The First Book of the Kings, commonly called the Third Book of the Kings
1 Kings 8
Chapter VIII · Vol. II, pp. 731–734
1 The feast of the dedication of the temple. 12, 54 Solomon's blessing. 22 Solomon's prayer. 62 His sacrifice of peace-offerings.
1 Then Solomona assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief1 of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bbring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
B.C. 1003.
a 1 Ch.15.3. 2 Ch.5.2-10; 30.1.
1 Heb. princes.
b ch.3.15. Nu.10.33. 2 Sa.5.7,9; 6.12,17. 1 Ch.13.3; 15.3.
2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon2 at the cfeast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
2 The building of the temple was finished in the 8th month, ch. 6. 38, and therefore there were eleven months till the dedication. This time would naturally be employed in ordering the vessels and other furniture of the interior, and, as Usher supposes, that the dedication might correspond to the jubilee, and the fourteen days, ver. 65, included the dedication, expiation, and feast of tabernacles.—C.
c Le.23.34. De.16.13. About eleven months after the temple was finished.
4 And they brought up the fark of the LORD, and the gtabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.
5 And hking Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.3
h 2 Sa.6.13. 1 Ch.16.1. 2 Ch.5.6. ver.62,63; ch.3.4,15.
3 This is not to be pronounced an hyperbole—the meaning is literal, signifying that the sacrifices could not be numbered even by all the means Solomon and the priests had in their power. Thus we say of many things, they cannot be done, simply meaning they cannot be done by man, but not excluding practicability by the power of God.—C.
6 And ithe priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.
i 2 Ch.5.7. ch.6.19. Ex.26.33,34; 40.3,20,21. ver.21.
7 For the kcherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
k Ex.25.15,20; 37.5,9. ch.6.23-27.
8 And they drew out the staves, that the ends4 of the staves were seen out in the lholy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without:5 and there they are unto this day.6
4 Heb. heads.
l Or, ark, as 2 Ch.5.9.
5 After the ark had been set down in its place, the staves for carrying it were drawn forward so that their ends could be seen pressing out the vail in the sanctuary, though the staves themselves were covered from view. The object probably was to indicate the precise position of the ark and mercy-seat.—P.
6 This must have been written before the destruction of the temple, recorded 2 Ki. 25. 1-9, 13-17, which occurred, according to Hales, 422 years from the date of its foundation.—C.
9 There mwas nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone,5 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.6
m 2 Ch.5.10. Ex.25.21; 16.33. He.9.4. De.10.5. Nu.17.10.
A.M. 3001. B.C. 1003.
5 Aaron's rod, the pot of manna, and the copy of the law, formerly deposited there, must have been placed before or beside the ark; or it is possible these sacred relics had been purloined, perhaps at Bethshemesh, and if so that would well account for the heavy judgment there inflicted.—I.
6 Ex.16.33,34. Nu.17.10, and this assertion may be easily reconciled with He. 9. 4 by referring the word 'wherein,' not to the ark, but to the holiest, in which all the articles enumerated were contained, the ark itself inclusive.—C.
10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that nthe cloud filled the house of the LORD,
11 So that the opriests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD7 had filled the house of the LORD.
o Ex.40.35. Le.9.23. Eze.10.4. 2 Ch.5.14. Re.15.8.
7 Thick darkness, Ex. 20. 21, produced by a cloud, Ex. 24.15,18 in the midst of which appeared light as a devouring fire, Ex.24.17, constitutes that mysterious but most intelligible and appropriate emblem which Moses terms 'the glory of the Lord.'—C.
12 Then spake Solomon, The LORD psaid that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
p 2 Ch.6.1. Ex.13.21,22; 24.16; 40.35. De.4.11; 5.22. Ps.18.11,12; 97.2.
14 And the king turned his face about, and blessedr all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood:)
r Jos.22.6. 1 Ch.16.2. Nu.6.23-26. Ps.118.26. ver.55,56.
15 And he said, sBlessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand tfulfilled it, saying,
16 Sinceu the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but xI chose David to be over my people Israel.8
u 2 Ch.6.5,6. 2 Sa.7.6-8. De.12.11. Ps.132.13,14. 1 Ch.17.5,6.
x 1 Sa.13.14; 15.28; 16.1-13. Ps.89.20; 78.70. 2 Sa.7.25,27. Ac.13.22.
8 Kennicott remarks that allusion is made here to some one place, and some one person preferred above all others; the place is Jerusalem, and the person is David. But a reference to the parallel place in 2 Ch. 6. 5, 6 will help to complete the sense.—I.
17 And yit was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
y 2 Sa.7.2,3. 1 Ch.17.1,2; 22.7; 28.2. Ac.7.46.
