Praying for the Temple (Pt 1) (1 Kings 8.15–16)

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David, saying, ‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any of the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.’

Background

This prayer is part of an important ceremony and event in the history of Israel—the dedication ceremony for the first Temple built for God. It comes near the beginning of the ceremony and is followed by the central part of the dedication: a long and profound prayer by Solomon.

After King Hiram’s blessing in the last prayer passage, the writer describes the planning and construction of the Temple. There are many details, from the workforce, to the layout, materials, and furnishings. It took seven years to finish.

In the midst of all that detail is an interlude about the building of a palace for Solomon, which took thirteen more years. The palace was much larger than the Temple, but the writer emphasizes the Temple’s importance by devoting more time to the descriptions and placing the shorter story about the palace in the middle. Perhaps the writer is saying to the readers, “don’t be fooled by the overwhelming size of the Palace—the purpose and meaning of the Temple dwarfs that of the Palace.”

The Temple’s furnishings are elaborate: gold, marble, and expensive carpets. It is where the priests will offer sacrifices—and prayers—to God. When the Temple was completed, Solomon calls for a dedication ceremony, and the chapter is almost all prayers.

Meaning

As we have seen in our study of prayer, critical moments are often marked by long or multiple prayers. The entire story has seven sections, with A-B-C-D-C-B-A order:

A. The people gather and the ceremony begins (1-2)

B. The ark is placed, sacrifices are offered (3-13)

C. Solomon speaks to the people (14-21)

D. Solomon’s prayer of dedication (22-53)

C. Solomon speaks to the people (54-61)

B. Sacrifices are offered (62-64)

A. The ceremony concludes, and the people are dismissed (65-66).

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