Okay, you can turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 8. 1 Kings chapter 8. It's a very lengthy chapter, but I do think we ought to treat it as one unit. Remember, we've been in the study or in the setting of Solomon building the temple. The preparation for the building of the temple in chapter 5, the actual construction in chapter 6, and then as well in chapter 7.

So about 11 months after its completion, they dedicate the temple, and that's in 1 Kings 8. So I'll begin reading in verse 1. 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. Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

So all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 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. Also King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him. who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.

Then the priest 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. But the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 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.

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. And it came to pass, when the priest came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priest could not continue ministering because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. Then Solomon spoke. The Lord said he would dwell in the dark cloud.

I have surely built you an exalted house, in a place for you to dwell in forever. Then the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 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, 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.

Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 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. Nevertheless, you shall not build the temple, but your Son, who will come from your body, He shall build the temple for my name. 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. 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. 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 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 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. 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. And now I pray, O God of Israel, Let your word come true, which you have spoken to your servant David my father. 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. Yet regard the prayer of your servant in his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which your servant is praying before you today, 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. 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.

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, 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. 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, 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. 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, 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. 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, 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. Then here 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, that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land which you gave to our fathers. Moreover concerning a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, but has come from a far country for your name's sake.

For they will hear of your great name, and your strong hand, and your outstretched arm. When he comes and prays towards this temple, 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. 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, then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication and maintain their cause.

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, 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. 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. Then hear and have in your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. 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. For they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, that your eyes may be opened to the supplication of your servant and the supplication of your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to you. 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. And so it was when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord that he rose from before the altar of the Lord from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.

Then he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 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. May the Lord our God be with us. as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us nor forsake us, 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.

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. that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God, there is no other. Let your heart, therefore, be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments as at this day." Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.

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. 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, 14 days. 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.

Amen. Sorry about the throat thing there. I've got a bit of a cold, just getting over it. Should have used honey, as Sue Proctor recommended.

That might have soothed that a little bit.

Introduction and Overview

But this is a lengthy chapter, but as I said, it is definitely a unit, and the focus or the emphasis is on the prayer of Solomon. If you look at the structure, essentially you have four parts. I think the New King James does break it down into subsections well. There are four sections.

There is a narrative section to begin with, which records the movement of the ark in verses 1 to 3. Then there is a speech or words of thanksgiving in verses 14 to 21. And then you have the prayer in verses 22 to 53. And then another speech, which is a benediction, a pronouncement, a blessing upon the assembly in verses 54 to 61.

And then it ends with a narrative, another narrative, a dedication, verses 62 to 66. So, as I said, it's a long unit. Our focus will be primarily on the prayer, but I do want to give us a sense of these other sections as well. So, essentially, we have the ark brought into the temple in verses 1 to 13, the words of thanksgiving in verses 14 to 21, the prayer of dedication in verses 22 to 53, the benediction pronounced on the assembly in verses 54 to 61, and then the dedication proper of the temple in verses 62 to 66.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

Note the first instance, though. The ark is brought into the temple in verses 1 to 13. Remember, the ark of the covenant is that that box, as it were, that contained the Ten Commandments, that's indicated here specifically. The two tablets of stone are indicated in verse 9.

It was that box which was placed in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, and now it has been located in the city of David, in Zion, in Jerusalem. Now the temple is completed, so the order is to bring that Ark of the Covenant, which is a visible or a symbolic representation of the presence of God among His people. Certainly, the ark represents that, and then, of course, the temple does, as we see in this particular passage. So they gather all of the leadership together, and then they move the ark.

But it is intriguing to note the date, specifically in verse 2. It's the month here in Ethanim, which is probably the Canaanite version of Tishri, which corresponds to September or October of our calendar year, and this was the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Booths. So as I said, the dedication comes about 11 months after the completion of the temple itself, and this is a key time for Solomon to dedicate the temple. At the Feast of Tabernacles, you would have a large population of Israelites present at this particular time.

This was a party, it was a celebration, it was a feast, it was the dedication of the very temple of God Most High that they spent four years preparing to build and then 11 years to build. So what we find, or seven years to build rather, 11 total, so four preparation, seven to build. So this is a time of great celebration, large population is assembled together. Now, we see the ark is moved from one location into the temple.

Now, note specifically in verses 4 and 5. It says, 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. Remember the tabernacle? was the temporary ark.

When the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they did not have a temple. They didn't have a land. They didn't have a central sanctuary, so they had the tabernacle. It was a temporary place.

There was a tent, and they would set it up the way that the temple here is set up. There was a holy place, and then a most holy place, or a holy of holies. There was a a place where the priest would wash, there was a place for sacrifice, the place obviously for atoning for the sins of Israel. So the priests were charged with bringing those particular things.