18 And the LORD zsaid unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart:
z 2 Sa.7.4,11. 2 Co.8.12. 2 Ch.6.8.
19 Nevertheless thou ashalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.
a ch.5.3. 2 Sa.7.5,12,13. 1 Ch.22.8-10; 17.12; 28.6,10,20.
20 And the LORD bhath performed his word that he spake; and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
b ch.ii.v-viii., with 2 Sa.7.12,13. 1 Ch.17.11,12; 28.5,6,20.
21 And cI have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the dcovenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
22 And Solomon estood before the altar of the LORD, in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:9
e 2 Ch.6.12,13. 2 Ki.11.14; 23.3. Is.1.15. Job 11.13. Ps.63.4. 1 Ti.2.8.
9 Not as if Solomon thought that God was far away from earth, and locally resident in some region of heaven, but in testimony to his infinity, whereby he fills 'heaven and earth,' Je. 23, 24, and of the duty of lifting up the heart to him in glory above, while the spirit converses with him in all the nearness of a present and listening auditor on the earth.—C.
23 And he said, fLORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who gkeepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that hwalk before thee with all their heart;
24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast ifulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
25 Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, kThere shall not fail thee a man in my sight1 to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me, as thou hast walked before me.
k 2 Sa.7.12. ch.2.4. Ps.132.12. Je.33.20-26. Lu.1.32,33.
1 Heb. There shall not be cut off unto thee a man from my sight.
26 And now, O God of Israel, llet thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.
27 But mwill God indeed dwell on the 2earth? behold, the heaven, and heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
m Ps.113.4. Je.23.24. Is.66.1. Ac.7.49; 17.24. 2 Ch.2.6; 6.18. De.10.14. Job 11.7,8.
2 Will God localize himself in a temple so that he may be found in it and nowhere else? This must be the sense, for in every other God does indeed dwell with men. 'He that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him,' 1 Jn. 4. 16. But Israel being prone to the idolatry of local gods, the prayer of Solomon is not only directed to ask a blessing, but to counterwork an error.—C.
28 Yet have nthou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee to-day:
29 That othine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, pMy name shall be there; that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make qtoward this place.
30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place:3 and hear thou in heaven thy rdwelling-place; and, when thou hearest, sforgive.
3 Daniel in Babylon prayed with his face toward Jerusalem, Da. 6. 10, a practice which the Jews continue everywhere till this day. The practice may, no doubt, be with many superstitious, but rightly understood it is the emblem of a praying spirit 'looking unto Jesus' for salvation, Is. 45. 22. He.12.1.—C.
31 If tany man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him4 to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:5
t 2 Ch.6.22. Nu.5.16-22. Ex.22.8-11.
4 Heb. and he require an oath of him.
5 From this it is evident that solemn oaths—oaths rightly understood being acts of worship—were wont to be taken at the altar. This prayer for righteous judgment between man and man is the first of seven distinct cases in which Solomon entreats the divine favour to himself and people. C.——Solomon puts here seven cases in which the mercy and intervention of God would be indispensably requisite, and he earnestly bespeaks that mercy and intervention whenever the people should pray toward the holy place with sincerity and earnestness.—It would appear from this that it was the custom to take solemn oaths at the altar, whence arose the practice of swearing by the altar, Mat. 23.20.—I.
32 Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and ujudge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
33 When thy people Israel be xsmitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall yturn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:
34 Then hear thou in heaven, and zforgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou agavest unto their fathers.6
35 When bheaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; ifc they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:
A.M. 3001. B.C. 1003.
b 2 Ch.6.26. Le.26.19. De.11.17; 28.11,12,23. Mal.3.10. Je.14.1-6. Joel i. Hag.1.10,11.
c ver.33.
36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, thatd thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.6
d 1 Sa.12.23. Is.35.8. Ps.27.11; 32.8; 94.12. 2 Pe.1.21. ch.18.39-45. Joel 2.12-23. Eze.34.25,26. Ho.2.21,22.
6 The judgment of drought, and the grant of rain, with instruction from these acts of Providence, is the third case which Solomon commends to the merciful hearing of God.—C.
37 If there be in the land efamine, if there be pestilence, blasting,7 mildew, locust, or if there be caterpillar;8 if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities,9 whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;
e 2 Ch.6.28. Le.26.16. De.28.21-42. 2 Sa.14.15. Ge.41.6. Ex.10.4,5. Ps.105.34,35. Joel i.; 2.1-11. Hag.2.17. Ju.2.14,15.
7 That includes anything by which the crop is injured, so that the ear is never matured, but yields only a black offensive dust. Mildew is anything that vitiates or corrodes the texture of the stalk, destroys the blossoms, or causes the young fruit to fall.—I.
