1. Dedication of the Temple
2 Chronicles 5-7 (1 Kings 8-9)

2. 2 Chronicles 5
2 Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of tribes—the leaders of the ancestral families of Israel. They were to bring the Ark of YaHWeH’s Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. 3 So all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn.

3. “Which time he chose with common respect to his people’s convenience, because now they had gathered in all their fruits, and now they were come up to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of tabernacles.” (Poole) There may have also been another reason. “It has already been observed that Solomon deferred the dedication of the temple to the following year after it was finished, because that year, according to Archbishop Usher, was a jubilee.” (Adam Clarke)

4. Leviticus 25:8–12 (HCSB)
8 “You are to count seven sabbatical years, seven times seven years, so that the time period of the seven sabbatical years amounts to Then you are to sound a trumpet loudly in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month; you will sound it throughout your land on the Day of Atonement. 10 You are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom in the land for all its inhabitants.

5. 2 Chronicles 5
7 Then the priests carried the Ark of YaHWeH’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim…10 Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where YaHWeH made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left Egypt.

6. 2 Chronicles 5
13 The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to YaHWeH. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised YaHWeH with these words: “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!”

7. Psalm 136
1 Give thanks to YaHWeH, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever. 2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His faithful love endures forever. 3 Give thanks to YaHWeH of lords. His faithful love endures forever. 4 Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles. His faithful love endures forever.

8. 2 Chronicles 5
At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of YaHWeH. 14 The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of YaHWeH filled the Temple of God.

9. 2 Chronicles 6
1 Then Solomon prayed, “YaHWeH, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. 2 Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!”

10. 2 Chronicles 6
5 ‘From the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple should be built to honor My name. Nor have I chosen a king to lead my people Israel. 6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place for My name to be honored, and I have chosen David to be king over My people Israel.’”

11. 1 Samuel 8:4–7 (NIV84)
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel…”You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” 6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to YaHWeH. 7 And YaHWeH told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.

12. 2 Chronicles 6
12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of YaHWeH in front of the entire community of Israel, and he lifted his hands in prayer. 13 Now Solomon had made a bronze platform 7½ feet long, 7½ feet wide, and 4½ feet high and had placed it at the center of the Temple’s outer courtyard. He stood on the platform, and then he knelt in front of the entire community of Israel and lifted his hands toward heaven.

13. Ezra prayed on his knees (Ezra 9:5), the Psalmist called us to kneel (Psalm 95:6), Daniel prayed on his knees (Daniel 6:10), people came to Jesus kneeling (Matthew 17:14, Matthew 20:20, Mark 1:40), Stephen prayed on his knees (Acts 7:60), Peter prayed on his knees (Acts 9:40), Paul prayed on his knees (Acts 20:36, Ephesians 3:14), and other early Christians prayed on their knees (Acts 21:5). Most importantly, Jesus prayed on His knees (Luke 22:41). David Guzik
“The Bible has enough prayer not on the knees to show us it isn’t required, but it also has enough prayer on the knees to show us that it is good!”

14. 2 Chronicles 6
14 He prayed, “YaHWeH, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven and earth. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion. 15 You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father. You made that promise with Your own mouth, and with Your own hands You have fulfilled it today.

15. Psalm 118:1–9 (HCSB)
1 Give thanks to YaHWeH, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.”…21 I will give thanks to You because You have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone…27 The Lord is God and has given us light. Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar…29 Give thanks to YaHWeH, for He is good; For His faithful love endures forever.

16. “checed”
loving-kindness; steadfast love; grace; mercy; faithfulness; goodness; devotion.” Vines Dictionary
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
John 3:16–17 (HCSB)

17. 2 Chronicles 6
17 Now, YaHWeH, God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David. 18 “But will God really live on earth among people? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! Isaiah 66:1 NIV This is what YaHWeH says: "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for Me? Where will My resting place be?

18. Acts 17:24, NIV
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

19. We should not confuse the symbols of God’s presence with God Himself; God is not confined to any building or location. Even heaven and earth are “mere sticks of furniture” to God (Daily Study Bible Series).

20. 2 Chronicles 6
19 Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, YaHWeH my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to You. 20 May You watch over this Temple day and night, this place where You have said You would put your name. May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place.

21. Romans 8: NASB95
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

22. “One is struck, moreover, with the fact that the language is far from new, and is full of quotations from the Pentateuch, some of which are almost word for word, while the sense of the whole may be found in those memorable passages in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.” (Spurgeon)

23. 2 Chronicles 6
22 “If someone wrongs another person and is required to take an oath of innocence in front of your altar at this Temple, 23 then hear from heaven and judge between your servants—the accuser and the accused. Pay back the guilty as they deserve. Acquit the innocent because of their innocence.

