Bible Studies

Solomons Prayer at the Dedication of the Temple 1

by Mark A. Becker
09/18/26
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Solomon’s Prayer at the Dedication of the Temple 1

by Mark A. Becker

King Solomon’s Prayer at the Dedication of the Temple is recorded for us in 2 Chronicles 6:1-42 and 1 Kings 8:12-53. Though the majority of our study will be taken from 2 Chronicles 6, we will add in a few passages from 1 Kings 8 in an attempt to offer a more complete assessment of Solomon’s prayer. Our study will wind down with the Lord’s response to Solomon’s Prayer at the Dedication of the Temple and the Biblical and historical conclusion that perhaps even the best of creative writers could never conjure up.

If you enjoy the Scriptures as much as I do (and I hope you do!), then you should love this series that examines Solomon’s Prayer at the Dedication of the Temple!

All underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.

Prelude

King Solomon gathered Israel together for the dedication of the newly completed Temple in approximately 960-948 BC (depending upon the source) on the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the three feasts where the men were commanded to appear before the LORD in Jerusalem.

“Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose [Jerusalem]; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.” – Deuteronomy 16:16-17

“And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.” – 1 Kings 8:2

There was a wonderful procession of Priests coming out of the Holy Place in the Temple, after placing the Ark of the Covenant in her Most Holy Place, with musical worship from the Levites in honor of the Lord on that momentous day as the glory cloud of the Lord filled the House of God.

“And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)

“It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.” – 2 Chronicles 5:11-14

The phrase, “For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever,” is found in Psalm 106:1, 107:1, 118:1, and 136:1.

Though not mentioned in the text, presumably the Priests would have given the people of Israel in attendance at the dedication of the Temple their Priestly Blessing and Benediction - perhaps before and after the dedication of the Temple, King Solomon’s prayer, and subsequent celebration - as prescribed by God to Moses.

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,

“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

“And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” – Numbers 6:22-27

Before Solomon offers his supplications and petitions to God at the dedication of the Temple, the King addresses those in attendance, essentially offering a prelude to his forthcoming prayer.

“Then said Solomon, The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.” – 2 Chronicles 6:1

The Hebrew for “in the thick darkness” is בָּ / עֲרָפֶל “bāʿărāp̄el” from 6205 עֲרָפֶל “ʿărāp̄el” and means cloud, heavy cloud, dark cloud, darkness, gross darkness, thick darkness.

On Mount Sinai, “…Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.” – Exodus 20:21

Often in the Tanakh (Old Testament), God is spoken of as manifesting Himself in a cloud. For instance, when God dwelt in the cloudy pillar by day and the pillar of fire by night during Israel’s exodus from Egypt and their wilderness wanderings. God would also appear in the cloud upon the Mercy Seat of the Ark in the Mosaic Tabernacle.

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.” – Leviticus 16:2

We also see this theme played out often in the Psalms.

“He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.” – Psalm 18:11-12

Jesus Himself went into heaven in a cloud and will come back with the clouds.

“And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.” – Acts 1:9

“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” – Revelation 1:7

In our text of 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, after the Priests put the Ark in the Most Holy Place, “then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.”

King Solomon continues.

“But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.” – 2 Chronicles 6:2

It took seven years for King Solomon to build the Temple with the plans that his father, King David, entrusted to him. Amazingly, the Temple was built in relative silence.

“And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.” – 1 Kings 6:7

“And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.” – 2 Chronicles 6:3

King Solomon blessed those in attendance and all of Israel stood to their feet to hear the King speak at the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem.

“And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying, Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel: But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.” – 2 Chronicles 6:4-6

God, through Moses, had promised that He Himself would choose a place out of the tribes of Israel to “put His Name there.” Jerusalem was God’s choice from the beginning – as He knows all things – and Jerusalem would be that holy city where Israel would bring their sacrificial offerings to the Lord.

