1 Kings - Lesson 8C

• In our last session, we discussed the overarching implications of Solomon’s dedicatory prayer.

  • This prayer is the longest recorded prayer in the bible and that makes sense being that it is so Torah-rich.

    • Solomon, as we have discovered, is quite aware of Torah and its conditions resulting either in Israel’s blessing or failure.

  • Solomon began this prayer by first acknowledging the Holy “otherness” and uniqueness of Yahweh.

    • He makes it known that there is none that can compare to the greatness and grandeur of the God of Israel.

  • We then witnessed, through the start of Solomon’s prayer, that the Lord is a covenant-making, promise-keeping, faithful God.

    • God’s very character and integrity is tied to His word and because He cannot lie, means that His word is true.

  • We also witnessed that although God is omniscient and omnipresent, He is an intimate Creator. One who desires to dwell and be with His creation.

    • And because this is the case, He requires that His creation both approaches and submits to His ways accordingly.

  • Solomon’s entire prayer is filled with Torah and Deuteronomistic underpinnings.

    • The best way to think about this prayer is how a parent deals with their children.

    • If the child listens and obeys their parent’s instruction, that child is rewarded for their obedience.

  • However, if that child gets beside themselves, that child will experience consequences by which they have to endure.

    • And by having to be disciplined, that should produce a turning or correction in that child to follow their parent’s instructions.

    • Ultimately, the discipline of a parent is not meant to break the child but to firmly correct the child because you love them.

  • In the same way, the Lord tends to Israel and even the New Testament believer, for that matter, in the same way.

    • Scripture tells us very clearly, “God disciplines those in whom He loves…” (Hebrews 12:6)

    • So tonight, we continue in this prayer of dedication at the temple after the Lord has filled the temple in a cloud.

  • If I were to put an outline together of what we will see in the text, it will be the following:

    • 1. The cursings and the turning (vv.35-40)

    • 2. Matters concerning the Foreigners (vv.41-43)

    • 3. Instructions to Israel concerning their Enemies (vv.44-53)

    • 4. Solomon Blesses the Lord (vv.54-60)

    • 5. The Goodness of the Lord (vv.62-66)

  • If I were to put a tag on tonight’s text it would be, Prayer of Dedication – Part 2

    • I invite you to meet me in 1 Kings 8:35-40 for the reading of the word of the Lord.

1 Kings 8:35 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them,
1 Kings 8:36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and of Your people Israel, indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on Your land, which You have given Your people for an inheritance.
1 Kings 8:37 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is,
1 Kings 8:38 whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his hands toward this house;
1 Kings 8:39 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men,
1 Kings 8:40 that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You have given to our fathers.

• Solomon moves into what Deuteronomy classifies as the cursings, meaning that when Israel disobeys, in comes divine discipline.

  • What we find in verses 35-36 is that Solomon has a strong grasp on Torah.

    • He mentions that when the heavens are shut up, meaning there is no rain, that serves as a sign of Israel having sinned.

    • If you recall, Israel being in the land was a blessing from the Lord and with the blessing came prosperity and flourishment in the land.

    • And a part of that flourishing in the land was agricultural enrichment.

  • So, with a lack of rain meant that the people would experience drought and with drought comes what we find in verse 37, famine.

    • This was a consequence of the sins of the people found in Torah. For example, check out what Leviticus 26:18-19 says:

Leviticus 26:18 ‘If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
Leviticus 26:19 ‘I will also break down your pride of power; I will also make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze.

• And the idea of the sky being “like iron” and the earth, “like bronze” is metaphorical.

  • It speaks to the shutting up of the heavens and the lack of forthcoming food for the people.

    • The turning event of this result is that the people first turn to the Lord, confess the sin before the Lord, and to turn from their ways.

    • In other words, there must be an acknowledgement of what they have done.

  • Interestingly enough, the only way in which someone can know they are in the wrong is if they have been taught/shown right from wrong.

    • And we find in Isaiah 54:13 that in a future day, in the Millenium Kingdom, that Jesus Christ will in fact “teach the inhabitants”.

    • Check out the text, Isaiah 54:13:

Isaiah 54:13 “All your sons will be taught of the Lord; And the well-being of your sons will be great.

• • Notice the start of verse 13 states that “all your sons”, meaning Israel, will be taught or discipled by Christ, Himself.

  • Furthermore, from their turning from sin, confession, and correction, the Lord stands ready to forgive the people.

    • This turning produces restoration. This cycle of sin is what we find within the narrative of the Judges.

    • We see this similar cycle structure within Deuteronomy Chapters 28-30.

  • It’s the cycle where the people, after having been in the land, fall into apostasy, whether idolatry or lack of obedience to Torah.

    • And from their sin comes Divine punishment which resulted in the people being removed out of the land (scattered).

    • And it’s in the scattering that the prophets are used by God to turn the hearts of the people back to Torah.

