SUMMARY
Solomon’s dedication of the newly constructed Temple centers upon his long dedicatory prayer (vv. 22-53) flanked by his blessing of the people (vv. 14-21, 54-61). It is introduced by the procession of the Ark (vv. 1-11) and concludes with a great celebration (vv. 62-66).
ANALYSIS
The procession of the Ark from private house, to tent built by David, to Solomon’s TempleThe Jerusalem temple, unlike the tabernacle, was a permanent structure, although (like the tabernacle) it was a place of worship and religious activity. On one occasion Jesus felt such activity was unacceptable and, as reported in all four Gospels, drove from the temple those engaged... brings this theme to its conclusion.
The prayer itself is thoroughly Deuteronomistic and brims with the theological points stressed in that tradition. It falls into two main parts: praise of God for loyalty to David (vv. 23-26) and petitions modeling the possibilities for prayer directed toward the Temple. In praising God’s loyalty to his father, David, Solomon asks that God would fulfill the promise of a Davidic dynasty (2 Samuel 7:11b-16). The seven petitions may indicate completeness and they certainly are comprehensive: judicial disputes, defeat, drought, natural disaster, “foreign” prayer, battle, and exile. The first four tend to matters inside Israel (1 Kings 8:31-40); the last three focus on matters outside Israel (vv. 41-50). It is striking that in each instance Solomon asks that God would “hear in heaven” and then respond in appropriate ways.
The theme of hearing in or from “heaven” (vv. 32, 34, 36, 39, 43, 45, 49) lifts up the important idea that Solomon never asks God to hear from the “Temple,” supposedly God’s “house.” God cannot be contained in a “house.” The divine transcendence is maintained without compromising the proximity needed in the prayer. God’s “forgiveness” is also mentioned a number of times (vv. 30, 34, 36, 39, 50). But this forgiveness is always predicated upon one’s prayer, confession, or repentance, stressing that the Temple is a place of prayer at least as much as it is a place of sacrifice.