And then in verse 5 it says, 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. You see that whenever the Ark of the Covenant is moved. You see it back in 2 Samuel 6.13. You see this sacrifice in connection with the Ark of the Covenant.

The idea being is that God is a holy God, and the Lord God Most High is not to be approached or gone near to without sacrifice. And there was an event back in Beth Shemesh in 1 Samuel, where those men wanted to look inside the Ark of the Covenant, and God killed them. And they said, who can stand before this Holy Lord? And so when we see the Ark being moved, or when we see persons near the Ark...

Somebody want to grab that? I was just thinking it might be about the recording there. Certainly they would offer up sacrifice in the presence of God in that regard. So then notice, what we find is that God, verse 9, tells us that 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.

So notice, you've got God's presence, God's word, and God's covenant with Israel are inextricably linked together. The Ark of the Covenant contains the Word of God, the Ten Commandments. It is the Ark of the Covenant. So you see, Word, Covenant, and God's presence are inextricably tied together.

You don't get one without the other. You get all three together. The presence of God, the Word of God, the Covenant that God made with His people. And then note, the presence of God fills the house in verses 10 and 11.

It came to pass when the priest came out of the holy place that the cloud filled the house of the Lord. This was what's called the Shekinah glory. This is a manifestation of God's presence. This is God coming and approving of this house that was built for His name.

Gil says it was a token of the divine presence of God, of His taking possession of His house and of His taking up His residence in it. I don't know that we can fully understand the significance of this particular scene, It's very simple for us to read verses 10 and 11 and then just sort of move on. But this was a magnificent event in Israel's history. The temple is built and God now approves of this building project.

God now comes by cloud and glory to dwell in the midst of His people. And His glory is such, according to verse 11, the priest could not continue ministering because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. This is the way the book of Exodus ends. The glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Moses himself could not stay in the presence of God. The book of Leviticus answers the question. How can a sinful man enter into the presence of a holy God? In this manifestation of God's glory, it is so blessed and so rich that the priests themselves cannot be there.

And then Solomon speaks, the Lord said he would dwell in the dark cloud. And then Solomon says in verse 13, I have surely built you an exalted house and a place for you to dwell in forever. So this is a magnificent event in Israel's history. The ark is brought into the temple.

Words of Thanksgiving

Secondly, we have these words of thanksgiving in verses 14 to 21. And essentially what they focus upon, what Solomon is thankful for here, is God's faithfulness. It's the fidelity of God, His covenant goodness to His people. He rehearses God's faithfulness in the Exodus.

Notice in 16a. since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt." This is God's promise to Moses to bring the children of Israel out of that house of bondage. He then rehearses at length the Davidic covenant in verse 15 and then 16b to 19. God's promise to David in 2 Samuel chapter 7. In many respects, 2 Samuel chapter 7 is foundational to everything that follows from that point. because God covenanted with David that from David's line a son would rise up that would be a son of David, but also a son of God that would build a house for God.

And that is Solomon, and Solomon is reflecting upon that even now. So it is God's faithfulness that is the reason for this magnificent event. The temple is here. The king is in place, the glory of the Lord has filled the house because of the Lord Himself.

He is making good on His promise. Notice in verse 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.

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. We see this is a great sort of a pattern for us to follow when it comes to being in the presence of God. Thankfulness, gratitude, rehearsing the faithfulness of God, reminding ourselves of His greatness, of His promise, of His blessing, and of His presence.

The Prayer of Dedication

And then that moves us thirdly to consider the prayer. As I said, we'll spend a bit of time here.

Theology Proper as Foundation

Notice, in the first place, the foundation of his prayer is theology proper. Now, theology simply means the study of God. When we say theology proper, we mean the study of God in particular. Right?

We talk about theology and it's broad. There's a lot of different things we can talk about concerning God and his relationships to, you know, a whole host of things. But theology proper is a focus upon God specifically, on who God is. And it is intriguing. that as we know, David was a fantastic and a phenomenal theologian.

He taught Solomon as well. David was a good father in instructing Solomon concerning the God of heaven and earth, because what we find in this particular prayer is some of the best theology that we have in all of the Bible. Now note in the first place, as I said, the foundation of his prayer is theology proper or the doctrine of God. He highlights the incomparability of God.

I'm going to explain all these terms because I think it's important for us to understand who God is the way that Solomon understands who God is. The incomparability of God means you cannot compare God with anything else. You cannot compare the God of heaven and earth with anything else. You can compare men with men.

