God is the one who made it possible, and we give him all the glory. So what does it mean to dedicate something to the Lord? After all, didnt they do the work? 106:6; Dan. If you are new here, be sure to subscribe by email or feed reader so that you don't miss any future posts. How would this be possible? Solomon's Temple is an example of how God used ancient Israel to point to greater realities. And that is all part of this third portion of Solomons prayer here in 1 Kings 8: a prayer for Gods name to be known among the nations. He knew that when God mercifully answered the prayers of foreigners, it drew those from other nations to the God of all nations. All these prayers were offered at a time of challenge for the person praying, where the only one who could provide . Scripture taken from the New King James Version. a. We dedicate this sanctuary to be a house of prayer. Stood before the altar of the LORD: Solomon did not dedicate the temple from within the temple. So yes, we pray for our needs as a church, and we ask God to meet those daily needs. Nehemiah Chapter 12. When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows his own burden and his own grief, and spreads out his hands to this temple: then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men), that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways as long as they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.. DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE 231 devaluation of the temple.9 The Deuteronomist, writing after the temple's destruction, purportedly recasts the temple's significance, "For him the temple is little more than a place towards which one turns in prayer."10 Similarly, Weinfeld sees Solomon's prayer as evincing the deuteronomic demythologization of . 55He stood and blessed(BG) the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying: 56Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest(BH) to his people Israel just as he promised. Solomon having kept the feasts of tabernacles and dedication, dismisses the people 12. Ray Fowler. Skilled workers were employed. Recalls God's dynastic promises to David through the prophet Nathan. As long as this did not slip into a superstitious misunderstanding, it was good to recognize a special place to come and meet with God. (BC), 52May your eyes be open(BD) to your servants plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you. 3. Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. Please see our Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. 29 May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be there,' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Outline Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple? When we gather for worship, the Lord meets with us, and we There is suffering in every part of life. 22-53), blesses the assembly again (vv. V.22a ""Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel." This was a public prayer. Your hearts must be fully committed to the Lord or the dedication means nothing.. Traffic and Tears on the Road to Jerusalem. 30(N)And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. i. It was even worse when the defeat was because they had sinned against the LORD Himself. This is a Bible study on prayer, focusing specifically on the prayer at the dedication of the temple (1 Kings 8:22-53; 2 Chronicles 6:12-42). 10. on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month --This was the last day of the feast of tabernacles. When the king mentions pestilence he is referring to a very contagious disease of that day (such as the black plague of the middle ages?) 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. You can check these in your browser security settings. Solomon's dedicatory prayer makes repeated mention of praying "toward this place," a clear intimation that the temple was to become the center of a world religionthat is, the true religion God gave was to become worldwide. If God's people only repent! When a dispute came down to one word against another, Solomon asked that the temple would be a place to properly swear by. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. And so Solomon begins with thanksgiving and praise for what God has done. Look at verses 57-58: May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. No place, now, under the gospel, can add to the prayers made in or towards it. 35, 46-49). Create a "special and holy" place in your classroom where children can pray and talk about how holy and special God is. From the study of Solomon's prayer after the completion of the temple, the students will discover that God keeps all His promises. Let God now hear Solomon. The prayers of Hannah (1 Samuel 1), Hezekiah (Isaiah 37), Daniel (Daniel 9) and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1) spring readily to mind. Disobedience, Pride, Self-Deception, Rejection, The Sanctity of Human Life in the Womb - Psalm 139, Caring for Each Other in the Body of Christ, Determining the Dates for Easter and Passover, The Magic Dresser (A Poem for Mother's Day), The Fruit of the Spirit and 1 Corinthians 13, Click here for more messages from the book of. 27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps. Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:34 9.4MB) King Solomon . We dedicate this sanctuary to be a place where Gods word is honored and proclaimed. This was the early part of the reign of Solomon - his wise period . And so this message suddenly got real hard for some of us because Solomons prayer suddenly got real hard. 2.F orgiveness of trespasses (vv. b. This is such an important prayer because it reminds us that we do not exist for ourselves but rather for Gods glory and the spreading of Gods name throughout our community and throughout the nations. (v. 3) Solomon declares that God has kept the promise that David's son would build a temple. It is again clearly shown when the queen of Sheba comes and asks him all manner of difficult questions and he has ready answers. b. 41Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your names sake 42(for they will hear of Your great name and Your (Z)strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, (AA)that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and (AB)fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name. Check to enable permanent hiding of message bar and refuse all cookies if you do not opt in. David and Solomon were human instruments, but the work was Gods. Solomon extols the faithfulness of God and exhorts the people to continue in the path of covenant obedience. God is able to send rain and He is able to withhold it. - Solomon acknowledges that God cannot be contained in any temple. In this way he would be visible to all the people and they would all be able to hear him. (1 Kings 8:59-60). 12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. The heavens, even the . Click on the different category headings to find out more. When Solomon's construction was completed, the temple was dedicated. The Temple stood as a testimony of the fulfilment of God's promise to his father David. c. When You hear, forgive: Solomon knew that the most important thing Israel needed was forgiveness. You and the ark of Your strength. The old Puritan commentator John Trapp could not resist mentioning a fulfillment of this principle in his own day: Anne Averies, who, forswearing herself, a. D. 1575, February 11, at a shop of Wood Street in London, praying God she might sink where she stood if she had not paid for the wares she took, fell down presently speechless, and with horrible stink died., Or if Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and return and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this temple, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to them and their fathers.. This beautiful prayer must be applied to his heart as well as to the hearts of all who read this prayer. 