“But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.” – Deuteronomy 12:5-7

This site in Jerusalem, where the Temple was built, on one the mountains in the land of Moriah (Genesis 22:2, 2 Chronicles 3:1), was also the place that Abraham willingly offered his only beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice to God and near to where God’s Son would eventually sacrifice Himself for the sin of the World, as God Himself would provide the sacrifice of His one and only beloved Son instead of Abraham.

“And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering…” – Genesis 22:7-8

“The next day John [the Baptist] seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” – John 1:29

And God did personally choose David to be King over His people, Israel.

“And the Lord said unto Samuel… fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons…

“And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to.

“And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward…” – 1 Samuel 16:1, 11-13

And from this choosing of David by God, would God’s only begotten Son arrive as the Son of man, Savior of the world.

“And when he had removed him [King Saul], he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

“Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus…” – Acts 13:22-23

“Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. But the Lord said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart: Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.” – 2 Chronicles 6:7-9

King Solomon explains to the people of Israel that his father, King David, was the one who eagerly desired to prepare a place for God and the Ark of the Covenant, yet God had chosen King Solomon to actually build the house of God.

“… the king [David] said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.” - 2 Samuel 7:2

The Prophet Nathan told David to do all that was in his heart, but God would not allow David to build Him a house (Temple) because of the blood David shed in warfare. However, God commended David for having this desire in his heart, but David’s son would be the builder of the house of God. David testified that…

“… God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.

“Howbeit the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel: And of all my sons, (for the Lord hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.” – 1 Chronicles 28:3-5

“The Lord therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.” – 2 Chronicles 6:10

In 1 Chronicles 28, David continued…

“… And he [God] said unto me [David], Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day.” – 1 Chronicles 28:6-7

King Solomon, obviously knowing the promises of the Lord unto his father, King David, proclaimed God’s covenant that David’s son would build Him a house:

“Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon… He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.” – 1 Chronicles 22:9-10

Of course, the final fulfillment of this prophecy would be the greater Son of David, Messiah Yeshua, who would build an everlasting house in His Father’s house for His people, just as Jesus promised His disciples the night before His crucifixion!

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

“In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” – John 14:1-3

And the bride of Christ continues to watch and wait for her beloved Bridegroom to resurrect and rapture her until this day!

“And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, that he made with the children of Israel.” – 2 Chronicles 6:11

King Solomon took the Ark that David had transported to the City of David in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15) and put it in the Holy of Holies, or The Most Holy Place, in the Temple.

“The Covenant of the Lord,” of course, is the Torah as given to Moses during the Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, along with the Ten Commandments that were written by the finger of God and given to the children of Israel on Mount Sinai, that were kept in the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:16). Two other items were also to be kept in the Ark – a jar of Manna from heaven (Exodus 16:33-34, Hebrews 9:4) and Aaron’s rod that budded (Numbers 17:10) – but these two items seemed to have been lost in the centuries since Israel entered the Promised Land (1 Kings 8:9). Copies of the Torah, however, were constantly being rewritten by dedicated Scribes, so including a copy in the Ark was an easy task to be accomplished.

‘Setting the Stage’

King Solomon prepares His address to God on Israel’s behalf.

“And he [Solomon] stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands: For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven.” – 2 Chronicles 6:12-13

This would have been an awesome sight to behold as the mighty King Solomon of Israel – the wisest man who would ever live, apart from Messiah Jesus – “kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven.” The humility Solomon projected that day would certainly be pleasing to the Lord God who put Solomon on the throne of his father, David, and would have had a positive impact upon the Israelites who witnessed their King’s devotional reverence toward the holy God of Israel.

King Solomon’s Prayer at the Dedication of the Temple

King Solomon’s introduction and prayer at the dedication of the Temple included many declarations on the character of God, and rightly so, for the Lord God is more than worthy of our adoration, love, respect, and awe.