You can compare dogs with men or dogs with dogs. You can even compare dogs with men because they're both creature. You can't compare anything with God Most High. Notice what Solomon says in verse 23.

Well, verse 22, Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord. It is intriguing. He begins his prayer standing. How does he end his prayer?

Kneeling, with his hands outstretched. He's overwhelmed and overcome by the presence of Almighty God that he moves from a standing posture to a kneeling posture. This is what contact with the living God does. This idea where God is our buddy and he's somehow our peer and that we're somehow on his level and that we treat him in a way that we treat others like us is absolutely foreign and contrary to the word of the living God.

The way some men talk about God, they talk about Him as if He is some kid down the street. But Solomon begins standing and he ends kneeling before the greatness of God Most High. But he spreads out his hands toward heaven, and then notice in verse 23, he said, ìLord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You.î God is incomparable. The God whom we serve, the God whom we love, the God whom we are thankful to is a God who is without comparison.

Baal and Moloch and all the idols that the Canaanites had, all of the gods of this age do not compare one whit with the living and the true God. He begins foundationally with a consideration of who God Most High is. This is not unique to Solomon. It's in the Song of the Sea in Exodus chapter 15.

Moses says the same thing with the children of Israel there. It's scattered throughout the scriptures, this idea that God is incomparable. You cannot put somebody at his level. There is not anyone that holds a candle to who this God is.

And then going on, he shows how or he demonstrates the incomparability of God. He says in verse 23, There is no God in heaven above or on earth below like you, notice, who keep your covenant and mercy with your servants who walk before you with all their hearts. So God's incomparability is seen in his covenant keeping. The gods of the Canaanites were not faithful gods.

The gods of the Canaanites were not deities that were known for their fidelity. They would consort with other gods. You know, Baal had several different goddesses that he would have relations with. They weren't known for their fidelity, but the God of Israel and his incomparability is known for this thing, his covenant keeping and his mercy toward his servants.

God's Faithfulness

I think a second attribute that Solomon goes on to highlight concerning God is his faithfulness. In verses 24 to 26, God is faithful. Notice how this works in Solomon's prayer. You see the flow of thought in Solomon's prayer.

He is celebrating next to the incomparability of God, the faithfulness of God, and he says, you have been faithful in the past to my father David, therefore continue to be faithful to us subsequent to this day. You have to appreciate the specifics. You have kept what you promised your servant David, my father. Verse 25, Therefore, Lord God of Israel, now keep what you promised your servant David, my father.

The past faithfulness of God is the reason why in the present we pray for His future faithfulness to us. Because He has tried and proven Himself faithful, or rather we have tried and proven Him faithful in the past, that's the foundation for our present prayer that God would indeed make good on His promises in the future. David says, in short, act in the future as you have acted to date. Yahweh's fidelity in the past becomes the basis for expecting the same in the future.

God has joined fidelity and expectancy. You see, God's faithfulness in our past ought to promote in us a holy expectancy of what He will do in the future. not in terms of prosperity and not in terms of houses and boats, but in terms of God's goodness to us in the midst of whatever situation we find ourselves in. If we went through some struggles in the past and God in His faithfulness saw us through them, then why in the world would we doubt that He will see us through anything in the future? This seems to be the same sort of thing that Paul hits on in the book of Romans when he says, he who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all freely, how shall he not also with him give us all things in him?

In other words, if God has done the greater in the past, then he is certain to be there for you in the present and in the future. And this seems to be the gist of Solomon's prayer.

The Transcendence of God

He then moves on to what we'll call the transcendence of God. Again, it's a word that we don't often use, but it simply means that God is removed from us. God isn't our peer. God isn't with us the way we're with one another.

God is omnipresent, and God is intimate, and God is, another word we'll look at in just a moment, is imminent, but for now, transcendence. Notice what Solomon does. He adds a bit of theological qualification concerning God's dwelling in the temple. Notice in verse 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. Now God came and filled the temple with his glory. But it wasn't God in the sense of he is now domesticated in that place. Okay?

This is what Solomon wants to make sure nobody fails to appreciate. God is transcendent. That means he transcends the creation. He is removed from it.

He is not a part of it. He is in a different order of being. You've got, you know, the creature and then you've got the creator. He is not creature.

Everything that is not God is creature. God is creator. And so Solomon qualifies this. He doesn't want the people of Israel, and he certainly doesn't want those pagans to think that Yahweh is sort of like Baal. or that Yahweh is sort of like Moloch, or that Yahweh is sort of like Asherah.

You see, when the pagans or the Canaanites built a temple, say, for Dagon, Dagon genuinely was in that temple, wasn't he? But that's not so with Yahweh. Yahweh is the God of heaven and earth. He transcends it.