8 Famine, pestilence, &c., constitute the fourth case for which mercy is sought, to teach men the 'plagues of their own hearts,' and lead them to Jesus the only physician and deliverer, Mat 9.12. Ro.11.26.—C.
9 Invasion of enemies, and besieging of cities, form the fifth case.—C.
38 What fprayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man gthe plague of his own heart,1 and spread forth his hands toward this house:
f Ja.5.16-18. Eze.22.30. Ps.50.15; 91.15.
g Ro.8.7,8; 7.14,24. Job 40.4; 42.6. Je.31.19. Pr.30.2. Ps.73.22.
1 This is an impressive image of severe affliction from any cause, real or imaginary, which may occasion such anguish as to threaten life, comp. 2 Ch.6.29. As the prayers in the preceding verses referred to national sufferings, visible to all, and in which all might sympathize, this prayer especially respects grief, of the cause of which no friends can, with any advantage, be even informed, because it may be frequently traced to sins which concern only God and a man's own heart-temptations, not to be spoken of without the risk of drawing others to sin, or to temporal trials that cannot be mentioned to the nearest friends without the apprehension of occasioning them useless distress.—Davidson.
39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and hgive to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even ithou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)
40 That they may kfear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
k Ps.130.4. Je.32.39,40. De.6.2,13.
41 Moreover, concerning la stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but mcometh out of a far country for thy name's sake;
42 (For they shall nhear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched-out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house;
43 Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that oall people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house which I have builded is called by thy name.
44 If thy people pgo out to battle against their enemy,2 whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city qwhich thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name:
2 Exposure in just war, against unjust enemies, is the sixth case.—C.
q Ps.78.67,69; 132.13,14.
45 Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.3
3 Or, right.
46 If they sin against thee, (rfor there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives4 unto the land of the enemy, far or near;
r 2 Ch.6.36. Ec.7.20. 1 Jn.1.8,10. Pr.20.9. Ja.3.2.
A.M. 3001. B.C. 1003.
4 Captivity by enemies is the seventh case—the last, and the still existing judgment for which mercy is sought. O! that captive Israel would indeed look unto him whom they have pierced, then would he soon deliver them, and gather them again, as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings!—C.
47 Yet if they shall sbethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
s Le.26.40. De.4.29-31; 30.2,3. 2 Ch.32.12,13. Da.6.10; ix. 1 Ti.2.8. Pr.28.3. 1 Jn.1.9. 2 Sa.12.13. Ps.32.5. Ezr.9.6. Ne.9.26. Lu.15.18.
48 And so treturn unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:
t De.30.1,2. Ne.1.9. ch.2.4. Je.29.12-14. Da.6.12.
49 Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling-place, and umaintain their cause,5
u ver.45. Is.10.6,7. Zec.1.15.
5 Israel still stands, not merely as a criminal before God, for their crucifixion of our Lord, but, alas! the neglect or contempt, or oppression, of heathen, Mahometan, and even Christian nations have hitherto followed them. But God will yet arise and have mercy upon Zion, Ps.102.13, and will maintain her cause against all her enemies, for it is finally the cause of Christ his Son, Ps.9.4.—C.
50 And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and xgive them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:
51 For ythey be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the zfurnace of iron.6
y Ex.19.5,6; 32.11,12. Ne.1.10. Is.64.9; 63.18.
z De.4.20. Je.11.4. Ex.1.11,14; 13.14. Ps.68.13; 81.6, i.e. cruel bondage.
6 As no country can ever excel in arts without the use of iron, produced, imported, or manufactured, and as Egypt did excel in several departments, we may certainly conclude, either that the smelting of iron from the ore, or the working of it when imported, occupied a large portion of the nation. In either case, Israel was brought forth from the furnace, at which, in the burning climate of Egypt, employment must be inconceivably laborious.—C.
52 That athine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.7
a ver.29,30.
7 This intercession was answered in the restoration of the Jews from Babylonish captivity, for it was in this very way it was brought about, Da.9.1-19. But it will hereafter receive another more remarkable answer when the remnant of Israel shall be gathered into the church of Christ. It is very instructive to compare the several parts of this prayer with the preceding prophecies and the subsequent history, which may be partly done by consulting the marginal references.—I.
53 For thou didst bseparate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.
54 And it was so, that, when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from ckneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.
55 And he stood, and dblessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
d ver.14. 2 Ch.16.2. Nu.6.23-26. Ps.118.26.
56 Blessed be the LORD, that hath egiven rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath fnot failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
e Jos.21.44. 2 Ch.14.6. He.4.3,9. Re.3.21.
f Jos.21.45; 23.14,15. Lu.1.68-70. 2 Ki.10.10. De.12.10-12. He.10.23. Tit.1.2.
