"Teacher,which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." --Matthew 22: 35-40One of the greatest sermons delivered in the Old Testament is found in 1 Kings chapter 8. Solomon has completed his work on the Temple, a permanent House of God, where men could go and meet Him face to face. Solomon called all the people together for a dedication service, and this is what he said:
O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below--you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it--as it is today.Wow! What a prayer for God's people. All those who heard Solomon's words could hear his heart, how he loved the people, and how he yearned for them to follow God's ways. But he knew our failures; he could predict our falling short even before it happened.
Now Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you have made to him when you said, "You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me as you have done." And now, O God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true.
But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple that I have built! Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, "My Name shall be there," so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple, then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare to the innocent not guilty, and so establish his innocence.
When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and confess your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their fathers.
When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.
When famine or plague comes to this land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, and when a prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel--each one aware of the afflictions of his own heart, and spreading out his hands toward this temple--then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men), so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers.
As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name--for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm--when he comes and prays toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.
When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.
When they sin against you--for there is no one who does not sin--and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their conquerors and say, "we have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly"; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy; for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.
May your eyes be open to your servant's plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you. For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance, just as you declared through your servant Moses when you, O Sovereign Lord, brought our fathers out of Egypt.
In the first paragraphs of this sermon, we hear of the attributes of God--He keeps His promises; He has made a covenant with us, a promise or contract, that He will not break; this covenant of His is not to keep us enslaved to Him, but rather it is "a covenant of love" (verse 23); and most importantly, if we, as the weaker partner, fail to keep up our end of the bargain, the covenant may be suspended, but it will not be revoked: over and over again, Solomon predicts that man will fall short, but his prayer is that God will restore the covenant as soon as our hearts are made right with Him.
- When we commit a wrong against our neighbor (verse 31). Wise Solomon knew that a man's interest would sometimes clash with the interest of another man. Even if we try to do the right thing, someone might get hurt. But if we allow God to be our judge, He will show us a better way.
- When we are defeated by the enemy (verse 33). In his own mind, Solomon was probably thinking in military terms: he knew that their nation had enemies, and that at some point in time their enemies might be stronger than their nation. This is not slighting God--even God's people would be defeated by other peoples; but God will never be defeated by other people's gods. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." God knows we will fall into sin; yet He stands ready to forgive and rescue us from spiritual bondage, if only we will "turn back to You and confess Your Name, praying and making supplication to You." (I Kings 8:33).
- When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain (verse 35). Again, Solomon was probably thinking of periods of drought, that naturally occur over time. At those times, the people could pray to God for rain, and if they brought their umbrellas (believing with all their hearts and minds that God would answer their prayers and send rain), then God would respond. But the spiritual application is no less true: when we, as travelers in a foreign land, experience spiritual drought; when it seems like the blessings of God have been turned off from the source; or when through our own choices we find ourselves far from God and outside of His protection--these are the times when we should pray with all our hearts and minds and souls, so that our thirst for Him is quenched, and our need for blessing is met. Just as we will die without water, our spirits crave fellowship with His Holy Spirit. Whether the famine is sent by God as a test, or if it is self-inflicted, the solution is the same: call out to God, openly and honestly, without reservation.
- Whatever disaster or disease may come (verse 37). Solomon gets very specific here: he says in verse 38 that each of us is aware of the affliction of our own heart. What gets you down may not affect me; what knocks me to my knees may just brush past you. But in every case, the solution is the same. In our humbled state, we can only lift our hands to the Father. And our Father, who knows the hearts of all men (verse 39) will respond rightly. He knows whether we are sincere in our repentance. He knows when we are sorry only that we got caught, or when it is all for show, or if we are only getting caught up in the moment. Yes, we are only human; but God will always keep his covenant with us, because He loves us.
- When the foreigner has come from a distant land (verse 41). Praise God, the covenant is not just available to the Jews, but through Jesus is offered to all men. We are all offered to be a participant in the covenant blessing. If we choose not to participate, He will not force us, but will instead allow us to live in an eternity without Him. But if we do choose to participate in His covenant, we are covered by the Blood of the Lamb, that takes away the sin of the world.
- When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them (verse 44). Solomon was probably thinking in military terms. Some of you may have friends or family members in the military, or some of you may have even felt the call to service to your country. Take heart in this verse. For the rest of us, whatever enemy we face, whatever task we are sent to do, we have the grace by God's power to overcome.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those whom God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all--how will He not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who can bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:29-35, 37-39).
- When they sin against you, for there is no one who does not sin (verse 46). Romans 3:23 re-states this truth: "For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." But Romans 6:23 gives the solution: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Solomon intercedes for the people in his prayer of supplication. I Kings 8:47 says "if they have a change of heart...and repent and plead with you...and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly' ": verse 48 says, "if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul...and pray to you"; verses 49 and 50 say, "then from heaven, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you...show them mercy." This, then, is the solution for our sin. Sin separates us from God, but God provides a path to mercy and forgiveness.
- May your eyes be open...and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you (verse 52). Here is the best part--no matter how far away from God we find ourselves, He sees us; no matter how isolated we feel, He hears us. All we have to do is call on Him in faith.
Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us or forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees, and regulations he gave our fathers. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. But your hearts must be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time. (I Kings 8:56-61).Amen.
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