He is far above. He is removed from us. And yet by virtue of the fact that He is omnipresent, that He is Almighty God, He can fill the temple with the glory of His presence. Again, it's not locally hedged in.

It's not kept there. It's not like He wasn't in California at that particular time. This is Solomon's point. He is transcendent and he is highlighting this reality of who God is.

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. Brethren, I think this is a good thing for us to reflect upon when we come to church on the Lord's Day. Certainly, the New Covenant is the place where God dwells with His people, but we cannot think for a moment that if God is here with us, He's nowhere else.

If God is here with us, He is not in heaven. No, the idea is that God is a glorious being, and this glorious being is able to manifest and to symbolize and to represent and to demonstrate His presence with His people through this glory cloud. And specifically, the incomparability of God is seen here too. The temples of the idols actually contain the idols.

And as well, the recognition by Solomon here of the infinite majesty of God. Isn't that what he's expressing? God's infinite majesty. This temple cannot contain you.

Heaven in the heaven of heavens. cannot contain you. Brethren, do we really reflect upon this God and who He is? That's why I say Solomon's foundation for prayer is who God is. It's theology proper.

He considers God. I think this is what Jesus teaches us as well when it comes to the Lord's Prayer. Before we run into the throne room and saying, God, can you give me my food and can you give me my forgiveness and can you give me my protection? What does Jesus teach us in the first place?

Our Father who art in heaven. In other words, stop for a moment and consider who it is you're dealing with. Stop for a moment and consider who it is you are praying to. Stop for a moment and frame your heart aright.

Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Jesus says think theologically, pray theologically before you get into particular petitions. Think about who God is, think about who you are relative to this God, and may that so cause fear and joy to penetrate your heart that you pray appropriately and accordingly.

We need to consider who God is before just running into His presence and saying, give me food, give me forgiveness, give me protection. Those are the latter or man-word petitions in the Lord's Prayer, but there is a specific priority structure. God comes first. We think of our Father, who art in heaven, and the first petition in the Lord's Prayer is, hallowed be thy name.

God's name is more important than our daily bread. God's name is more important than even our forgiveness of sins. God's name is more important than our protection from the evil one. Not saying those things aren't, but it's God's name be hallowed.

God's kingdom come, right? Before we start thinking about our kingdom and about our efforts and about, you know, bless me in this and bless me in that, God's kingdom come. That ought to be our priority structure. And then God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

See, we don't run into prayer and say, God, make my will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We're pretty good at making our will be done on earth as it isn't in heaven. We need to think theologically, and this is what Solomon is doing. So he highlights the transcendence of God.

The Imminence of God

But notice, fourthly, the imminence of God, and that means God's nearness to us. So if transcendence is God's being removed from us, imminence is God's presence among His people, His intimacy. Now, you perhaps have heard of two heresies that have affected not only the church, but the world over however many years. There is something called deism.

Perhaps you've heard of deism. Deism has a doctrine of transcendence, but no doctrine of imminence. In other words, for the deist, God is removed, but he's not intimate with his creatures. Deism essentially says that God is like the watchmaker or the clockmaker.

He winds up the clock and he sets it upon the mantle at his fireplace and then he just leaves it alone. That's deism. That's this view that yes, God created, but God is not involved with his creation. There's another view that's just the opposite.

It's called pantheism. Pantheism means that there is no doctrine of transcendence. Pantheists only have a doctrine of imminence. God is with us, but he is not removed.

So for the deist, there's transcendence and no imminence. For the pantheist, there's imminence but no transcendence. But Christianity and the God of heaven and earth is both transcendent and imminent. He is both removed and present.

He is both mysterious and intimate with his people. He is the God described herein by Solomon, and note this eminence is indicated in verses 28 and following. The Lord hears prayer. The Lord sees the place where his name is.

The Lord hears from heaven, which is his dwelling place. That is the recurring theme from this time forth in the prayer. He continually says, here in heaven, your dwelling place. In other words, he wants everybody to understand that as glorious as the temple is, as wondrous as this building project has been, and as beautiful as the manifestation of God's presence is, in terms of that glory cloud, that box on earth does not contain God.

God is in heaven. He hears from heaven. He is able, by virtue of his being God, to be removed and yet intimate and near and dear to his people. That's the blessing of our God.

He is what Scripture sets forth in this particular section. He hears prayer. He sees the place where His name is. The Lord hears from heaven, which is His dwelling place.

And that's interesting there in verse 29. It's almost as if the temple on earth is the place where His name is. Again, the name represents, it is the demonstration, it is the pointing forth to the reality of God's presence among them. So that's the foundation of the prayer, theology proper.