57 Theg LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us;
g De.31.6,8. Jos.1.5. 1 Ch.28.20. 2 Ch.32.7,8. Is.41.10; 46.3,4. Ro.8.31. He.13.5.
58 That he may hincline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, iwhich he commanded our fathers.
59 And let these my words,8 wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, kbe nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require;9
8 This and the following verse are a kind of supplement to the prayer which ended at ver. 53, but there is an important addition to this prayer in the parallel place, 2 Ch.6.41,42, 'Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting-place, thou and the ark of thy strength,' &c.—I.
k Mal.3.16. Ps.65.2?; 18.6; 102.1,2; 116.2?; 118.5; 130.2; 141.2. He.7.25.
9 Heb. the thing of a day in his day.
60 That lall the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.1
l ver.43. De.4.35,39. Ps.67.2. Is.45.22; 44.6,8,23.
1 There is no real exhibition of the nature and character of God except what is revealed in the Bible. And as God deals with nations and churches, he is made known chiefly in the Scripture history of the Jews, supplemented by his providence towards the New Testament church, as recorded in the Evangelists, Acts, and Epistles, and prophetically shadowed out in the Apocalypse.—C.
61 Let your heart therefore be mperfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.
63 And Solomon offered a osacrifice of peace-offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.2
o Le.iii. 1 Ch.29.21. 2 Ch.15.11; 29.32; 30.24; 35.7-9. Ezr.6.16,17. Mi.6.7.
2 This is generally supposed to be the whole amount offered during the fourteen days of this great solemnity, rather than the offering of a single day. But the phrase 'the same day,' ver. 64, seems to attribute the whole to one day—a meaning corroborated by the word 'sacrifice,' not 'sacrifices,' ver.63.—Note, May it not be the emblem of the wondrous, the almost incredible sacrifice of the 'one offering,' whereby Christ has perfected for ever them that are sanctified? He.10.14.—C.
64 Thep same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt-offerings, and meat-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings; because qthe brazen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt-offerings, and meat-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings.
65 And at that time Solomon rheld a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, sfrom the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.
66 On tthe eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed3 the king, and went unto their tents4 joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.
t 2 Ch.7.10. Le.23.34. 1 Ch.15.26. ch.1.47; 3.6.
3 Or, thanked.
4 Whereby the nomadic and still unsettled condition of the people appears.—Note, Let all believers remember, whatever be their attainments, that still 'here they have no continuing city;' but let them be 'joyful in their hearts for the goodness of the Lord.'—C.
Notes
[Ver. 53. It will be useful in carefully reading and studying this prayer to compare the two reports of it—that given here, and that given in 2 Ch. 6. 1-39. Christian nations and the Christian church ought to learn from it important lessons:—1. That afflictions, whether national, social, or individual, are often sent as chastisements for sins, and it is the duty of those afflicted to repent and turn to God. 2. That afflictions are sometimes sent, not so much as chastisements, as to arouse the careless, and to stir up Christians to more zeal. 3. That under every trial it is the duty of nations, churches, and individuals to resort to prayer and humiliation. 4. That we have reason to feel confident that God, in answer to earnest faithful prayer, will turn away his wrath and bestow blessings. P.]
Ver. 60. [There is a depth of meaning in this 60th verse which is apt to be overlooked by the reader. Heathen nations believed in a multitude of local deities. They supposed that each country and city had its own tutelary god, who watched over its interests and protected its people. They were therefore most careful in ancient times, when removing from one country to another, to worship the deity peculiar to each country. There is unfortunately a relic of this superstition in Christian lands. Tutelary saints have taken the place of tutelary gods. The petition of Solomon had special reference to this form of idolatry. He prayed 'that all the nations of the earth may know that Jehovah he is God, and that there is none other.' P.]
Reflections.—When religion prospers it is the subject of general joy to God's people: and when kings become nursing fathers to the church, courtiers will pretend much zeal for her interests. But it is pleasant to observe all ranks concur in the solemn worship of God. He rejoices to meet them who work righteousness, and remember him in all their ways, and to take up his abode with them. Though clouds and darkness be round about him, justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne, and mercy and truth go before his face. When God is present, and his Spirit poured out, with what liveliness do men observe the fulfilment of God's promises, and pour forth their prayers to him. The fervent petitions which are then presented to God, in the name of Christ our true temple, are always effectual, and available to nations, families, and individuals. What pardon—what healing—what purification—what victory—what deliverance, may they obtain! The grateful sense of God's special favours thus enjoyed, the influences of his presence and grace, and the faith of his Son's mediation, most powerfully determine and constrain to a holy obedience to his laws. Such real and lively religion would make our meetings and partings on earth pleasant and happy. But how much more so shall our gathering to Jesus be, never to part, but to feast eternally on him as our great atonement, our only peace-offering, and our all and in all.