2 Chronicles 6:1-42
1 Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
2 But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.
3 And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.
4 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying,
5 Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel:
6 But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.
7 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
8 But the LORD said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:
9 Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.
10 The LORD therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
11 And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, that he made with the children of Israel.
12 And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:
13 For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long,a and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven,
14 And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:
15 Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
16 Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.
17 Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.
18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!
19 Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:
20 That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.
21 Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall makeb toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.
22 If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oathc be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;
23 Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.
24 And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;
25 Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.
26 When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;
27 Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.
28 If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the citiesd of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:
29 Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:
30 Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)
31 That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
32 Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;
33 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.
34 If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;
35 Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.e
36 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
37 Yet if they bethinkf themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;
38 If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:
39 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause,g and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.
40 Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
41 Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.
42 O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.
SOLOMON SPEAKS TO GOD AND TO THE PEOPLE
(vv.1-11)
Solomon began his inauguration address by first speaking to the Lord, reminding Him that He had said He would dwell in the dark cloud and that he (Solomon) had built this exalted house for the Lord to dwell in.
Then he turned to address the whole assembly of Israel, the people standing at attention. We are told he blessed them, but the way he did this was by saying, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His hands what He spoke with His mouth to my father David" (v.3). For if God is blessed, the people will be blessed also. The Lord had said that since the time He brought Israel out of Egypt, He had chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to have a house built suitable for the honour of His name. Nor had He chosen any man to be a suitable ruler for Israel until He gave David that honour (vv.5-6). Now finally God's choice of a city has been made clear. He had chosen Jerusalem, which name means "the foundation of peace," a truly appropriate place for God's dwelling, for the foundation of peace is righteousness. "The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever" (Isaiah 32:17). In fact, this verse looks forward to the millennium, when Christ the King "will reign in righteousness" (Isaiah 3:11), a wonderful contrast to all the kings who have ever reigned on earth.
In addressing the people, Solomon speaks of David being God's chosen king, therefore Christ is called "the Son of David." Yet it was in David's heart to himself build a house for the name of the Lord, and God did not allow him to, though God commended him that such a desire was in his heart (vv.7-8). But God promised David that his son would build the temple, and now God's Word was fulfilled in the completion of that great project. Solomon added also that he had put the ark in the temple, for it was the ark of God's covenant with Israel, the centre He had chosen.
SOLOMON'S PRAYER
(vv.12-42)
Solomon then stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly and spread out his hands. Verse 13 is a parenthesis, speaking of his having made a bronze platform five cubits square and three cubits high, the same size as the altar, where all the assembly could see him. He stood on this, then knelt down and spread out his hands toward heaven (v.13).
He began his prayer by giving God His place of great dignity and honour as the Lord God of Israel, greater than all others, and the One who keeps His covenant with those who keep His covenant also, walking before Him with all their heart (v.14). He shows too his appreciation of God's having kept His promise, no doubt in the fact of Solomon's being put on the throne and enabled to build the temple (v.15).
He prayed therefore that God would further keep His promise to David that he should not fail to have a man sit before God on the throne of Israel, but on condition that David's sons would walk in God's law (v, 16). In fact, this promise will be fully fulfilled in spite of many of David's sons failing to obey God's law. God overrules all the failure in such a way that the Son of David, the Lord Jesus, will take the throne of Israel in perfect righteousness, but this is still future.
Meanwhile, because Israel has not kept God's covenant, they (including David's posterity) are suffering great sorrow and obscurity, and will do so until they finally recognise Jesus as the true Son of David, the Messiah of Israel at the end of their Great Tribulation.
But Solomon asks a pertinent question, "Will God indeed dwell with men on earth?" (v.18). To do so would require an astounding act of grace, for the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain God. He is infinite, without limits, and omnipresent, present everywhere at all times. We cannot understand the greatness of His being. He cannot be confined anywhere, yet in a very real sense He dwelt in the temple, in the holiest of all, though in thick darkness. This is a paradox in which we may rejoice. Solomon implored God's attention and concern as regards his intercession for Israel, with God's eyes open toward the temple. He realised that when Israel prayed, they would have need of forgiveness, and he asks God to forgive.
