Sermon Notes

8 22-24 Before the entire congregation of Israel, Solomon took a position before the Altar, spread his hands out before heaven, and prayed, O God, God of Israel, there is no God like you in the skies above or on the earth below who unswervingly keeps covenant with his servants and relentlessly loves them as they sincerely live in obedience to your way. You kept your word to David my father, your personal word. You did exactly what you promised—every detail. The proof is before us today!... 37-39 When disasters strike, famine or catastrophe, crop failure or disease, locust or beetle, or when an enemy attacks their defenses—calamity of any sort—any prayer that’s prayed from anyone at all among your people Israel, hearts penetrated by the disaster, hands and arms thrown out to this Temple for help, Listen from your home in heaven. Forgive and go to work on us. Give what each deserves, for you know each life from the inside (you’re the only one with such “inside knowledge”!)… 46When they sin against you—and they certainly will; there’s no one without sin!—and in anger you turn them over to the enemy and they are taken captive to the enemy’s land, whether far or near…48-50 and turn back to you heart and soul in the land of the enemy who conquered them, and pray to you toward their homeland, the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you chose, and this Temple I have built to the honor of your Name, Listen from your home in heaven to their prayers desperate and devout and do what is best for them. Forgive your people who have sinned against you. (The Message)

In this week’s lesson, Solomon dedicates the temple and serves as the worship leader for the entire assembly of the unified kingdom of Israel. In many ways, his prayer is a concise summation of Deuteronomistic theology—which acknowledges the LORD, as Israel’s only God—and inextricably links ancient Israelite flourishing to their faithful observance of covenant relationship with YHWH. For the children of ancient Israel/Judah, the temple represented God’s place at the center of their individual and collective lives. Solomon’s dedication of the temple links corporate worship within the temple to how worshippers should live when they depart the temple. For contemporary Christians, this is a reminder that authentic worship must always be linked to a worshipper’s lived experience.

1 Kings and 2 Kings were originally one book that narrated the Israelite monarchy from the 10th century BCE with David’s son Solomon to the last legitimate Davidic king, Jehoiachin, who is exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. Kings reveals the grandeur of Solomon’s unified kingdom, its division into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, and their ultimate declines through the perspective of Deuteronomistic Theology. While Kings reads as history—providing data on the life, queen mothers, administrative reign, religious worship, and death of each Israelite and Judean king—it is not a history book. Kings is a theological evaluation of the kings of Israel/Judah and whether they faithfully adhered to the laws and statues as commanded by YHWH on Mount Sinai/Horeb. According to the Deuteronomistic Historian—the name biblical scholars have given to the writers/editors that produced the Deuteronomic History (Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings)—covenant fidelity to the LORD is Israel’s primary responsibility and duty.
Above all else, covenant loyalty meant worshipping YHWH through singular obedience to the LORD, offering temple sacrifices, and collective/personal adherence the statutes of God. If ancient Israel/Judah kept covenant faithfulness with the LORD, they would enjoy success and well-being. Further, YHWH’s presence would always be with Israel as represented by the Temple in Jerusalem that was completed in 959 BCE. However, if Israel broke covenant faith, they would experience curses and divine judgment. The ultimate judgement for failing to live a life dedicated to the LORD—deportation and exile to Assyria/Babylon—frames the entire Deuteronomic History and the book of Kings, providing the context for its composition during the Babylonian and Persian colonial periods.
According to one Hebrew Bible/Old Testament scholar, “the monarchy is responsible for Israel’s defection from and unfaithfulness to YHWH,” because their continued idolatry resulted in national catastrophe, namely the exile. Thus, the Deuteronomistic Historian weighs every narrative, every character, and every action of a king against the principals of Deuteronomic theology, which are faithfulness to the LORD, the abandonment of idolatry, and the centrality of the Jerusalem temple. Further, the primary goal of the Deuteronomic Historian is to ensure that later generations observe proper worship of the LORD. The primary connection between the LORD and the people is right worship—inside the temple and outside the temple—and fervent prayer. Like last week’s lesson text on Abram, in this week’s lesson as Solomon dedicates the temple, he sets the worship example for Worship in the Covenantal Community.
In 1 Kings 8:1-21, Solomon assembles all of the elders, clan leaders, the priests, the Levites, and the people in Jerusalem to formally dedicate the Temple during a festival that coincides with the Feast of Tabernacles. The priests and the Levites bring in all of the implements from the Tabernacle/Tent of Meeting, the entire congregation offers sacrifices, and Solomon offers a speech that reflects on the LORD’s covenant faithfulness to Israel. This is where the lesson text picks up.

