628 THE KING'S BUSINESS Solomon Dedicates the Temple JULY 25, 1915. LESSON IV. 1 Kings 8 :22-30. (Commit ys. 23. 24.) G olden T ex t : “Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.”—Is. 56:7.
HOME READINGS. Mon., July 19—1 Kings 8:12-21. Tues., July 20—1 Kings 8 :22-30. Wed., July 21—2 .Chron. 7 :1-11. Thurs., July 22—2 Chron. 7:12-22.
F rl, July 23—1 Cor. 3 :16-23. Sat., July 24—Haggai 2:4-9. Sun., July 25—Psalm 122. EXPOSITION AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS.
v. 22. "And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and stretched forth his hands toward heaven." 'While the Temple was to'be a house of sacrifice, it was to be pre-eminently a house of prayer (cf. Matt. 21:13). And the prayer which Solomon offered at the dedication of the Temple is the longest prayer recorded in the Bible. The prayer itself makes no-mention of the Temple as being a house of sacrifice; of course, it takes that for granted, but the prayer itself is almost entirely about the Temple being a house of prayer, where prayers will be especially heard1 of God. Solomon himself, though neither a priest nor a prophet, offered the prayer, as the divinely appointed head of the nation. There can be no doubt that at this time he was a man of real piety. He had learned to pray well, but God Himself was the real author of the prayer; as He is of all truei prayer. ■It was an inspired prayer. All true prayer is in a sense inspired; because it is the Holy Spirit Who moves and guides us in all true prayer (Rom. 8:22, 27; Eph. 6:18; Jude 20). It is a great thing for the nation when their chief ruler can lead them wisely in prayer, and is ready to lead them in their prayer. The Bible presents Solomon to us in a great variety of aspects, but here it presents him to all as a man of prayer. In this he was a type of our Lord Jesus, David’s greater son, who is above all in His present ministry an inter cession (Heb. 7:25). In offering his prayer,
Solomon took his stand “before the altar of Jehovah” in acknowledgment of the fact that all answers to prayer must be on the ground of shed blopd (cf. Heb. 9:22; 10: 19, 20; Jno. 14:6). Solomon-stood at first as he prayed, but later he knelt down (v. 54 cf. 2 Chron. 6:13, ff.). This prayer of Solomon’s is recorded twice in the Bible (cf. 2 Chron. 6:13-42), though it is given more fully here- Spreading forth the.hands toward heaven was the common method of expressing desire going out toward God in definite supplication (cf. Ex. 9:29, 33; Ezra 9:5; 1 Tim. 2:8). v. 23. "And he said, LORD God of Is rael, 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.” Sol omon begins his prayer with adoration of Jehovah, and acknowledgment of the bless ings granted in the past. In all our ap proach to God in prayer we should .begin with worship and follow that with thanks giving already received. Before we ask God for new blessings, there should be defi nite praise and thanksgiving to Him for blessings already received (Phil. 4:6). Solo mon uses two deeply significant titles of God, “Jehovah” and “The God of Israel” (cf. Ex. 24:10; 1 Sam. 1:17; Ps. 41:13; Is. 41:17; 45:3). In making the statement, “There is no God like thee in heaven above, or on earth beneath,” there is no reason to suppose that Solomon at this time thought that Jehovah was only one god among many,
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