In fact, each one of the detailed prayers that follow contemplates a condition of failure on the part of Israel, except for verses 32 to 35. In verse 22 the case of one sinning against another is seen and intercession made that God would hear prayer in this matter and judge according to truth (v.23). Verses 24 and 25 deal with prayer being made toward the temple when Israel's sin has caused them to suffer defeat by an enemy, asking that when they pray, God may bring them back to their land.
This was in measure fulfilled when God brought a large number of Judah back from Babylon after the 70 years of captivity. But the true fulfilment of this will be when all twelve tribes are gathered back by the power of the Lord Jesus at the end of the Great Tribulation, when their guilt will practically drive them in repentance to the Lord.
Verses 26-27 contemplate the case of Israel's sin causing God's judgment by withholding rain from the land. In the days of Ahab, Elijah prophesied drought like this, which lasted 3 ½ years (just the length of the future Great tribulation), though we do not read that Israel after this forsook their sin and sought the Lord. Thus, God's grace was even more considerate than Solomon asked. However, in verse 27, Solomon asked for Israel's restoration in order that God might teach them the good way in which they should walk, as well as sending rain on the land. The full accomplishment of this will not be until the introduction of the millennium, when Israel will have the character of being willing volunteers in the day of the Lord's power (Psalms 110:3), and the land will bear fruit abundantly.
Verses 28-31 consider a case of famine in the land, which might follow the withholding of rain, but might be accompanied by pestilence, blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers. This might occur, however, when enemies besieged them in their cities, when they had no access to food. Plagues and sickness could be very prevalent at such a time. If this would drive people in prayer and confession to God, then Solomon asks that God would hear from heaven and forgive Israel's sin, rendering to each individual such mercy as is appropriate, considering the state of each heart (v.30). The desired effect was that Israel would fear the Lord (v.31).
In verses 32 and 33 Solomon prays for any foreigner who had come to Israel from a far country because of his regard for God's great name. If such a person would come and pray in the temple (for the temple court was considered a part of the temple), Solomon asks that God would hear his prayer and answer it, that this might have some real effect on all the peoples of the earth in recognising the greatness of the God of Israel (v.33).
If God should send Israel to battle against their enemies and they would pray toward Jerusalem and the temple there, then Solomon asks that God would hear and answer their prayer, and maintain their cause (vv.34-35). Let us note that he does not pray for this if Israel went to battle without God's direction. We can expect God's blessing only in God's way.
In verses 36-39 Solomon speaks of an occasion when Israel sins against God (not "if they sin", "for there is no one who does not sin") and God's anger causes them to be delivered to the captivity of an enemy, whether near or far. He adds, "when" (not "if") they come to themselves in the land where they are carried captive, and repent and make supplication to God in the land of their captivity, saying "We have sinned, we have done wrong, and have committed wickedness." There is no shadow of doubt that Israel will do this eventually, though centuries have passed since they have been scattered through the world. The pride of man's natural heart is so great that he will stubbornly continue in rebellion against God even while going through the forms of religious observance. But the Great Tribulation will eventually break down their arrogant pride to make such a confession as is seen in verse 37.
It will be a work of God's grace in their hearts that moves all this, causing them to return to the Lord with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity (v.38). For this prayer of Solomon has in it the element of a prophecy. Even today the eyes of many Israelites are turned toward Jerusalem, though still in a state of coldness toward the Lord Jesus. But very soon a great change will take place, for the Great Tribulation is certainly not far off.
Solomon prays that God would hear from heaven, and He certainly will, in such a way that the remnant of Israel will be fully restored to their land permanently, with the full, free forgiveness of God (v.39).
The prayer draws to its close with an appeal to God for His kind attention to what is prayed (v.40), and Solomon's desire that the Lord God would, with the ark of His strength, find a true resting place, and that the priests, those who served in the temple, be clothed with salvation, and all the saints rejoice in God's goodness (v. 41).
Finally, and most importantly, he draws attention to the grace of God's Anointed. Christ alone is the Centre of blessing for mankind, God's anointed King. It is in Him that all the interests of believers are maintained, and all God's interests too. The finishing sentence is most precious also, "Remember the mercies of Your servant David." This refers to the resurrection of Christ (Acts 13:34), though Solomon did not realise this significance at the time he spoke.