1 Kings 8

1 Then King Solomon summoned all the leaders of the tribes and clans of Israel to come to him in Jerusalem in order to take the Lord's Covenant Box from Zion, David's City, to the Temple. ¹

2 They all assembled during the Festival of Shelters in the seventh month, in the month of Ethanim. ²

3 When all the leaders had gathered, the priests lifted the Covenant Box

4 and carried it to the Temple. The Levites and the priests also moved the Tent of the Lord's presence and all its equipment to the Temple.

5 King Solomon and all the people of Israel assembled in front of the Covenant Box and sacrificed a large number of sheep and cattle - too many to count.

6 Then the priests carried the Covenant Box into the Temple and put it in the Most Holy Place, beneath the winged creatures.

7 Their outstretched wings covered the box and the poles it was carried by.

8 The ends of the poles could be seen by anyone standing directly in front of the Most Holy Place, but from nowhere else. (The poles are still there today.)

9 There was nothing inside the Covenant Box except the two stone tablets which Moses had placed there at Mount Sinai, when the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel as they were coming from Egypt. ³

10 As the priests were leaving the Temple, it was suddenly filled with a cloud ⁴

11 shining with the dazzling light of the Lord's presence, and they could not go back in to perform their duties.

12 Then Solomon prayed: ⁵ "You, Lord, have placed the sun in the sky, yet you have chosen to live in clouds and darkness.

13 Now I have built a majestic temple for you, a place for you to live in forever."

14 As the people stood there, King Solomon turned to face them, and he asked God's blessing on them.

15 He said, "Praise the Lord God of Israel! He has kept the promise he made to my father David, when he told him,

16 "From the time I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen any city in all the land of Israel in which a temple should be built where I would be worshiped. But I chose you, David, to rule my people.' " ⁶

17 And Solomon continued, "My father David planned to build a temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel, ⁷

18 but the Lord said to him, "You were right in wanting to build a temple for me,

19 but you will never build it. It is your son, your own son, who will build my temple.' ⁸

20 "And now the Lord has kept his promise. I have succeeded my father as king of Israel, and I have built the Temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel.

21 I have also provided a place in the Temple for the Covenant Box containing the stone tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt."

22 Then in the presence of the people Solomon went and stood in front of the altar, where he raised his arms

23 and prayed, "Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You keep your covenant with your people and show them your love when they live in wholehearted obedience to you.

24 You have kept the promise you made to my father David; today every word has been fulfilled.

25 And now, Lord God of Israel, I pray that you will also keep the other promise you made to my father when you told him that there would always be one of his descendants ruling as king of Israel, provided they obeyed you as carefully as he did. ⁹

26 So now, O God of Israel, let everything come true that you promised to my father David, your servant.

27 "But can you, O God, really live on earth? Not even all of heaven is large enough to hold you, so how can this Temple that I have built be large enough? ¹⁰

28 Lord my God, I am your servant. Listen to my prayer, and grant the requests I make to you today.

29 Watch over this Temple day and night, this place where you have chosen to be worshiped. Hear me when I face this Temple and pray. ¹¹

30 Hear my prayers and the prayers of your people when they face this place and pray. In your home in heaven hear us and forgive us.

31 "When a person is accused of wronging another and is brought to your altar in this Temple to take an oath that he is innocent,

32 O Lord, listen in heaven and judge your servants. Punish the guilty one as he deserves, and acquit the one who is innocent.

33 "When your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and then when they turn to you and come to this Temple, humbly praying to you for forgiveness,

34 listen to them in heaven. Forgive the sins of your people and bring them back to the land which you gave to their ancestors.

35 "When you hold back the rain because your people have sinned against you, and then when they repent and face this Temple, humbly praying to you,

36 listen to them in heaven. Forgive the sins of the king and of the people of Israel, and teach them to do what is right. Then, O Lord, send rain on this land of yours, which you gave to your people as a permanent possession.

37 "When there is famine in the land or an epidemic or the crops are destroyed by scorching winds or swarms of locusts, or when your people are attacked by their enemies, or when there is disease or sickness among them,

38 listen to their prayers. If any of your people Israel, out of heartfelt sorrow, stretch out their hands in prayer toward this Temple,

39 hear their prayer. Listen to them in your home in heaven, forgive them, and help them. You alone know the thoughts of the human heart. Deal with each person as he deserves,

40 so that your people may obey you all the time they live in the land which you gave to our ancestors.