    • And once there is a revival or a return to Torah, the people return to the land.

  • So, these blessings and cursing, as Deuteronomy outlines them, become the central section of Torah by which Solomon is referencing.

    • It’s in verses 37 and 38 that we find further results of the sins of Israel.

    • It ranges from famine in the land, pestilence, blight, mildew, the list goes on.

    • And notice, the location where these events occur: they occur in the land.

    • So, we see that the issues of the land are dealing with 1) the Abrahamic Covenant and 2) The Lord takes His word seriously!

  • What should stand out in verse 38 is the fact that turning back to the Lord requires there having been a recognition of wrongdoing.

    • For how can someone seek forgiveness of wrongdoing if they have not been made intrinsically aware that they have “missed the standard”?

    • Therefore, those who are afflicted in this way must be, as Jesus mentions in His Sermon on the Mount, “Poor in Spirit”. (Matthew 5:3)

    • The idea of being “poor” here is not dealing with financial lack, but rather those who are not “spiritually arrogant”.

    • These are men and women who are ever dependent upon the word of God for all that they need because the word is all they have.

  • So, there must be an acknowledgement of one’s motives that then leads them to rest upon the truth of the word of God.

    • And as verse 39 mentions, once there is a turning of our heart, the Lord will forgive and respond accordingly.

    • This is why in Malachi 3:7, the Lord, through Malachi the prophet, tells the people this:

Malachi 3:7 “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

• In other words, when you obey my word, when you submit to my truth, I will respond according to my word, and return and dwell.

  • What becomes such a beautiful thing as believers in Christ, is that because we are positionally His, our eternal salvation is secure.

  • So, when we sin, we do not lose our position eternally, we simply are out of fellowship with the Lord for a time.

  • It’s like when you and a friend are at odds with one another, it does not remove the friendship, but it fractures the fellowship.

    • So that when forgiveness happens, proper fellowship is restored, and the blessing of the friendship can commence.

    • This is the same for our relationship with the Lord Jesus and is what John expresses about the believer and forgiveness in 1 John 1:9.

    • If you understand the context of this book and who John is talking to, you better understand that he is not talking about salvation, rather he is talking about right-fellowship with the Lord (We, My little children).

    • Check out the text:

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

• So this is why in verse 40, the Lord brings up the idea of fearing the Lord again and returning to the land.

  • The point being: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom! (Proverbs 9:10).

  • But to fully understand that scripture written by Solomon, you must acknowledge the second half of the verse:

  • “And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”

  • Wisdom unattended or unapplied is simply great information and truth without an instrument to use it! Wisdom requires application!

    • Solomon had all the wisdom in the world, divine understanding was given to him, yet he did not apply it all the time.

    • He was able to write the law and apply the law where needed, but when his life was left unattended or unguarded, he fell into folly.

  • Friends, the principle here is that: Our lives can end up in the same way if we do not guard our hearts and minds in Christ!

    • If His word is not the very air we breathe in our decision making and the aim of our affections, we too will fall into folly.

    • And as we see for Israel, their turning from sin will lead them back to the blessings (dwelling in the land and with the Lord).

    • The Lord now moves to dealing with the foreigners or Gentile nations regarding how they deal with His chosen people, Israel.

    • Check out verses 41-43.

1 Kings 8:41 “Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for Your name’s sake
1 Kings 8:42 (for they will hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house,
1 Kings 8:43 hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.

• Within Solomon’s prayer, Solomon not only focuses on the Israelite people alone, but he seeks for the Lord’s name to be made known to them so that they may come to Him.

  • This once again shows us that Solomon is quite aware of Torah and how the Jewish people were to be a light to the nations.

    • It would be through the Jewish people that the word was to be blessed!

    • This is what we find in Genesis 12:3 which is often lacking in our exegesis in the West.

Genesis 12:3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

• Solomon understood that even Gentile nations could respond positively to the God of Israel and in turn be blessed.

  • That the God of Israel was not only interested in making Himself known to the Jewish people, but to all people.

  • And we see this reality of blessing and desire in the Church-age.

  • Now we have the Holy Spirit personally indwelled in every believing Jew and Gentile who has placed faith in Yeshua!

  • And the reality is this was made possible because of the Lord’s providential plan at work through His people to be made known to the world.

    • Solomon now moves his prayer in requesting from the Lord on how to deal with their enemies. Check out verses 44-53:

1 Kings 8:44 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name,
1 Kings 8:45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
1 Kings 8:46 “When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and deliver them to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near;
1 Kings 8:47 if they take thought in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and make supplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly’;
1 Kings 8:48 if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name;
1 Kings 8:49 then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause,
1 Kings 8:50 and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You, and make them objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, that they may have compassion on them
1 Kings 8:51 (for they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought forth from Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace),
1 Kings 8:52 that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You.
1 Kings 8:53 “For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, as You spoke through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord God.”

