In our last visit we reviewed what Solomon prayed in his dedicatory prayer after building a temple for God. It’s found in 2 Chronicles 6:14-42. Now let’s try to understand what he meant in his prayer. This is the second point in doing an inductive study of a portion of the Bible.
As the prayer is introduced it says that Solomon built a platform and then stood on it in the center of the outer court of the temple. Then he “knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.” This symbolically indicated he was humbling himself before God and his people. That posture captures the essence of his prayer.
He made it clear that the God for whom he built this temple was far greater and glorious than what this magnificent temple could contain. The best he could produce was less than appropriate, but he pled for God to mercifully accept it and come to dwell in it.
The key to his request was the conviction that God was a covenant keeping God. When He makes a promise He keeps it. And when that promise is based on a covenant of love there are further grounds for believing He will keep His promise. But there is a conditional element to this covenantal promise. Listen to verse 14, “You who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.”
Understanding this, Solomon bases his plea on the relationship his father David had with God and the promise God gave to David. Reflect on that, and join us in our next visit as we study further what Solomon meant in this prayer of dedication.
