Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
1 Kings 8:2. All the men of Israel assembled—in the month Ethanim— To celebrate the dedication of his new temple with greater magnificence, Solomon chose to defer it till the next year, which was the Jubilee, their ninth, according to Archbishop Usher, which opened the fourth millenary of the world: at which solemnity there used to be always a vast concourse of people from all parts of the kingdom. The ceremony began on the eighth day of the seventh month of the sacred year, which was the first of the civil year, answering to the latter end of our October, and lasted seven days; at the end of which began the feast of tabernacles. The ceremony opened with a pompous procession, in which the priests carried the ark from the tabernacle which David had erected for it, to the temple, and deposited it in the most holy place, between the two golden cherubims which Solomon had caused to be made by Hiram, to be a kind of covering to the ark. The king himself, accompanied by all his chief officers and the elders of Israel, marched before the ark: these were followed by a great number of priests and Levites, who sung some canticles proper to the occasion, and played upon various instruments. Next to the ark followed another number of singers and players, with other priests bearing the golden candlesticks, altar of incense, and other sacred utensils of the sanctuary, which had been brought from Gibeon, where they and the tabernacle had been deposited till that time. While the priests were placing the ark in the Holy of Holies, the air rung with the sound of a hundred and twenty trumpets, and with the voices of the Levites, who sang the praises of God, repeating these words at proper stanzas: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;—and his mercy endureth for ever: it was then that God seemed to come down in a visible manner, to take possession, as it were, of his new temple, by filling it with a glorious cloud, as he had formerly done the tabernacle; insomuch that the priests could not stand to offer up the sacrifices which they had prepared upon that occasion. See Exodus 40:34. 2 Chronicles 5; 2 Chronicles 5 throughout, and Universal History.
And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.
And king 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.
And the 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.
For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.
There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, 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.
1 Kings 8:9. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, &c.— See Hebrews 9:4.
Note; Though our eyes behold not the lustre of the Jewish temple, yet whilst by faith we are enabled to look to Jesus, all our requests will be granted, and at last with open face, we shall behold his brighter glory.
And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.
Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in thick darkness.
I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.
And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)
And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,
Since 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 I chose David to be over my people Israel.
And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
And the LORD said 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.
Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.
And the LORD hath 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.
And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:
1 Kings 8:22. And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord— Raised above the people, on a brazen scaffold three cubits high, (see 2 Chronicles 6:13.) Solomon commanded the attention of the people, who stood in the court and in the galleries round about, and kneeling down, 1 Kings 8:54. He spread forth his hands towards heaven, and dedicated the sacred building to God, in a most elegant and devout prayer. The noble and animated break in the 27th verse is peculiarly excellent.
And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:
Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight 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.
And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
Yet have thou 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:
That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.
And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.
If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:
Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:
Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.
When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:
Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that 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.
If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;
What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:
Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)
1 Kings 8:39. Give to every man according to his ways— God is represented, in the sacred writings, both as the tutelary deity and the supreme magistrate of the Jews; in consequence of which, He governed them by an equal, or rather an extraordinary Providence. This extraordinary Providence is represented as administered, 1 over the state in general; 2 over private men in particular: and such a representation we should expect to find from the nature of the republic; because, as an extraordinary Providence over the state necessarily follows God's being their tutelary deity, so an extraordinary Providence to particulars follows as necessarily from his being their supreme magistrate. As to this Providence over the state, it would be absurd to quote particular texts, when the whole Bible is one continued history of it. In his dedication of the first temple, Solomon addresses his prayer to God, that the covenant between him and the people might remain firm and inviolate, and the old economy be still continued: and, after having enumerated divers parts of it, he proceeds in the manner described, 1 Kings 8:35-39. Solomon in this petition, which, with respect to the given covenant we might properly call a petition of rights, speaks the language of one who extended the temporal sanctions of the law to particulars and individuals; for he desires God, according to the terms of the covenant, to render to every man according to his ways. But when is it that he prays for the exertion of this extraordinary Providence to particulars?—At the very time when it is administering to the state in general: If there be in the land famine, &c. 1 Kings 8:37. The necessary consequence is, that as sure as Solomon believed an extra-ordinary Providence exercised to the state in general, so surely did he believe it exercised to individuals in particular. Divine Legation, vol. 4: p. 117, &c.
That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake;
(For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house;
Hear thou in heaven 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, 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.
1 Kings 8:43. Is called by thy name— That is, is thy house. See Explicat. des Textes Difficiles, p. 188.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, The priests and people appearing in consternation at the sight of the cloud, Solomon encourages them.
1. He reminds them, that this is the fulfilment of God's promise, Lev 16:6 and a gracious mark of his favour and approbation. The house now being built, the Divine inhabitant comes to take up his residence therein, and Solomon cannot but pray that it may be for ever. Note; (1.) If we enter, at any time, the dark cloud of affliction or temptation, let us not be dismayed, for there also God dwelleth. (2.) If we have found, at any time, God's comfortable presence, it cannot but excite us to pray, that he may take up his abode with us continually.
2. He pronounced a solemn benediction on the people, who reverently stood up to receive it.
3. He, with thankful acknowledgments to God, recites the design of his building this house. God had promised to choose the place of his abode, and David his father had planned the fabric; but God stayed him from proceeding, though he graciously accepted his intentions, and fixed on his son for the glorious work. Now then the promise is accomplished, the fixed abode for God's ark provided, and the structure for ever devoted to the service of their covenant God. Note; (1.) The fulfilment of God's precious promises more engage the tongues of the faithful, than their own unworthy performances. (2.) A good desire is not forgotten of God.