• It’s here that Solomon moves towards the Lord upholding Israel in times of battle.

  • What we should ask ourselves at this point is: Why is Solomon praying for aid in battle if they are reigning in times of peace?

    • If the Lord has been with them in battle before, why would He not be in battle with them again?

    • If the people held fast to Torah before and their prayers and dependence upon the Lord before, why would that change?

  • Well, there seems to be something here that Solomon senses prophetically or has prophetic insight about regarding Israel’s state of peace.

    • Because when we get to verse 46, Solomon’s word choice switches because he doesn’t say, “if they sin” he says “when they sin…”

    • Solomon has foresight that Israel will sin against God and notice what he says:

    • “When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin).

  • Here it is, the wisest man in the world made it known that no one on earth is perfect, but that all fall short of the Glory of God.

    • This means that even on your best day, we still fall short, which means our ability to stand before a Holy God can’t be on our own merit!

    • This means that for us, to even be made right before God, that God would have to do something so that we could even stand in His presence!

    • But at this point in the story line, Christ had not yet come to be the propitiation of man’s sins.

    • The only thing that was required was faith in the word of Yahweh.

  • So, in God’s mercy, knowing man’s proclivity to sin, He provided a means of grace for the Old Testament saints and even us today to be corrected: Divine discipline.

    • Remember, for the Old Testament saints, that Spiritual life was experienced in the land. That was the blessing!

    • So, when they disobeyed, the discipline of the Lord would be to have them removed from the land and taken captive by their enemies as we have discussed in Deuteronomy, prior.

  • It was in fact Israel’s (Judah’s) captivity by Babylon, that they remained in foreign land for 70 years.

    • As a matter of fact, Daniel, in Daniel 6 takes a similar posture before the Lord in prayer on behalf of Judah, so that they may return to the Land.

    • The same principle applied as from earlier, when there is a turning of hearts, the Lord would bring them back into the land.

  • And from that turning of hearts, the Lord would make Israel “objects of compassion”.

    • This becomes a powerful statement because the same enemy that took them captive, by God’s sovereign grace, would be used to show compassion toward Israel.

  • The reality is discipline is often a tool used by God to draw men and women back to His word, more specifically, those in whom the Lord loves.

    • We often lose sight of the goodness of the Lord when we are most comfortable.

    • But the moment things get out of control, we are running back to the Lord to speak to us, reveal, and respond – we have all been there.

  • And God, in His grace, is so merciful that through discipline, the enemies of the Lord would see Israel’s God’s hand of love and compassion towards His children.

    • And in turn Israel’s enemies would have compassion on the very ones they captured.

  • So, Solomon recognizes the uniqueness of Yahweh in that His people hold a special place in His heart – like a father to a child.

    • Therefore, in verses 51-53 you’ll notice that Solomon is simply pointing to God’s history with Israel and His compassion towards her.

    • It was demonstrated when He released them from captivity in Egypt and it will continue until they call upon the name of the Lord.

    • And we know this will happen at a future time because Jesus makes known in Matthew 23, that He would not return for them until they did something: Check out the text:

Matthew 23:39 “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

• • [And we know that it’s in the subsequent chapter, Chapter 24, that Jesus speaks to the signs of His return.]

  • We now move to verses 54-60 for the benediction of Solomon’s prayer and as one commentator notes, Solomon’s posture has changed from when he started.

    • That where Solomon began standing with His hands lifted, he is now on his knees submitting his supplications to the Lord.

    • One could imagine Solomon is probably overwhelmed and burdened by what he has been shown regarding this future exile.

    • So, this is a pleading of sorts, petitioning before a Holy God to provide mercy.

  • So, Solomon now pivots from his supplications before the Lord to his blessing of the people.

    • Solomon begins his benediction of prayer and blessing of the people with an acknowledgment of the faithfulness of God.

    • What a beautiful reminder for us as church age saints today, that within our prayer lives that we should consistently see the faithfulness of God.

  • Solomon points to the reality that the Lord has not failed Israel and that His promises are good.

    • In other words, the Lord is a promise-keeper!

• From there, Solomon speaks a blessing over the people of Israel that first reinforced the steadfast promises and goodness of the Lord.

  • These types of blessings over the people were something that was typical for a king.

• Secondly, the blessing included a future hope that the Lord would turn Israel’s hearts back to the Lord.

  • Moses had taught about the necessity of the people keeping the word of the Lord close to their hearts.

    • And from their holding near to His word (Torah) that it would translate to them being effectual doers.

  • So, when James mentions in James 1 about being effectual doers of the word and not simply hearers, he draws this reality straight from Torah.

    • In other words, if the word of God is not applied, you simply are aware of information (revelation) about Him without the needed transformation!