22-24 Before the entire congregation of Israel, Solomon took a position before the Altar, spread his hands out before heaven, and prayed, O God, God of Israel, there is no God like you in the skies above or on the earth below who unswervingly keeps covenant with his servants and relentlessly loves them as they sincerely live in obedience to your way. You kept your word to David my father, your personal word. You did exactly what you promised—every detail. The proof is before us today!
In the opening verses of the lesson text after Solomon has installed the ark of the covenant in the temple, and offered introductory remarks concerning the temple dedication, he prays to the LORD. The Deuteronomic editor/redactor is careful to reveal that Solomon is praying before the altar to distinguish between the LORD being represented by the temple but not being contained within the temple, which is a distinction from other gods of the ancient near eastern pantheon. This portion of Solomon’s prayer provides insight to a number of DTR theological assertions:
1. First, Solomon’s words of praise and adoration about God’s unique particularity—"Oh God, God of Israel, there is no one like you.” This statement makes it clear that YHWH is the true king of the world, the one who sits above all other deities of the ancient near East. The LORD cannot be compared to any other gods because YHWH is above them all. Essentially, this temple dedication service is a service of YHWH’s enthronement as the king of the cosmos.
2. Second, Solomon’s reference to the LORD as the one, “who unswervingly keeps covenant”—gives voice to one of the Deuteronomic Historian’s main theological premises, that the God of Israel’s ancestors—the God of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rachel, Jacob and Leah—is the same God that they worship now. There has not been a break in faithfulness on the part of Israel’s God. YHWH is faithful to those who remain faithful to YHWH. (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 7:9.) Thus, YHWH will continue to bless ancient Israel/Judah as they remain faithful to him.
3. Third, Solomon’s invocation of God’s fulfilled promise to David in v. 24 solidifies his claim as the king of Israel, and underscores dynastic succession to the house of David. The act of Solomon completing the building of the temple reinforces his covenant faithfulness to the Lord. Further, Solomon’s keeping of the law (Torah), “to live in obedience to your way”—for the Deuteronomic Historian—is a reference to the blessing of an unbroken, enduring Davidic dynasty.
37-39 When disasters strike, famine or catastrophe, crop failure or disease, locust or beetle, or when an enemy attacks their defenses—calamity of any sort—any prayer that’s prayed from anyone at all among your people Israel, hearts penetrated by the disaster, hands and arms thrown out to this Temple for help, Listen from your home in heaven. Forgive and go to work on us. Give what each deserves, for you know each life from the inside (you’re the only one with such “inside knowledge”!)
In verses 37-39, Solomon’s prayer explores the numerous calamitous events that can, and will, affect the human race. Further, the enthroned presence of YHWH—as the king/suzerain who provides protection and blessing for his covenant people—is petitioned. Whether it be natural disaster, sickness, agricultural pestilence, or human-wrought war, Solomon prays that the LORD will listen to the prayers of the people, heeding their every call, forgiving their sins, and going to work on their behalf. It is of note that the DTR writer/editor offers seven situations of disaster in keeping with the ancient near Eastern idea that seven is the number of completeness. Further, Solomon also asks God to give to each person everything they deserve because the LORD alone knows the intimate “inside” motivations of every single life.
46 “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near… 48 if they repent with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and pray to you toward their land that you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, maintain their cause, 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of their captors, so that they may have compassion on them.
In the final verses of the lesson text, Solomon prays for the forgiveness of sins because sin is an inevitability due to human frailty. However, the particular sin that he lifts up is the inability to keep covenantal fidelity through right worship. It is the sin of apostacy, and the failure to properly worship YHWH, that resulted in the Judah being deported to exile in Babylon. In essence, Solomon’s prayer highlights how ancient Israelites gave their hearts and souls to everything other than YHWH. That’s why the DTR writer/editor says the people were taken captive, and why YHWH allowed them to be punished through exile; because they turned their back on the LORD.
While English translations obscure the alliterative word play in these verses, the Hebrew reveals the relationship between the idea of repent/return (shub), captivity (shubi) and the presence of God who is metaphorically enthroned (shubet) as sovereign inside Jerusalem Temple. According to the DTR writer/editor, when God is in the temple—whether physical or human—then proper worship on the part of God’s people is present. Thus, Solomon prays that the people will repent from their sins so God will hear in heaven, maintain their cause, and forgive the people’s sin.
For contemporary Christians, Solomon’s prayer is an exhortation to remember that when we pray, God is indeed listening and willing to forgive and act on our behalf, if we repent/turn from our sinful ways. Although Solomon’s prayer is a dedicatory prayer, it provides a model for every believer in that he links one’s worship life to one’s willingness to humbly ask for forgiveness. His prayer also anticipates God hearing, God forgiving, and God reversing the devastating crises that will disrupt our lives.

3) See Choon-Leong Seow, “The First and Second Books of Kings: Introduction, Commentary and Reflections” in The New Interpreter Bible Commentary Volume II (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015) p. 677.