1 Re 8:30 Commento

The building and furniture of the temple were very glorious, but the dedication of it exceeds in glory as much as prayer and praise, the work of saints, exceed the casting of metal and the graving of stones, the work of the craftsman. The temple was designed for the keeping up of the correspondence between God and his people; and here we have an account of the solemnity of their first meeting there. I. The representatives of all Israel were called together (Kg1 8:1, Kg1 8:2), to keep a feast to the honour of God, for fourteen days (Kg1 8:65). II. The priests brought the ark into the most holy place, and fixed it there (Kg1 8:3-9). III. God took possession of it by a cloud (Kg1 8:10, Kg1 8:11). IV. Solomon, with thankful acknowledgments to God, informed the people touching the occasion of their meeting (Kg1 8:12-21). V. In a long prayer he recommended to God's gracious acceptance all the prayers that should be made in or towards this place (v. 22-53). VI. He dismissed the assembly with a blessing and an exhortation (Kg1 8:54-61). VII. He offered abundance of sacrifices, on which he and his people feasted, and so parted, with great satisfaction (Kg1 8:62-66). These were Israel's golden days, days of the Son of man in type.

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 8 This chapter gives an account of the introduction of the ark into the temple, Kg1 8:1 of the glory of the Lord filling it, Kg1 8:10 of a speech Solomon made to the people concerning the building of the temple, and how he came to be engaged in it, Kg1 8:12, of a prayer of his he put up on this occasion, requesting, that what supplications soever were made at any time, or on any account, by Israelites or strangers, might be accepted by the Lord, Kg1 8:22, and of his blessing the people of Israel at the close of it, with some useful exhortations, Kg1 8:54, and of the great number of sacrifices offered up by him, and the feast he made for the people, upon which he dismissed them, Kg1 8:62.

And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards this place,.... Not only he desires his prayers might be heard, but those of the people of Israel, then, and at all times in succeeding ages, whenever they should look towards the temple, and to him that was typified by it; to whose blood, righteousness, sacrifice and mediation, the acceptance of prayers with God is to be ascribed: and hear thou in heaven thy dwellingplace; for though he condescended to take up his residence in the temple, yet his more proper and more glorious dwelling was in heaven, and from whence, notwithstanding the distance of it, he could hear the prayers of his people, and does: and when thou hearest, forgive; manifest and apply pardoning grace and mercy on account of sins confessed, and repented of; or remove calamities and distresses on account of sin, which sometimes is meant, and frequently in this prayer, by the forgiveness of sin.

Solomon assembles the elders of Israel, and brings up the ark, and the holy vessels, and the tabernacle, out of the city of David, and places them in the temple; on which account a vast number of sheep and oxen are sacrificed, Kg1 8:1-8. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, Kg1 8:9. The cloud of God's glory fills the house, Kg1 8:10, Kg1 8:11. Solomon blesses the people, Kg1 8:12-21. His dedicatory prayer, vv. 22-53. Afterwards he blesses and exhorts the people, Kg1 8:54-61. They offer a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen, and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep, Kg1 8:62, Kg1 8:63. He hallows the middle of the court for offerings; as the brazen altar which was before the Lord was too little, Kg1 8:64. He holds the feast of the dedication for seven days; and for other seven days, the feast of tabernacles; and on the eighth day blesses the people, and sends them away joyful, Kg1 8:65, Kg1 8:66.

Toward this place - Both tabernacle and temple were types of our Lord Jesus, or of God manifested in the flesh; and he was and is the Mediator between God and man. All prayer, to be acceptable, and to be entitled to a hearing, must go to God through Him. The human nature of Christ is the temple in which dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; therefore with propriety all prayer must be offered to God through Him. "If they pray toward this place, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place; and when thou hearest, forgive." This appears to me to be the true sense and doctrine of this verse.

THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE. (Kg1 8:1-12) at the feast in the month Ethanim--The public and formal inauguration of this national place of worship did not take place till eleven months after the completion of the edifice. The delay, most probably, originated in Solomon's wish to choose the most fitting opportunity when there should be a general rendezvous of the people in Jerusalem (Kg1 8:2); and that was not till the next year. That was a jubilee year, and he resolved on commencing the solemn ceremonial a few days before the feast of tabernacles, which was the most appropriate of all seasons. That annual festival had been instituted in commemoration of the Israelites dwelling in booths during their stay in the wilderness, as well as of the tabernacle, which was then erected, in which God promised to meet and dwell with His people, sanctifying it with His glory. As the tabernacle was to be superseded by the temple, there was admirable propriety in choosing the feast of tabernacles as the period for dedicating the new place of worship, and praying that the same distinguished privileges might be continued to it in the manifestation of the divine presence and glory. At the time appointed for the inauguration, the king issued orders for all the heads and representatives of the nation to repair to Jerusalem and take part in the august procession [Kg1 8:1]. The lead was taken by the king and elders of the people, whose march must have been slow, as priests were stationed to offer an immense number of sacrifices at various points in the line of road through which the procession was to go. Then came the priests bearing the ark and the tabernacle--the old Mosaic tabernacle which was brought from Gibeon. Lastly, the Levites followed, carrying the vessels and ornaments belonging to the old, for lodgment in the new, house of the Lord. There was a slight deviation in this procedure from the order of march established in the wilderness (Num 3:31; Num 4:15); but the spirit of the arrangement was duly observed. The ark was deposited in the oracle; that is, the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim--not the Mosaic cherubim, which were firmly attached to the ark (Exo 37:7-8), but those made by Solomon, which were far larger and more expanded.