipates many important events that happen later in the Bible. The situations Solomon describes in his prayers for the future forgiveness are situations that Isra’el will actually face later on in her history: military defeat, famine, and exile (to see link click Bn – Solomon’s Prayer of Intercession). Thus, this prayer serves as a preview of coming events.

This prayer is also important for a more practical reason, however: it helps us understand the prayers that Yeshua has made for us and that we are called to offer for the Church. As we listen to Solomon pray, we should remember that we too have a King who prays for us. Messiah is the greater Solomon who makes royal intercession for our salvation. Then Yeshua calls us to pray – not for any man-made Temple, but for the Church He calls a holy temple being built together into a spiritual dwelling-place for God (Eph 2:21-22).

The king at prayer: King Solomon’s Temple was built to be a house of prayer, so it was only appropriate for it to be dedicated with such. The prayer he offered was one of the longest and most important prayers in the whole Bible. With typical wisdom, Solomon gives us a good biblical model of prayer – not just when we are dedicating a place of worship, but anytime we go to ADONAI in prayer. The dedication ceremony began with the king blessing both the people and their God (see Bl – Solomon’s Blessing). This was followed by public prayer, “Then Solomon got down on his knees on a platform that he had made for this special occasion in the middle of the courtyard before the bronze altar of ADONAI, and in the presence of the whole community of Isra’el he spread out his hands toward heaven (First Kings 8:22; Second Chronicles 6:12-13).¹⁶⁶

Who God is: And said, “ADONAI, God of Isra’el, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below.” Solomon is genuinely moved on this occasion. It was a day of fulfilled desires and prayers, a day in which YHVH had graciously revealed Himself in His Sh’khinah glory, a day of bright hope for Isra’el and the house of David in their covenantal relationship with YHVH. When Solomon praised the greatness and uniqueness of the LORD, it was with a full and overflowing heart. What particularly moved Solomon on this occasion was the faithfulness of ADONAI in carrying out His promise.¹⁶⁷ You keep covenant with Your servants and show them grace, provided they live in Your presence with all their heart. You have kept Your promise to Your servant David, my father; You spoke with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand; establishing a royal dynasty that endures through Yeshua Messiah to this day (First Kings 8:23-24; Second Chron 6:14-15). God is not just talk. He not only says things, He also does things, and when He does those things, He does what He said He was going to do. The one true God is totally loyal, absolutely trustworthy, and incomparably faithful.

Solomon’s praise would also be our praise, because Isra’el’s experience is our experience. God is still the LORD of heaven and earth – the Ruler of all that is. Nevertheless, He is also our God – the one that Yeshua called My Father and your Father, My God and your God (John 20:17). Through faith in Yeshua Messiah, we have a personal relationship with the God of the universe. He is our God and we are His people.¹⁶⁸

What God will do: Praise to the LORD as the one and only faithful God is the context for everything we ask in prayer. We start by acknowledging God for who He is. Then we ask God to do what He has said He was going to do, knowing that He is the Promise Keeper. Now therefore, ADONAI, God of Isra’el, keep what You promised to Your servant David, my father, when You said: “You will never lack a man in my presence to sit on the throne of Isra’el, if only Your children are careful about what they do, so that they live by My Torah, just as You have lived in My Presence.” Now therefore, ADONAI, God of Isra’el, please let Your word, which You spoke to Your servant David, my father, be confirmed (First Kings 8:25-26; Second Chronicles 6:16-17).

People sometimes think of prayer as a way of asking God for things they want. Certainly it is appropriate to tell the LORD what we need. But prayer is also a way of asking God for the things that God wants, and the way we know what He wants is by believing His promises, as Solomon did. When the king prayed for the throne of Isra’el, he was not pursuing his own ambitions, but standing on the promises of God. YHVH had vowed that one day David would have a son to sit on his royal throne, on the condition of continued obedience. Now King Solomon was praying that God would honor that vow. As the royal son of David, he was counting on God to keep His promise. Looking to the future, he asked God to confirm His word by securing his throne. Ultimately, Solomon’s prayers for the house of David were answered in the Person and work of Yeshua Messiah, who is David’s royal descendant and the King of the kingdom of God.