Before he gets to petition, before he gets to requests, before he gets to asking from God very specific things, he begins with a consideration of who God is. And I submit that this is a good practice for us, this is a good model for us, and it's certainly duplicated in the Lord's Prayer by Jesus Christ, our Savior.

The Seven Petitions

But note, secondly, the petitions in the prayer. And one of the central themes here is forgiveness. Remember the significance of the temple. Certainly God dwells in the midst of it.

But as well, it's that holy of holies. What's the whole basis or the whole reason or the whole rationale for the holy of holies? It's for the one day out of the year described to us in Leviticus chapter 16, where the high priest enters into that place to make atonement for the sins of Israel. You see, sin was a reality among the nation of Israel, all the more so because their God was a holy God.

Probably sin wasn't a big concept with Baal worshippers. Sin wasn't a big concept with Moloch worshippers. I mean, when you're throwing your babies into the fire, you're not really probably convicted of sin to the degree that a Yahweh worshipper is, right? You see, sin was a reality among the children of Israel because they had a thrice holy God with whom they couldn't just run into His presence.

There had to be atonement, there had to be blood, there had to be forgiveness, there had to be reconciliation. And so the petitions of the prayer are sevenfold. Now, not all of them deal specifically with forgiveness, but you see that theme run through. Notice. the end of verse 30, I think this paves the way for the petitions that follow.

In verse 30, he says, And may you hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place, here in heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear You see that? We have a God who is all that He has described, and He's a God of mercy. He's a God of kindness. He's a God of goodness who does forgive His people.

So Solomon in the first place asks that God would adjudicate in civil matters. verses 31 to 32. Solomon was a wise man and Solomon had shown himself able in that case of the prostitutes and the living baby. Solomon had a wisdom and he was fit for that service in terms of adjudicating affairs in Israel. But he wasn't omniscient, he wasn't sovereign, he wasn't absolutely able, and so he prays to God that in the civil government, or rather in the civil polity in Israel, may God indeed shine the light of justice upon these people.

It really is an amazing statement in verses 31 and 32. I wonder if in our prayers we ever think this way. 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, 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. This is the way a civil state operates.

This is the way the civil polity of Israel would know joy and blessing in the land, is if the guilty were punished and the innocent were vindicated. And this was a difficult task to be sure for a, you know, only human government. And so Solomon prays that God Most High would intervene in cases so that the body politic in Israel would run well. See, it was never God's intention for societies to look the way societies look.

Now, unfortunately, Israel didn't last long. I mean, they prayed this, or Solomon prayed this, but by the time we move a little bit further to the right, we see society as a mess. But God's intention, and something we ought to pray for, is that civil society would run in such a way that guilty, vile, wretched men are punished. I don't know why Christians struggle with this whole concept of praying to God Almighty to bring judgment to bear upon the enemies of Yahweh and the enemies of God's people.

I just don't get it. We just need to love and we just need to forgive. But that doesn't argue against the reality that the civil state should punish, with death if necessary, men that continue to violate the civil order. This is righteous, it's godly, it is to image the Lord most high.

I would submit that this Christian fascination with forgiving unrepentant criminals is simply not Christian. It is an abandonment of biblical principles of jurisprudence, justice, and it is to reject the very image of God that we maintain and bear. It's righteous for God to punish with vengeance those who violate. And this is where Solomon begins.

Solomon is a king governing a people, and it's, I guess, not surprising, because in his role, this is something he would meet with each and every day. Make sure the wicked are condemned, and justify the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

Petitions Two Through Four

Notice the second thing, and for 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, and 4, Solomon is praying according to Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. Solomon is praying according to the book of the curses of the covenant. He is praying according to that covenant document where God said, if you go into the land and you do what you're supposed to do, blessings will come upon you. But if you go into the land and you don't do what you're supposed to do, cursings will fall upon you.

So Solomon, in a sense, is not only reflecting what Moses already wrote concerning Israel's future, but Solomon is somewhat foreshadowing Israel's future. He is praying prospectively. You know what retrospection is? It's when we look back.

Prospectively means to look forward. Solomon, in his prayer, reflects the idea that Israel's going to have problems. And this isn't unique to Solomon. You see it all the way back in the plains of Moab in Deuteronomy chapter 30.

God essentially says to Israel through Moses, you're going to go, you're going to sin, you're going to be exiled, but I'm going to bring you back. So God is a realist and has communicated these things to his people, and here Solomon the king is praying with this in mind. The second petition, it's this defeat by enemies in verses 33 and 34. This is Leviticus 26.17 and Deuteronomy 28.25.