41 "When a foreigner who lives in a distant land hears of your fame and of the great things you have done for your people and comes to worship you and to pray at this Temple,

43 listen to his prayer. In heaven, where you live, hear him and do what he asks you to do, so that all the peoples of the world may know you and obey you, as your people Israel do. Then they will know that this Temple I have built is the place where you are to be worshiped.

44 "When you command your people to go into battle against their enemies and they pray to you, wherever they are, facing this city which you have chosen and this Temple which I have built for you,

45 listen to their prayers. Hear them in heaven and give them victory.

46 "When your people sin against you - and there is no one who does not sin - and in your anger you let their enemies defeat them and take them as prisoners to some other land, even if that land is far away,

47 listen to your people's prayers. If there in that land they repent and pray to you, confessing how sinful and wicked they have been, hear their prayers, O Lord.

48 If in that land they truly and sincerely repent and pray to you as they face toward this land which you gave to our ancestors, this city which you have chosen, and this Temple which I have built for you,

49 then listen to their prayers. In your home in heaven hear them and be merciful to them.

50 Forgive all their sins and their rebellion against you, and make their enemies treat them with kindness.

51 They are your own people, whom you brought out of Egypt, that blazing furnace.

52 "Sovereign Lord, may you always look with favor on your people Israel and their king, and hear their prayer whenever they call to you for help.

53 You chose them from all the peoples to be your own people, as you told them through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt."

54 After Solomon had finished praying to the Lord, he stood up in front of the altar, where he had been kneeling with uplifted hands.

55 In a loud voice he asked God's blessings on all the people assembled there. He said,

56 "Praise the Lord who has given his people peace, as he promised he would. He has kept all the generous promises he made through his servant Moses. ¹²

57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us;

58 may he make us obedient to him, so that we will always live as he wants us to live, keeping all the laws and commands he gave our ancestors.

59 May the Lord our God remember at all times this prayer and these petitions I have made to him. May he always be merciful to the people of Israel and to their king, according to their daily needs.

60 And so all the nations of the world will know that the Lord alone is God - there is no other.

61 May you, his people, always be faithful to the Lord our God, obeying all his laws and commands as you do today."

62 Then King Solomon and all the people there offered sacrifices to the Lord.

63 He sacrificed 22,000 head of cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings. And so the king and all the people dedicated the Temple.

64 That same day he also consecrated the central part of the courtyard, the area in front of the Temple, and then he offered there the sacrifices burned whole, the grain offerings, and the fat of the animals for the fellowship offerings. He did this because the bronze altar was too small for all these offerings.

65 There at the Temple, Solomon and all the people of Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters for seven days. There was a huge crowd of people from as far away as Hamath Pass in the north and the Egyptian border in the south.

66 On the eighth day Solomon sent the people home. They all praised him and went home happy because of all the blessings that the Lord had given his servant David and his people Israel.

1 Kings 8 Commentary

Chapter 8

The dedication of the temple. (1-11) The occasion. (12-21) Solomon's prayer. (22-53) His blessing and exhortation. (54-61) Solomon's peace-offerings. (62-66)

Verses 1-11 The bringing in the ark, is the end which must crown the work: this was done with great solemnity. The ark was fixed in the place appointed for its rest in the inner part of the house, whence they expected God to speak to them, even in the most holy place. The staves of the ark were drawn out, so as to direct the high priest to the mercy-seat over the ark, when he went in, once a year, to sprinkle the blood there; so that they continued of use, though there was no longer occasion to carry it by them. The glory of God appearing in a cloud may signify, 1. The darkness of that dispensation, in comparison with the light of the gospel, by which, with open face, we behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord. 2. The darkness of our present state, in comparison with the sight of God, which will be the happiness of heaven, where the Divine glory is unveiled.

Verses 12-21 Solomon encouraged the priests, who were much astonished at the dark cloud. The dark dispensations of Providence should quicken us in fleeing for refuge to the hope of the gospel. Nothing can more reconcile us to them, than to consider what God has said, and to compare his word and works together. Whatever good we do, we must look on it as the performance of God's promise to us, not of our promises to him.