27But (I)will God indeed dwell on the earth? Their attitude was: Nothing will happen to us because we have the temple! But God said, No! When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, wherever You send them: Solomon prayed with the idea that God should answer the prayers for victory made in foreign lands towards the temple, but only when they battle as God sent them. This is a unique prayer from the Old Testament. EVERYONE: In this prayer, there is plenty of evidence that Solomon understood God's purpose for Israel. Let God now hear Solomon. Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out . Now keep what You promised Your servant David. let Your word come true: Solomon called upon God to keep the promises that He made. The overseer of all is Solomon! This referred to interpersonal disputes. We may request cookies to be set on your device. When King Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem in all its glorious splendor, he stood before the altar of the Lord and prayed a very long prayer. The Lord had promised David that his would be a dynasty, i.e., his children should sit on the throne of Israel through generations if they would fear Him and keep His commandments. This is Solomon's prayer. It is a beautiful prayer which relates more specifically to the temple itself and its unique place in the history of Israel and the world. 13 Now he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had placed it in the center of the outer court. I have surely built You an exalted house, And a place for You to dwell in forever." a. This lesson was prepared for older elementary students and can be adapted for . Solomon does not attribute the lack of rain to mere natural phenomena, but to the sins of the people. Im so glad that we are committed to missions right here at home in Broward County and beyond. He knows exactly who he is praying to. As we just read in verse 61: Your hearts must be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands.. What a wonderful prayer to pray! Solomons final request is that Gods people would remain fully committed to him at all times. If the rains do not come because the people have sinned the livelihood of the majority of the people will be affected at once. True (True or False) Because he recognized that Solomon was given the kingdom by the Lord, Adonijah gave up his ambition to be king. The first petition which Solomon utters is rather difficult to understand. Can a murderer, if he repents, be saved? i. 2 Chron 6:12. Do we take the credit for it? Lev. And so we pray for God to turn our hearts that we may walk in all his ways and be obedient to his commands. If anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take an oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, then hear from heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, bringing retribution on the wicked by bringing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.. (O), 31When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath(P) before your altar in this temple, 32then hear from heaven and act. He now assumes a posture in prayer of which we have not read earlier in the Biblical account. The hearts determine their actions. The temple was a beautiful place that God instructed Solomon to build to represent the holiness of his presence. His concern for foreigners (vv. Why, or, why not? We are glad that Solomon said this. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the Lord. One land would often invade the other, besiege its cities and take the inhabitants captive. There is no God to be found anywhere who may be compared to the God of Israel. 31-32). 16:7; 1 Chr. King David himself gathered the raw materials to build the temple and, evidently, God provided the building plans for that holy structure. 1:10; [Rom. Solomon here prays for the faithfulness of all of his own posterity. The temple was one of the most beautiful structures of ancient times. Finally the king does not distinguish between the various evils which may come but sums them up by speaking of whatsoever plague or sickness there be. This "fear of God" is a concept which we find frequently in the Old Testament. Through believing prayer like this, God promises and we appropriate. Paul's Reference As the opening section of Solomon s prayer (14-20) is summarized in the closing words of the prayer, we will quote these in order to grasp its general outline: Jehovah, God, Thou must not turn back the face of Thine anointed. Original German (Salomo II): Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart 7 (2004) 803-804. Click to enable/disable essential site cookies. Oh, let God now hear the prayer of His servant! 1 Kings 8:22-61 Wednesday, 17 March 2021 "And now, O God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true." -1 Kings 8:26 Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple at Jerusalem is at the centre of our reading today. He was the son of King David and Bathsheba. Footnotes. The holy place and Most Holy Place were only for chosen descendants of the High Priest. How can we dedicate something to Gods glory if we are not seeking to glorify him with our lives? Even though men cannot prove the sin which has been committed by this "someone," God does know. Try Bible Gateway Plus free today! It collapses economies and replaces peace with terror. "Solomon's Prayer of Dedication" . It's praying until we know we have laid hold of God. Besides war and drought, there are various other calamities which may come upon a land. b. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Prayer for Gods name to be known among the nations (59-60). Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! Remember the kindness of David, Thy servant (2 Chron.6:42). 41As for the foreigner(AJ) who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name 42for they will hear(AK) of your great name and your mighty hand(AL) and your outstretched armwhen they come and pray toward this temple, 43then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. The importance of wisdom goes beyond just knowledge. Gods good response to our repentance comes from His grace, not from justice. 11:28, 29], NKJV, Chronological Study Bible: Holy Bible, New King James Version, NKJV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Red Letter Edition: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture, NKJV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, NKJV, Lucado Encouraging Word Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New King James Version, NKJV, Spirit-Filled Life Bible, Third Edition, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Kingdom Equipping Through the Power of the Word, NKJV, Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, 2nd Edition, Comfort Print: Growing in Knowledge and Understanding of God Through His Word.