God in the curses of the covenant said, when you go and you violate my law, this is what you can expect. But notice verse 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, 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. You see, he sees not only the curse, but with this God who brings the curse, with this God who brings the chastening, with this God who brings the judgment, there is nevertheless mercy, there is nevertheless forgiveness, there is nevertheless the ability to appeal to Him in the midst of misery, in the midst of defeat, in the midst of these battles lost to enemies that God Almighty sent to chasten us, We can, as we have learned, to say, nevertheless God, be merciful to me, the sinner. It really is amazing.

And as we move through the history of Israel, we see this played out time and time again. Yes, God visits them with judgment, according to Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26. But there's a nevertheless, or there's a but, or there's a I will deliver you. This God is relentless in mercy.

Even when He brings chastening upon His people that they desperately deserve, He is there to pick them up when it's all over again. He really is a gracious God and very merciful. The third petition is the drought sent by God. When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you.

This wasn't a drought, you know, according to some natural forces. It wasn't, you know, a heat wave or that sort of thing. They sinned against God and God sent drought. This was a reality promised to them in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.

When this drought comes, when this plague comes, or when this difficulty comes, and then they turn from their sin because you afflict them, then here in heaven. Notice verse 35, isn't that beautiful? Turn from their sin because you afflict them. gives new insight to Psalm 119 when David says, it was good for me that I was afflicted. You see, afflictions drive us from ourselves to God.

Afflictions are a blessing in the Christian life. I know we try and escape them, we try to run from them, but brethren, we ought to appreciate that God sends afflictions to get our attention and to bring us back to Him. That's what verse 35 says. and turn from their sin because you afflict them. If God never afflicts us, we won't turn from our sin.

If God never afflicts us, we won't run to His lap. If God never afflicts us, we will most likely forget about Him. Blessed be the God who sends affliction. Blessed be the God who sends the trials and the tribulations.

Now, brethren, they're difficult and they're hard, and I'm certainly not saying, please, Lord, send them upon us now. But there is a remedial end for the afflictions that God's people have. It is to turn them from their sin to the true and the living God. And then the fourth petition is with reference to famine and pestilence and other disasters, again, indicated very frequently in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

But with the same idea, then, after they turn, Here in heaven, verse 39, 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, that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land which you gave to our fathers. You see that theme as well in the Psalter. What does God's forgiveness produce in the hearts of those forgiven? If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. You see, the forgiveness of God promotes the fear of God, and this is a good thing. That thou mayest be feared. That's the connection here.

When they repent, when you forgive, that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land which you gave to our fathers.

Gentile Inclusion

The fifth petition is in verses 41 to 42, and this envisions Gentile inclusion in the promises of God Most High. Gentile inclusion in the promises of God Most High. Notice what Solomon says in verses 41 to 43. When the foreigners come to see the temple, let's throw them out on their ear.

No, this is the purpose. The temple is the dwelling place of God, not just with Israel, but with all the nations. Remember God's promise to Abraham in Genesis? It doesn't just include the Israelites.

It is a promise that all the nations of the earth will be blessed. So verse 41, moreover concerning a foreigner who is not of your people Israel, but has come from a far country for your name's sake. For they will hear of your great name, and your strong hand, and your outstretched arm. When he comes and prays toward this temple, 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." You see, there was in the people of Israel, the remnant, the faithful, the real believers, they knew that Gentiles were going to be included in the covenant promises of God.

They knew that Yahweh was the God of heaven and earth, not just of Israel. And so in this petition, he is praying for the day when the nations will stream to Zion, when the nations will come to be taught of God Most High. He is speaking of new covenant realities here and pointing us toward the Lord Jesus Christ. The sixth petition is essentially God's presence in battle.

Lord, when we go out to battle, we don't want to lose. And in order for us not to lose, we want you to be with us. That's the Jim Butler translation of verses 44 and 45. You see, that is a great prayer by the King of Israel to the God of Israel.

When we enter into the forays of battle with these competing nations, we don't want to lose. And the way that we're going to secure victory is if Yahweh is with us.

Exile and Restoration

And then in verses 46 to 51, it's the prospect of exile. The prospect of exile. Again, something that will certainly happen, and unfortunately, 1 Kings and 2 Kings ends in exile. Right?

That's what happens. I mean, it's an unfortunate reality, but Solomon prays this prayer, and not long after, the northern tribes are exiled by Assyria. Not long after that, the southern tribes are exiled into Babylon. So Solomon, as I said, is praying prospectively.

He is saying, when they end up in one of these cities, may they turn their face to Jerusalem, and may they pray, and may you hear their voice, and may you restore them. This is intriguing because this is precisely what we find in the book of Daniel. Doesn't Daniel turn himself to Israel, toward Jerusalem, and he prays? And then in Daniel chapter 9, how does Daniel pray?