24. 2 Chronicles 6
24 “If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn back and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and return them to this land you gave to them and to their ancestors.

25. 2 Chronicles 6
26 “If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this Temple and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them, 27 then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them to follow the right path, and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as their special possession.

26. 2 Chronicles 6
28 “If there is a famine in the land or a plague or crop disease or attacks of locusts or caterpillars…9 and if your people Israel pray about their troubles or sorrow, raising their hands toward this Temple, 30 then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart. 31 Then they will fear you and walk in your ways as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors.

27. Jeremiah 17:9–10 (NKJV)
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, YaHWeH, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

28. Psalm 53:1–3 (NKJV)
1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good. 2 God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. 3 Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.

30. 2 Chronicles 6
32 “In the future, foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel…when they pray toward this Temple, 33 then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what they ask of you. In this way, all the people of the earth will come to know and fear You, just as Your own people Israel do. They, too, will know that this Temple I have built honors Your name.

31. Isaiah 56:6–7 (NLT)
6 “I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to YaHWeH…who hold fast to My covenant. 7 I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.

32. 2 Chronicles 6
34 “If your people go out where you send them to fight their enemies, and if they pray to you by turning toward this city you have chosen and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name, 35 then hear their prayers from heaven and uphold their cause.

33. 2 Chronicles 6
36 “If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to a foreign land far away or near. 37 But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, ‘We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.’

34. Romans 3:21–24 (NLT)
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

35. Romans 3:23-24
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins.

36. 2 Chronicles 6
38 If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their captivity and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors—toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name—39 then hear their prayers and their petitions from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause. Forgive your people who have sinned against you.

37. Jeremiah 29:10–14 (NKJV)
10 For thus says YaHWeH: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says YaHWeH, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

38. Jeremiah 29:10–14 (NKJV)
13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says YaHWeH, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says YaHWeH, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

39. 1 Kings 8
50 Forgive your people who have sinned against you. Forgive all the offenses they have committed against you. Make their captors merciful to them, 51 for they are your people—your special possession—whom you brought out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt. 52 “May your eyes be open to my requests and to the requests of your people Israel. May you hear and answer them whenever they cry out to you.

40. 2 Chronicles 6
40 “O my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to all the prayers made to you in this place. 41 “And now arise, YaHWeH God, and enter your resting place, along with the Ark, the symbol of your power.

41. 1 Kings 8
54 When Solomon finished making these prayers and petitions to YaHWeH, he stood up in front of the altar of YaHWeH, where he had been kneeling with his hands raised toward heaven. 55 He stood and in a loud voice blessed the entire congregation of Israel: 56 “Praise YaHWeH who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses.

42. 1 Kings 8
59 And may these words that I have prayed in the presence of YaHWeH be before Him constantly, day and night, so that YaHWeH our God may give justice to me and to his people Israel, according to each day’s needs. 60 Then people all over the earth will know that YaHWeH alone is God and there is no other. 61 And may you be completely faithful to YaHWeH our God.

43. 2 Chronicles 7
1 When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of YaHWeH filled the Temple…3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of YaHWeH filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised YaHWeH, saying, “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!”

44. 2 Chronicles 7
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices to YaHWeH. 5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people dedicated the Temple of God. 6 The priests took their assigned positions, and so did the Levites who were singing, “His faithful love endures forever!”

45. 2 Chronicles 7
8 For the next seven days Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters. A large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north and the Brook of Egypt in the south. 9 On the eighth day they had a closing ceremony, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the Festival of Shelters for seven days. 10 Then at the end of the celebration, Solomon sent the people home.

46. 2 Chronicles 7
12 Then one night YaHWeH appeared to Solomon and said, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. 13 At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

47. 1 John 1:9–10 (NASB95)
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

48. 1 Timothy 2:1–4 (NIV84)
1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

49. 2 Chronicles 7
15 My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. 16 For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where My Name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.

50. 2 Chronicles 7
19 “But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, 20 then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.

51. 2 Chronicles 7
21 And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled. They will ask, ‘Why did YaHWeH do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’ 22 “And the answer will be, ‘Because His people abandoned YaHWeH, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why He has brought all these disasters on them.’”

53. “Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
1 John 5:21 (NASB95)
“Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

54. 1 Thessalonians 5 (NIV84)
1 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

55. 4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled…8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.