  • Jeremiah, in Chapter 31:31-34, records the very means by which the Lord would put the word of the Lord into the hearts of men.

    • That, by way of the New Covenant, Israel would have the indwelling Holy Spirit that would allow the word to be written on their hearts.

    • And as benefactors of this promise, we as believers have the Holy Spirit indwelt in us too.

• This provides then, the perfect segway into the third aspect of the blessing: That the Lord would uphold His word.

  • That with the Lord upholding His word meant that He was executing judgement.

    • For not only would the righteous judgement of the Lord uphold His very nature and character, but in turn the nations of the world would come to know Him.

  • Israel through their obedience and disobedience become an instrument used of God to make known the Creator of the Universe.

    • And it would be through Israel’s obedience to the Law and teaching of the Law that men and women would come to know Him.

    • This is why in our evangelistic efforts of sharing the Gospel that we seek opportunities to share the Gospel with our Jewish neighbors.

  • This is why the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ began with Israel and not the Gentile nations.

    • The Lord had to come to His own house first so that they would then go out to make disciples of all nations.

    • And too often in the western church, we have centered the gospel on western ideals and thought – however the gospel is first for the Jew and then for the Greek (Gentile).

  • Solomon concludes the blessing with a charge of sorts and that is for the people to remain steadfastly devoted to the Lord.

    • To walk in His statutes and ways and to keep His commandments.

    • This was the charge not only to the King but also to the people as well.

    • For when the King and nation obeyed the nation was blessed.

  • And like with any conclusion of a blessing would follow celebration and worship of the Lord. Check out verses 62-66:

1 Kings 8:62 Now the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifice before the Lord.
1 Kings 8:63 Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.
1 Kings 8:64 On the same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, because there he offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings; for the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings.
1 Kings 8:65 So Solomon observed the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, for seven days and seven more days, even fourteen days.
1 Kings 8:66 On the eighth day he sent the people away and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David His servant and to Israel His people.

• At the conclusion of the prayer of dedication and benediction, Solomon leads the people into worship and offering to the Lord through sacrifice.

  • As we noted in prior teaching, sacrifice was a way in which to not only atone for sins but to worship the Living God.

    • What is worth noting is the number of animals sacrificed for this particular occasion for dedication.

    • 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep! This dedication of the temple spared no expense because the name of the Lord was to be made known there!

  • The sacrifices placed on the bronze alter located in the inner court. It was a 30 foot by 30 foot structure and was 15 feet high.

    • It was quite a sight to see as it was on an elevated platform and wide enough to host many sacrifices.

  • Immediately following this sacrifice before the Lord as worship was the observation of the feast. This feast was the Feast of Booths or Tabernacle.

    • This feast, which is normally one week, was extended to two weeks due to this special event – well worth celebrating!

  • An interesting piece to see in the text is that the writer provides geographical locations to emphasize the fact that all of Israel participated in this event.

    • He mentions that from the entrance of Hamath which is in Northern Israel near the Euphrates, to the brook of Egypt, which is far south that “all assembled”.

  • The best example I could give as to the magnitude of this event of dedication would be similar to the vast gathering of an inauguration of a President.

    • The big difference between the two is that this was the enthronement of the Living God in His temple and all of His people coming to engage in this moment.

• All in all, from Chapters 6-8, we were able to see the establishment, building, and greatness of the Temple of the Lord and what this moment meant for Israel.

  • Not only did this establish Israel as a well-respected and prominent Nation in that day, but it all the more made known the greatness of Israel’s God.

    • The true and Living God has revealed Himself to His people time and again and now is able to permanently dwell with them in the land.

  • They are given instructions on how they are to remain in right fellowship with the Lord according to the Law.

    • And they are given instructions on the rightful judgements of their disobedience.

  • This moment serves as a climactic point in the Kings narrative because the people dwelling securely in the land is based upon their obedience to the Lord.

    • The literary build up in this narrative, and Solomon’s prophetic insight, reveal that a downfall is on the horizon.

  • Therefore, obedience to the Lord and His word must be held as priority.

    • Consider, what Israel as a Nation has gone through and what they have just witnessed – the Lord moving in their midst having made Himself visibly known.

    • But as we will see in Chapter 11, Israel’s prominence and Solomon’s greatness will begin to wane as Solomon’s heart becomes pulled.

  • What we should gather from this section of the text is that, when our eyes are fixed and our affections are set upon the Lord, we will see the blessing of the Lord.

    • But secondly, we come to understand that there are consequences to our disobedience and in those consequences, there requires a turning.

    • The turning of our hearts is based upon God’s merciful illuminating nature.

    • In that where we fall, it is His kindness and love towards us that leads us to repentance.

  • May we grow to be a people that, like David, have our hearts always turned to the Lord.

    • That we seek to ask the Lord to reveal to us anything in us that is not like Him so that we may conform more to the image of Christ.

    • Let's Pray.