Before we get to that prophecy concerning the 70 weeks, you know what he does? He confesses sin. He confesses wickedness to the living and true God. He does precisely what Solomon is suggesting in this particular section of the prayer.

Exile would be a reality that would face the children of God, or that would face the children of Israel. And we need to remember this. Notice in verse 51, okay? He's rehearsed what may happen in terms of exile.

And then in verse 51, he says, for they are your people and your inheritance whom you brought out of Egypt out of the iron furnace. The implication seems to be this. If God is able to bring Israel out of Egypt, that iron furnace, then certainly he's able to bring them out of whatever land they find themselves in. whether it be under bondage through Assyria, whether it be through Babylon, whatever other foreign invader may capture Israel, we trust in the living God that he is able to bring us out. But as well, who was the primary audience for the books of 1st and 2nd Kings?

It was the exiles. It was the children of Israel when they were in exile. It was the children of Israel while they were in Babylon. Chronicles comes after the exile.

That's why Chronicles is typically, or it tends to be a little more positive and upbeat, because Chronicles is for the people after they've come out of the exile when there's hope, and there's brightness, and there's light, and there's this idea that they're getting restored and whatnot. So you'll see some emphases in Chronicles that you don't necessarily see in Kings. You'll see some emphases in Kings that you don't necessarily see in Chronicles. There's no discrepancies.

There's no contradictions. People see a different account or the same account related differently, and they cry contradiction. No, you need to cry theology. The chronicler and the author of Kings had a theology, and they are driven by theology in the presentation of their facts.

But here specifically, if you were sitting in exile and you were reading Solomon's prayer, what would you be inclined to do? turn your face to Jerusalem and start to cry out in repentance, wouldn't you? This is the practical application for the first readers of this particular prophecy. Oh, okay. Yeah, that's what it is.

In fact, House says, for them, then, the seventh petition, talking about the exiles, acts as a call to repentance and a program for prayer. It teaches the readers how to restore their relationship with God. At the same time, it provides hope that exile is not God's final word for Israel. See, this would be an encouragement, too.

You're reading this, and Solomon prays, God, when you hear, and you will restore them. Let's pray, brethren. He goes on to say, the chosen people can return to the promised land when they return to the covenant Lord who gave them the land. So that's the prayer of dedication.

Benediction on the Assembly

Fourthly, by way of a large concern, benediction pronounced on the assembly, verses 54 to 61. This is a blessing pronounced upon the people. Notice this too. Notice the language.

Let's see, first of all, in verse 15, just get a quick look at something here. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. And then over here in verse 56, blessed be the Lord who has given rest. If you go through the book of Psalms, you'll see that a lot.

It's called blessed be the Lord, and then it gives reasons why the Lord should be blessed. It's called a barakah. The word berekah means blessing in Hebrew. Isn't this precisely what Paul does in Ephesians 1?

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Blessed be this God and then fill out the reasons why he is to be blessed. Paul didn't make that up. It's a convention that is utilized throughout Scripture to shine the light upon the glory of God Most High.

So here Solomon gives reasons why God should be praised, because he has provided rest to his people, verse 56a, and because of God's faithfulness to his people in verse 56b. And then he rehearses the blessings. Now he's giving a benediction. He's speaking a good word.

That's what benediction means. It means a good word. It is being spoken to the children of Israel. It's a pronouncement of blessing upon them.

And then the particular blessings rehearsed, the things desired, what Solomon wants for not only himself, but for the children of Israel are indicated in verses 57 to 60. In the first place, he wants the presence of God. This ought to be the first thing we seek in terms of prayer. May the Lord, our God, be with us as He was with our fathers.

That ought to punctuate our prayers on the Sabbath. May the Lord God be with us. Revelation chapter 1, where is Christ? He's in the midst of the lampstands.

That's where we want Him, in the churches, communing and walking with His people. So the first petition or the first thing that he wants by way of blessing for the children of Israel, may the Lord our God be with us as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us nor forsake us. Now notice secondly, the holiness of His people.

Verse 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. Notice that intimate connection between God's presence and our holiness. You see why it's important that you read your Bible and you pray? You see why it's important that you come to Bible study and you come to church?

Because without God, you're not going to be holy. Without God, you're not going to walk in the commandments of God. Without God, you're not going to pursue the things that are pleasing to God. We must have God if we want to live a godly life, right?

This is perhaps the rationale behind Romans 8.13. If by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the body. You see, biblical holiness isn't just behavior modification. There's a whole lot of people out there that stop smoking.

