3 things of note from the prayer of king Solomon (1 Kings 8)
The family has been reading through first and second Samuel over the summer and fall.
When we wrapped up second Samuel recently we continued the story in first Kings. Today we read through the dedication of the temple in 1 King 8 (Which I very proud of my kids for sitting through the construction of the temple in Jerusalem and palace of Solomon.
I remember being quite an angst filled little one when my family read through such lengthy, detailed passages growing up). A couple of things stood out to me as we read and interacted with the text.
1. King Solomon's prayer is really LONG.
Often times descriptions of prayers that include the word "long" in them are preceded by the word "too". Yet in 1 Kings 8 we're given an example of a really long prayer, recorded for time and history. It's length is notable. In 1 King 8:23-53 the count is as follows:
NIV 985 words
KJV 1,081 words
ESV 1,038 words
Quite a lengthy prayer! By comparison this prayer alone would be roughly the same or longer than the following books of the bible:
Jonah
Habakkuk
Haggai
Nahum
2 Thessalonians
Titus
Jude
Obadiah
Philemon
2 John
3 John
2. King Solomon's prayer is really STRUCTURED.
Solomon's prayer can be structured many ways, the following is an attempt to show the flow and nature of the subject matter that Solomon's prayers move through.
23-25 Address to the covenant keeping God of Israel.
26-29 Request for God to dwell among his people and hear his people in the temple.
30-32 Request for justice and judgement in the temple.
33-34 Request for mercy in defeat due to sin.
35-40 Request for provision and forgiveness in the midst of sin-caused drought, famine, and plague.
41-43 Request for gentiles (outsiders) to know the great name and fear the Lord God.
44-49 Request for God's people when they go to war 3.
3. King Solomon's prayer is really SPECIFIC.
Here are just some of the specific things Solomon puts before God in his prayer:
*God's faithfulness to his father David, and previous generations of ancient Israelites (24, 25, 51, dating back to the great liberating work of saving God's people from Egypt).
*God's unsurpassed glory in all creation (23, 27, 30).
*God's great forgiveness to sinners (30, 34, 36, 39, 50).
*God's great justice to the wronged (29, 32, 36, 41).
Look at the people Solomon prays for:
*Foreigners (41, 43).
*God's people (30, 33, 34, 36, 38).
Look at the events Solomon prays for:
*Famine (37)
*Pestilence (37)
*Mildew (37)
*Locust (37)
*Caterpillar (37)
*Enemy Armies (37)
*Defeat in battle (33)
*Drought (35)
*Battle (44)
*Exile (46-48)
*Every day sin (31)
I thank God for getting to read this passage today. Tonight, when I pray for dinner, I may be a little long, I may have a bit of structure, and I may get specific.
When we wrapped up second Samuel recently we continued the story in first Kings. Today we read through the dedication of the temple in 1 King 8 (Which I very proud of my kids for sitting through the construction of the temple in Jerusalem and palace of Solomon.
I remember being quite an angst filled little one when my family read through such lengthy, detailed passages growing up). A couple of things stood out to me as we read and interacted with the text.
1. King Solomon's prayer is really LONG.
Often times descriptions of prayers that include the word "long" in them are preceded by the word "too". Yet in 1 Kings 8 we're given an example of a really long prayer, recorded for time and history. It's length is notable. In 1 King 8:23-53 the count is as follows:
NIV 985 words
KJV 1,081 words
ESV 1,038 words
Quite a lengthy prayer! By comparison this prayer alone would be roughly the same or longer than the following books of the bible:
Jonah
Habakkuk
Haggai
Nahum
2 Thessalonians
Titus
Jude
Obadiah
Philemon
2 John
3 John
2. King Solomon's prayer is really STRUCTURED.
Solomon's prayer can be structured many ways, the following is an attempt to show the flow and nature of the subject matter that Solomon's prayers move through.
23-25 Address to the covenant keeping God of Israel.
26-29 Request for God to dwell among his people and hear his people in the temple.
30-32 Request for justice and judgement in the temple.
33-34 Request for mercy in defeat due to sin.
35-40 Request for provision and forgiveness in the midst of sin-caused drought, famine, and plague.
41-43 Request for gentiles (outsiders) to know the great name and fear the Lord God.
44-49 Request for God's people when they go to war 3.
3. King Solomon's prayer is really SPECIFIC.
Here are just some of the specific things Solomon puts before God in his prayer:
*God's faithfulness to his father David, and previous generations of ancient Israelites (24, 25, 51, dating back to the great liberating work of saving God's people from Egypt).
*God's unsurpassed glory in all creation (23, 27, 30).
*God's great forgiveness to sinners (30, 34, 36, 39, 50).
*God's great justice to the wronged (29, 32, 36, 41).
Look at the people Solomon prays for:
*Foreigners (41, 43).
*God's people (30, 33, 34, 36, 38).
Look at the events Solomon prays for:
*Famine (37)
*Pestilence (37)
*Mildew (37)
*Locust (37)
*Caterpillar (37)
*Enemy Armies (37)
*Defeat in battle (33)
*Drought (35)
*Battle (44)
*Exile (46-48)
*Every day sin (31)
I thank God for getting to read this passage today. Tonight, when I pray for dinner, I may be a little long, I may have a bit of structure, and I may get specific.
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