“And [Solomon] said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts: Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.” – 2 Chronicles 6:14-15

In the Song of Moses, the children of Israel proclaimed and sang the same theme of exaltation to the One true God:

“Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” – Exodus 15:11

In Moses’ farewell speech to Israel, he proclaimed to the chosen people of God,

“Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations…” – Deuteronomy 7:9

Known as the Shema, Israel’s maxim for the God of Israel was…

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” – Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Fascinatingly, and evidently hidden from the religious Jews of our day since their rejection of Messiah Yeshua, the passage reflects the triune nature of God – Lord, God, Lord!

In Revelation we see four beasts, or living creatures, that surround the throne of God giving Him continual and endless glory and honor, that also reveals the triune nature of the Godhead, by crying, “Holy, holy, holy.”

“And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” – Revelation 4:8

God’s Promises to David Concerning a King to Reign Over Israel

King Solomon continues to provide his audience more background on the promises the Lord God gave to his father, David.

“Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me. Now then, O Lord God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.” – 2 Chronicles 6:16-17

Though many of King David’s descendants would repeatedly rebel against the Lord, God’s promises will always be fulfilled. King David would indeed have a descendant that would “not fail [to have] a man in [God’s] sight to sit upon the throne of Israel” in perpetuity, in the God/man, the eternal Son of God, Messiah Yeshua.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” – Isaiah 9:6-7

God to Dwell in a Temple?

King Solomon then asks a very logical and probing question:

“But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!” – 2 Chronicles 6:18

God, through the prophet Isaiah, opined to just this question of Solomon’s and the Temple which Solomon had built and that everything in God’s creation is His, over two-hundred years later…

“Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” – Isaiah 66:1-2

Though “heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain [God]; how much less this house which [Solomon had] built,” yet God, in the Person of Messiah Yeshua, would “dwell with men on the earth” at His First Advent…

“And the Word [Jesus Christ] was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14

… He will again “dwell with men on the earth” at His Second Advent in His Messianic Millennial Kingdom…

“The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more… The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” – Zephaniah 3:15, 17

… and He will “dwell with men on the [new] earth” in the New Jerusalem, under new heavens, in the Eternal Kingdom…

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God…

“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it…

“And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” – Revelation 21:1-3, 22, 22:3-4

What a great day – “the day of God” – that will be!

However, as we saw at the outset and as we shall see once again, God’s glory would indeed dwell in the midst of Solomon’s Temple above the Mercy Seat in the Most Holy Place!

Petition for God to Hear the Prayer and Supplication of Solomon

King Solomon begins his heartfelt prayer and supplications at the dedication of the Temple.

“Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.” – 2 Chronicles 6:19-20

“My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” – Psalm 121:2-4

Believing Israelites, ever since this wonderful day in Jerusalem, have always offered their heartfelt prayers and supplication toward the Temple in Jerusalem.

“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.” – Daniel 6:10

And after Jerusalem and the Temple was finally destroyed in 70-135 AD by the Romans, for rejecting their prophesied Messiah, Jews everywhere still pray towards Jerusalem, even today.

For the Israelites in Israel and Jerusalem today, since Israel became a nation again in the Promise Land in 1948 and took back Jerusalem in 1967, they offer their prayers and supplications to God at the Wailing Wall/Western Wall at the base of the Temple mount.

God, however, desires His chosen people to be saved by His one and only beloved Son, Messiah Yeshua, whom they rejected almost 2,000 years ago. One day, all Israel shall be saved (Romans 11:26-27). Sadly, and tragically, that day is not today.

We will continue our study with Solomon’s Prayer at the Dedication of the Temple 2, that begins with King Solomon’s petition for God to hear the prayers and supplications of His people, Israel.

I would also like to invite my brothers and sisters to visit my brother and friend, Bronson Goss’ The Prophetic Times Podcast, at Prophetic Times | Bronson Goss. I pray you will be as blessed as I have been!

May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”

Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!

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