There's people out there that stop being homosexual. There are people out there that stop doing some heinous things. It doesn't make them holy if by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the body. In other words, Christian holiness is absolutely dependent upon and intertwined with communion with God.

If you are not battling sin the way you once battled sin, I would trace it back a little bit further and suggest you're probably not spending time with God the way you once spent time with God, right? I don't think that's a stretch, brethren, and I think that's the connection. May the Lord our God be with us, verse 58, that He may incline our hearts to Himself. You see, the idea being is that when we commune with this God, His presence influences us.

If we are not communing with this God, His presence does not influence us, right? So you neglect your Bible, you neglect prayer, guess what you're going to be privy to in the next step? Well, you're going to start sinning. You're going to start doing those things that you know you ought not to do.

So yes, stop doing the wickedness, but also cultivate the communion with God. That's what we most desperately need. As well, the third thing that he wants by way of blessing is the maintenance of king and country. Verse 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." So the maintenance of king and country.

But notice, not just in the big things, not just in battle, not just in exile, not just in drought, not just in blight or mildew or locusts, But look at what the end of verse 59 says, as each day may require. God, we need maintenance of king and country as each day may require. Not just when there's huge battles going on over here with Canaanites, but when there's, you know, small battles and getting out of bed and showing up at work on time. We need God's maintenance and presence in our lives as each day may require.

Some days when we're fighting Canaanites, we may need the presence of God in a way that we may not need the presence of God when we're just cleaning out our garage. But we still need God in our lives when we're cleaning out our garage, you see. He is the God of the big and the God of the little, as each day may require. And then the fourth blessing, he hopes, is Israel's, is the manifestation of God's being and glory.

That all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God. There is no other. He finishes this section with an exhortation, let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God to walk in his statutes and keep his commandments as at this day.

Dedication of the Temple

And then finally, quickly, the dedication of the temple. That was a lot of sacrifices, wasn't it? You might imagine that some commentators say there's no way they could have done all that. Well, think about this.

It was the Feast of Tabernacles. As I've suggested, that meant that the large population was there in Jerusalem at that time, and it was 14 days. Right? The whole thing took 14 days.

We're not talking about, you know, an hour. Imagine that, you get tired at, you know, I go over five minutes. Imagine day 14, you're dying, okay, we just can't do this anymore. But that wasn't the way it was.

God was there, so they were glad, they had joyful hearts. You see, the sacrifices were offered up and the feasting was celebratory. Now, what were they feasting on? Well, these were peace offerings.

And with reference to the peace offering, the fat and the entrails were offered up to Yahweh. The flesh was feasted upon by the worshipers. This was a party, it was a celebration. God Almighty has come down and glory has filled our temple.

There's an old black spiritual song. Heaven came down in glory, filled my soul, filled my soul. It's a beautiful song. Well, this is what happened on that day, and as a result, they rejoiced, they sacrificed, they held a feast, a great assembly from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt before the Lord our God, seven days and seven more days, 14 days.

Now notice, on the eighth day, he sent the people away, that perhaps may mean that a bulk of people left, but then there were just the intimates. Those, not just the intimates, but there was probably a whole host of people still, but not everybody. But notice, when they went away, 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. So it was a time of joy, a time of thanksgiving, and a time to rehearse God's faithfulness to the children of Israel.

Well, let's close in prayer.

Closing Prayer

Our Father, we thank You for this prayer of dedication. We thank You for the instruction that it affords to us. Help us to take from this passage of Scripture a commitment to consider You consider Your glory and Your majesty, to rehearse Your attributes, to celebrate Your goodness to us, and to consider Your faithfulness in our lives. As well, God, help us to see the necessity to commune with You in our daily Christian walk.

We will not be holy men and women, and we will not be putting to death sin apart from a lively communion with the God of heaven and earth. I ask that you would go with us now and watch over us and bring us together on the Lord's Day, and may we indeed see your glory fill this place, and may you be pleased to save sinners and strengthen your people, and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture References

• Genesis 12:3
• Exodus 15
• Leviticus 16; 26; 26:17
• Deuteronomy 28; 28:25; 30
• 1 Samuel 6:20
• 2 Samuel 6:13; 7
• 1 Kings 8; 8:2; 8:4-5; 8:9; 8:10-11; 8:13; 8:14-21; 8:15-16; 8:20; 8:22-53; 8:23; 8:24-26; 8:25; 8:27; 8:28-30; 8:31-32; 8:33-35; 8:39; 8:41-43; 8:44-45; 8:46-51; 8:54-61; 8:56; 8:57-60; 8:62-66
• Psalm 119:71
• Daniel 9
• Romans 8:13; 8:32
• Ephesians 1:3
• Revelation 1