Solomon’s Prayer – Delighting in the Goodness of God

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

Solomon’s prayer is an excellent example of being grateful for God’s faithfulness and the continued desire to seek His favor.

Introduction

Are you cherishing God’s presence in our daily lives?  It often feels like we overlook the goodness of God and all He has done. Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple set an example of gratitude and how one ought to appreciate God in their lives. We, the children of God, ought to delight in God’s goodness, constantly seeking His favor in our lives.  This week’s Sunday School commentary will cover 1 Kings 8:22-30.

Dedication Ceremony of Solomon’s Temple

Our lesson this week will cover Solomon’s dedication prayer at the completion of the temple.  As I mentioned in the Sunday School lesson commentary – Restoring True Worship in the House of God – Solomon’s temple was the first temple which was eventually destroyed by the Babylonians.  

Initially, David desired to build a house for God so that the Ark of the Covenant would no longer dwell in a tent (2 Sam. 7:1-2).  However, the Lord did not permit David to build the temple because he was a man of war who had shed much blood (1 Chr. 22:8).  In my Sunday School lesson commentary – Creating a Sacred Dwelling for God within the Heart – it is made clear that God is very particular about His dwelling.  God will only dwell in a place that is worthy of His dwelling, as it must be holy and righteous as He is holy and righteous.

So, the work of building the temple of God was given over to Solomon, David’s son.  1 Kings 6 covers the building of the temple.  Work began on the temple 418 years after the children of Israel were freed from Egypt, which was also the fourth year of Solomon’s reign (1 Kgs. 6:1).  The temple was completed in the eighth month of the eleventh year of Solomon’s reign, which means it took seven years to complete (1 Kgs. 6:37-38).

At this ceremony, Solomon had assembled all the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers, and the children of Israel together (1 Kgs. 8:1).  Then, the priest brought the Ark of the Covenant from the old tabernacleof meeting into the inner sanctuary, to the Most Holy Place (1 Kgs. 8:3-6).  After this was done, the cloud of God’s presence and glory (the Shekinah cloud) filled the temple (1 Kgs. 8:10-11).

Our lesson opens after the priest had come out of the temple, with Solomon standing before the people, before the altar of the Lord, speaking to them (1 Kgs. 8:22).  To be clear, the dedication ceremony was taking place outside of the sanctuary, as it was only lawful for the priest and Levites to enter and serve in the sanctuary.

Now, Solomon, standing before the altar of the Lord, is also symbolic and was likely done purposefully by him.  Now, if you remember the layout of the tabernacle, the altar of the Lord for burnt offerings sat just outside the door of the tabernacle, which was also true for the temple.  Burnt offerings were burnt as a sign of one being devoted to the Lord.  

Solomon, standing with his hands spread towards heaven, before the altar for burnt offerings, was a sign of devotion to God.  The temple itself, while one may think of it as a house for God, stood as a house of devotion for Israel; it would be a dedicated place where they could consistently come and offer sacrifice and worship the Lord.

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

Solomon’s prayer is covered in 1 Kings 8:23-53 if you wish to read and study his prayer in its entirety.  

Giving God praise

Solomon begins his prayer by praising the Lord.  First, in 1 Kings 8:23, Solomon praised God because there is none who is like Him in His sovereignty.  Solomon also praised God because of His faithfulness, speaking to how God keeps His covenant (promise) and mercy to those who abide with Him.  Then, in 1 Kings 8:24, Solomon praised God for keeping His promise to David.

God made a covenant with David after He saw David’s desire to build a house for Him.  In the Davidic Covenant, the Lord promised David that through his seed, a house for God’s name would be built and his throne would be established forever (2 Sam. 7:12-13).  Yes, Solomon built the temple, but again, his temple was destroyed.  The Davidic Covenant looked ahead to Christ, who did come through the seed of David, glorified God’s name through His ministry, and established His eternal throne His death and resurrection.

In another lesson commentary – 3 Reasons to Praise God in Every Circumstance – we saw that we share the same reasons for giving God the praise that is due His name.  No, we may not be earthly kings, yet God has certainly been good to us and poured out His blessings upon us, hasn’t He?  Not only that, God has shown us grace and mercy, and through Christ, we have become heirs of the eternal promise (Rom. 8:14-17).

Seeking God’s faithfulness

After praising and thanking God for all He had done, Solomon then began to make his supplications known to the Lord.  Let’s note that Solomon’s prayer follows the common order of a prayer of supplication, as Jesus taught: one should first honor God, then make supplications (Matt. 6:9-13).  So, in a way, Solomon’s prayer of dedication is setting an example for the people to follow.