2nd, We have Solomon appearing in greater glory on his knees before the altar, than when seated on his ivory throne, and crowned with gold. Having comforted the people with his benediction, he lifts up his heart and hands to God in prayer, that this house, so gloriously opened, might be for ever distinguished by God's presence, grace, and merciful regard to those who should therein pour out their supplications.
1. Solomon himself began the service, and shewed the people the way to the throne of grace, where, on their behalf, he is intercessor for the settling a blessed intercourse between God and them. He did not think himself too great to bow before his Lord, nor was at a loss how to address him; but before the altar, as depending on the blood shed there for the success of his petitions, he spread abroad his hands to heaven, and bent the suppliant knee. Note; (1.) Let great men imitate so noble a pattern, nor think it unbecoming them to pray with their households; and if their hearts be right, as Solomon's with God, though they possess not his wisdom or gifts, they shall not want that spirit of prayer and supplication which will help their infirmities, and teach them how and what to pray for as they ought. (2.) Every prayer which would find acceptance with God, must be presented through the blood and intercession of Jesus. (3.) Fervency in prayer, whether in word or gesture, may provoke the censure of the careless or the lukewarm; but God will not despise the hands lifted up to heaven.
2. The prayer of Solomon.
[1.] He opens, with ascribing to God the glory due unto his name, acknowledges his transcendant greatness, and his faithfulness in his promises to those who walk before him in simplicity and truth. Note; (1.) To praise God for past mercies, is not only the tribute that we owe to him, but a comfortable encouragement to our own faith. (2.) They who desire to serve God from their hearts, will find his ear ever open to their prayers.
[2.] He supplicates for himself and people the fulfilment of God's promises, with admiration and astonishment at the condescension of God, who, though the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him, vouchsafes to visit this sinful earth, and to dwell with worms of the dust. He prays, that, according to the promise made to David, his seed might never fail, nor his throne be removed; that God would ever regard this temple, where he had so gloriously manifested his presence; and that his prayers, and the prayers of the people, there presented unto him, or offered with their faces turned thitherward, might ever meet an answer of peace. Note; (1.) The word of promise is the ground of prayer. (2.) God still condescends to dwell on earth, not indeed in temples made with hands, but in the more glorious temple of the believer's heart. (3.) Every accepted prayer must be through him whom the temple prefigured, even Jesus Christ: and, whilst the eye of faith is turned to him, we may be assured that God will hear and answer us. (4.) Forgiveness of sin is among the most invaluable blessings which the enlightened mind seeks from God.
3rdly, Having finished his prayer, Solomon arose from his knees, and dismissed the people with a gracious benediction: magnifying God for the rest and peace which they enjoyed, and the full accomplishment of all his promises; earnestly wishing that his blessing might be ever with them, as with their fathers; especially that his grace might incline their hearts to serve him, which could not fail to secure the continuance of his regard; and that a continued answer to his prayer might be vouchsafed to them; to the end, that all the earth might, from these instances of his power and love to his people, be brought to acknowledge the glory of Israel's God. And then he concludes with a solemn charge to them, to be faithful to the Lord, who would never fail them if they forsook not him. Note; (1.) We ought to praise God for the rest that we enjoy, spiritual or temporal; and especially for the eternal rest which the word of promise has secured to the faithful. (2.) God's presence with us is the greatest blessing that we can enjoy in this world, and the earnest of our inheritance in a better. (3.) When his rich grace sweetly influences and inclines our hearts, then, and only then, shall we be enabled to walk in the way of God's commandments. (4.) While Jesus our high-priest is our advocate, we cannot fail of the Divine benediction.
If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name:
Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
If they sin against thee, (for 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 captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;
Yet if they shall bethink 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;
And so return 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:
Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,
And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:
For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:
That thine 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.
For thou didst separate 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.
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 kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.
And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:
That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.
And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be 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:
That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.
Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.
And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD.
And Solomon offered a sacrifice 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.
1 Kings 8:63. Solomon offered—two and twenty thousand oxen, &c.— That is, he offered so many sacrifices during the whole space of time, the whole fourteen days; the seven days of the feast of dedication, and the seven days of the feast of tabernacles, spoken of in the next verse. See 2 Chronicles 7:8-9. This custom of dedicating temples was also common among the heathens. The Romans dedicated their temples, altars, public edifices, and the like. See Cicero's Orat. pro Domo sui, et Alex. ab Alex. lib. 7: cap. 14. It is probable, that the later heathens borrowed most of their rites from the law of Moses, but intermixing with them the most abominable practices.
The 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 the brasen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.
On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.
1 Kings 8:66. On the eighth day he sent the people away— In 2Ch 7:10 it is on the twenty-third day. Houbigant thinks, that what seems to have been omitted in this place, should be supplied from the parallel place in the Chronicles.
Note; (1.) When we return from God's ordinances, it becomes us to rejoice in the God of our salvation. (2.) A good king is the joy of his subjects. (3.) When we shall return to our eternal home, then shall our joy never end; and Jesus, our king, be the subject of our everlasting praises.