Verses 22-53 In this excellent prayer, Solomon does as we should do in every prayer; he gives glory to God. Fresh experiences of the truth of God's promises call for larger praises. He sues for grace and favour from God. The experiences we have of God's performing his promises, should encourage us to depend upon them, and to plead them with him; and those who expect further mercies, must be thankful for former mercies. God's promises must be the guide of our desires, and the ground of our hopes and expectations in prayer. The sacrifices, the incense, and the whole service of the temple, were all typical of the Redeemer's offices, oblation, and intercession. The temple, therefore, was continually to be remembered. Under one word, "forgive," Solomon expressed all that he could ask in behalf of his people. For, as all misery springs from sin, forgiveness of sin prepares the way for the removal of every evil, and the receiving of every good. Without it, no deliverance can prove a blessing. In addition to the teaching of the word of God, Solomon entreated the Lord himself to teach the people to profit by all, even by their chastisements. They shall know every man the plague of his own heart, what it is that pains him; and shall spread their hands in prayer toward this house; whether the trouble be of body or mind, they shall represent it before God. Inward burdens seem especially meant. Sin is the plague of our own hearts; our in-dwelling corruptions are our spiritual diseases: every true Israelite endeavours to know these, that he may mortify them, and watch against the risings of them. These drive him to his knees; lamenting these, he spreads forth his hands in prayer. After many particulars, Solomon concludes with the general request, that God would hearken to his praying people. No place, now, under the gospel, can add to the prayers made in or towards it. The substance is Christ; whatever we ask in his name, it shall be given us. In this manner the Israel of God is established and sanctified, the backslider is recovered and healed. In this manner the stranger is brought nigh, the mourner is comforted, the name of God is glorified. Sin is the cause of all our troubles; repentance and forgiveness lead to all human happiness.

Verses 54-61 Never was a congregation dismissed with what was more likely to affect them, and to abide with them. What Solomon asks for in this prayer, is still granted in the intercession of Christ, of which his supplication was a type. We shall receive grace sufficient, suitable, and seasonable, in every time of need. No human heart is of itself willing to obey the gospel call to repentance, faith, and newness of life, walking in all the commandments of the Lord, yet Solomon exhorts the people to be perfect. This is the scriptural method, it is our duty to obey the command of the law and the call of the gospel, seeing we have broken the law. When our hearts are inclined thereto, feeling our sinfulness and weakness, we pray for Divine assistance; thus are we made able to serve God through Jesus Christ.

Verses 62-66 Solomon offered a great sacrifice. He kept the feast of tabernacles, as it seems, after the feast of dedication. Thus should we go home, rejoicing, from holy ordinances, thankful for God's Goodness

Cross References

• 1. 8.1 2 S 6.12-16;1 Chronicles 15.25-29.
• 2. 8.2Leviticus 23.34.
• 3. 8.9Deuteronomy 10.5.
• 4. 8.10, 11Exodus 40.34, 35.
• 5. 8.12Psalms 18.11; 97.2.
• 6. 8.16 2 S 7.4-11;1 Chronicles 17.3-10.
• 7. 8.17, 18 2 S 7.1-3;1 Chronicles 17.1, 2.
• 8. 8.19 2 S 7.12, 13;1 Chronicles 17.11, 12.
• 9. 8.25 1 Kings 2.4.
• 10. 8.272 Chronicles 2.6.
• 11. 8.29Deuteronomy 12.11.
• 12. 8.56Deuteronomy 12.10;Joshua 21.44, 45.

Footnotes

• [a]. [One ancient translation] You . . . sky; [Hebrew does not have these words.]
• [b]. [One ancient translation] seven; [Hebrew] fourteen.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 8

This chapter gives an account of the introduction of the ark into the temple, 1Ki 8:1-9 of the glory of the Lord filling it, 1Ki 8:10,11 of a speech Solomon made to the people concerning the building of the temple, and how he came to be engaged in it, 1Ki 8:12-21, of a prayer of his he put up on this occasion, requesting, that what supplications soever were made at any time, or on any account, by Israelites or strangers, might be accepted by the Lord, 1Ki 8:22-53, and of his blessing the people of Israel at the close of it, with some useful exhortations, 1Ki 8:54-61, and of the great number of sacrifices offered up by him, and the feast he made for the people, upon which he dismissed them, 1Ki 8:62-66.