In 1 Kings 8:25-26, Solomon asked God to keep (to honor) what He had promised to David about the everlasting, eternal throne.  As I mentioned earlier, the Davidic Covenant was Messianic – Christ-centered.  However, Solomon’s concern was pretty much like that of all other kings in that he didn’t want to lose his throne.

I believe Solomon’s concern came from two places.  The first concern came from what it took for him to become king of Israel.  There was a ‘fight’ for the throne of David as he neared death, as Adonijah, David’s son through Haggith, tried to lay claim to the throne.  Regardless of Adonijah’s desires, David proclaimed Solomon to be the rightful heir to the throne (1 Kgs 1).

The second place of concern that Solomon had about losing the throne came from the second part of the Davidic Covenant.  In 2 Samuel 7:14-15, the Lord said to David, about the king after him, “I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.  But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.”

Again, Solomon did not want to end up like Saul and lose the throne due to his spiritual actions.  Saul lost the throne of Israel to David because he devoted himself to sinful living.  This concern of Solomon is of great interest because he did eventually stray from the Lord, purposefully, as he had hundreds of wives and concubines, and even worshiped their gods.

In the day of his sin, Solomon saw that God was faithful to the covenant that He made with David, though the covenant was Christ-centered.  Christ, I will remind you, was despised and forsaken as became the sin of mankind on the cross.  The throne of David was protected because of Christ, which also benefited Solomon.  God rebuked and chastened Solomon for his sin, and he eventually did return to the Lord (1 Kgs 11:1-13).

This thought reminds me of the promise of our salvation.  The promise of our salvation has been sealed through the shed blood of Christ and the receiving of the Holy Spirit.  What this means for all of us who are heirs of God’s salvation is that we cannot lose our salvation.  

Now, does that mean that it is OK for us to sin?  Absolutely not.  If you were to ask David, he would tell you that one can lose the joy of their salvation by living in sin.  While we may be imperfect beings, we must not let our imperfection block us from striving toward perfection (Phil. 3:12-14).  Therefore, we must live faithfully, always confessing our wrongs to the Lord and putting forth our best effort to make corrections to live according to His instructions.

The dwelling place of God

As he continued in making supplications known to the Lord, we will see that Solomon turned his attention to the temple and the dwelling of the Lord with Israel.  Solomon’s supplication will certainly remind us of Moses’ desire that God dwell with His people (Ex. 33:13).

In 1 Kings 8:27, Solomon points out that the temple he built can’t be the dwelling place of the Lord.  Solomon asked, “Will God indeed dwell on the earth?”  Then he stated, “Behold, heaven and the heaven of the heavens cannot contain You.”

As Paul pointed out in his letter to the Corinthians, God’s ‘dwelling place’ is in the third heaven, which is beyond Earth’s atmosphere and space/the universe.  In Isaiah 66:1, God proclaimed that heaven is His throne and earth is His footstool.  

So, Solomon raises this question: If even God’s domain can’t contain Him, then what would be the point of the temple Solomon built?  God certainly does not need a home.  Yet, the tabernacle was constructed to satisfy Moses’ desire for the Lord to dwell with the children of Israel.  The tabernacle was constructed to house the ark of the covenant.

The temple was constructed to satisfy David’s desire to build a dedicated place for the ark of the covenant since the children of Israel were no longer wanderers.  And again, the temple was constructed to satisfy Israel’s desire to see that God was with them.  As I mentioned earlier, it would be a place that those of Israel could go to and make a sacrifice, worshipping the Lord.

Solomon understood very well that God is everywhere and could even be worshipped everywhere.  Yet, in his next supplication, Solomon prays for the Lord to regard his petition and be with him and the people, dwelling in the temple, listening to their supplications, and moving for them.  Ultimately, Solomon’s desire is for the Lord to be near to His people, dwelling in fellowship with them.

Solomon’s prayer and supplication are what our prayers and supplications ought to be.  We ought to remember the goodness of God and desire more of it, as the blessings of God are far greater than the riches of the world.  Moreover, the greater gift of God – His dwelling with us today and for the rest of eternity – far exceeds the day to day blessings we enjoy.  

We certainly should appreciate all that God does for us and all that He has promised because where would we be without the Lord?  This is what Solomon understood very well.  Without the Lord, the children of Israel would have remained in Egypt, worshiping and serving idol gods.  Without the Lord, all of us would be lost to sin.  So, let us learn to cherish the Lord in our daily lives and continue to seek to dwell in His presence