Lessons from Solomon’s Temple Dedication Prayer

I. 2 Chronicles 6

A. The background of the prayer: 1-13

1. God allowed Solomon to build a house of worship to Him
2. After the conquest God had not chosen a specific city or prince over his people
   • God later chose Jerusalem to be a special city for Himself.
   • 2 Samuel 5 records David’s ascension to the throne of Israel and his conquest of Jerusalem and establishing it as the royal city.
3. David wanted to build a house of worship
   • God did not permit him to do it but did allow his son, Solomon, to build the temple. (2 Sam 7)
   • God fulfilled His promises in establishing David’s throne and allowing Solomon to build the temple to house the ark containing the covenant with Israel.
4. Solomon built a square platform (about 8’x 8’ and 5’ high) for the dedication prayer.

B. The prayer: 14-42

1. Thanked God for keeping the promise to preserve David’s family rule: 14-17
   • God kept His covenant with His people and with David.
   • The promise to preserve both depended on Israel and the kings of David’s lineage keeping their part of the covenant by listening to God’s word and obeying it.
2. Praised God for listening from heaven to prayers made towards the temple: 18-21
   • Recognition that God does not dwell in human buildings.
   • Plea for God to hear prayers made towards the temple and forgive His people.
3. Examples of prayers for forgiveness towards the temple: 22-31
   • Man sins against his neighbor and has to make an oath before the temple: 22-23
   • Israel is defeated by an enemy and repents of their wickedness: 24-25

Sports teams often look at coaching, players, preparation, etc. to explain losses.

For God’s people to lose in battle, it would have nothing to do with the size of the army, the battle strategy, or the commanders. It would only be because they were unfaithful to God.

• The land suffers drought, famine, pestilence, or plague and the people repent of their sins that brought the punishment: 26-31

God would hear individual prayers and prayers of the nation.

Prayers made as one knew his own affliction and sorrow and God would know the petitioner’s heart and way of life in responding to the prayer.

1. Prayer of a foreigner who learns of God and wants to honor Him, 32-33.
2. Prayer of Israel before they went into battle, 34-35
3. Prayer of Israel when they are taken captive to a foreign land because of their sins, 36-39
   • When Israel went into captivity in Babylon they cried out because of their punishment.
   • After the 70 years of captivity promised by Jeremiah, Daniel prayed towards the ruins of the temple, asking God to forgive the nation and return them to the land (Daniel 9). God listened.
4. Ends with poetic request for God’s presence to dwell in the temple, His priests and people to honor God with great joy, and that God’s presence and love would be with the king.
   • Verses 41-42 are included in Psalm 132:8-10; the Psalm echoes Solomon’s prayer.
   • Psalm 132 was part of the Psalms of Ascents, a collection of Psalms Israel would sing on their way to worship at the temple on special feast days.

II. 2 Chronicles 7:11-22: God’s response to Solomon’s prayer

A. God would hear the king and Israel if they were faithful to the covenant.

B. God would punish their disobedience, even if it meant the destruction of the glorious temple.

C. Observers would know the destruction was for His people’s wickedness, not a limit of God’s power.

III. Modern lessons from Solomon’s temple dedication prayer

A. Buildings, and the heavens, cannot contain God but He can manifest His presence with His people. God’s presence can be in His church and individuals Christians

1. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17: Church is the temple of God
2. 1 Corinthians 6:17-20 – individual Christians are the temple of God

B. God’s power and glory is unlimited.

1. Solomon recognized the presence of God and His glory went beyond the small land of Judea.
2. He recognized God’s power over nature.
3. He also recognized God’s power to bring trials on His people to punish and test them.
4. Is our view of God too small so that we limit God?
   • Do our individual prayers reflect a limited view of what God can do?
   • Do our prayers and efforts fail to see how “foreigners” can see and glorify God?

C. God is worthy of our praise for His nature.

1. Sometimes we offer prayers with little praise and go straight into our own needs.
2. During the week, maybe the day, pray to God and do nothing but praise Him. No requests.
3. Spend time contemplating the might, power, eternal nature, love, and mercy of God.

D. God is faithful to His people

1. He will hear our sincere prayers for forgiveness, examining our hearts and actions.
2. He will hear our requests for what we need.
3. God expects us to keep our covenant we made with Him when we were baptized; the covenant we remember each week when we share the Lord’s Supper.

E. Modern application of God’s response to Solomon’s prayer

1. God will dwell with Christians and the church and hear their prayers if they remain faithful to Him.
2. God will punish us if we are unfaithful to Him and will withdraw His presence from us.
   • We see this in the letters to the churches of Revelation: remove the candlestick (their identity as God’s people) if they do not repent.
   • We see this application to individual Christians in Hebrews 10:26, 36-39.

IV. Let us make a covenant with God through baptism, remain faithful to that covenant, and pray without ceasing declaring His glory and appealing to Him to care for us and forgive our sins.