If we can trust God to keep the big promises of the coming Kingdom, then surely we can trust Him to keep all the smaller promises He has made to us in Messiah, and then pray on that basis. Yet sometimes this is precisely the difficulty: although we believe that God’s Kingdom will come, we have trouble believing that He will help us resolve the $500 dispute with the insurance company, or give us the grace to deal with the irritating person we have to work with every day. Instead, what we ought to do is take a firm stand on the promises of God. He has promised to forgive our sins, provide for our basic needs, and give us something useful to do in the world. So, we should pray for wisdom, to be filled with the Spirit, and put us in the right place to use our gifts for His glory. When we pray this way, He will surely answer, for we are asking God to do the very things He has promised to do.¹⁶⁹

The big question: Right in the middle of his prayer, Solomon asked a profound theological question. After praising God and praying for Him to keep His promises, Solomon posed the most important question he could ask about the Temple he had just completed for ADONAI. Will the God of heaven really live with His people on earth (First Kings 8:27; Second Chronicles 6:18b)? After all, what would the Temple be without its God? We sometimes ask the same question about our own personal ministry: Is God really with us or not? Is He involved in what we are doing, or are we operating on our own? Sooner or later, everyone asks the same question at the personal level, especially in times of crisis: Are You really there, Lord, and are You really here, in my situation, or not?¹⁷⁰

As far as the Temple was concerned, the king knew he couldn’t put God in a box, even a box as big and beautiful as the Temple. The whole idea was absurd. Why, Solomon said: heaven itself, even the heaven of heavens, cannot contain You; so how much less this house I have built? After raising the big question of God’s presence on earth, he proceeded to offer a prayer inviting the presence of the very God that he knew he could not contain. Even so, ADONAI my God, pay attention to Your servant’s (Solomon’s) prayer and plea, listen to the cry and prayer that Your servant is praying before You today, that Your eyes will be open toward this house night and day – toward the place where You said You would put Your name – to listen to the prayer Your servant will pray toward this place. The basic principle is that now when the Jews pray, they will be praying towards the Temple no matter where they happen to be in the world. Yes, listen to the pleas of Your servant, and also those of Your people Isra’el when they pray toward this place. Hear from where You live in heaven; and when You hear, forgive (First Kings 8:28-30: Second Chronicles 6:18b-21).

This is the very thing that God desires to do. He loves to listen to His children pray, and for the sake of His Name, He loves to answer our prayers. He is not blind and deaf, like the other gods to whom people pray. This is one of the reasons He is so incomparable; He is a looking and listening God, a God who sees and hears. Yes, the LORD is transcendent, the high ruler of heaven, but He is also near us and He hears us when we pray. Heaven is My throne, ADONAI says: and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for Me, and what is the place of My rest? . . . But this is the One to whom I will look; he who is humble and contrite in spirit (Isaiah 66:1-2).¹⁷¹

God’s answer in Messiah: Every request that Solomon prayed for is answered in Yeshua Messiah. He is the ultimate answer to Solomon’s question: Will the God of heaven really live with His people on earth? Yes, Yeshua is Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). God the Son became flesh in the person of Yeshua Messiah. He came as a man to live among our fallen race, to die for our sins on the cross, and then to rise again so that we could live with Him forever. Yes, in Messiah, God has really lived with us on earth.

Yeshua is also the ultimate fulfillment of Solomon’s example. Just as King Solomon prayed for His people, so King Yeshua prays for us as our eternal intercessor (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). In the days of Solomon, the LORD put His Name on His Temple. Today He puts His Name on us as the living temple of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (Ephesians 2:21-22). As the people of God, we bear the Name of Messiah in the world. So Yeshua prays for us, making royal intercession, asking that God the Father would turn His heart toward us, opening His eyes and ears to the needs of the Church.

These are prayers that God loves to answer. His eyes are always open to our needs. His ears are always open to our cries. Call to Me, He says, and I will answer you (Jeremiah 33:3; also see Psalm 91:15 and Jeremiah 29:12). This is true for the people of God as individual believers. God knows our situation exactly; He is always watching to see what happens to His children. He is also listening to hear our prayers, night and day. He hears the requests we make from our beds, when we have quiet time to think, and easily get overwhelmed by the troubles of this life. He hears the prayers we make throughout the day, in the push and pull of daily life. Night and day, God always hears us when we pray.¹⁷²

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for listening to the prayers of Your children.  But whoever did receive Him, those trusting in His name, to these He gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12). You are sovereign and over the whole world – yet You are such a wonderful Heavenly Father to listen to the prayers of each of Your children. Though You live outside of time, still it is so amazing that You really care for each of Your children, listen to their prayers and then act on what they ask for, when it is according to Your will! Now this is the confidence we have before Him – that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have the requests we have asked from Him (First John 5:14-15).

I desire to glorify Your name in my life. May You guide each detail of my life and give me wisdom on how to handle everything that comes my way, so that I may bring You honor and glory. Please go ahead of me, guiding what I say, what I do and think so that I may abundantly bless You. You know my needs. Please give me what I need and I will offer a sacrifice of praise to You for being such a wonderful, faithful and loving father! It is a joy to trust You for my needs and to always have the joy of your continually walking alongside me. For God Himself has said: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5c.) Praise You always! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen