And he stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of the whole congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands.
The temple is complete, and the glory of the Lord has filled it. Now the king steps up to the bronze altar, and the whole nation watches him pray. Chronicles records where he stood and what he did with his hands. These small details carry real weight.
The verse places Solomon at the altar. The next verse describes the platform he stood on. One writer looks at the name of that platform and at its size.
F. A. HughesAs Solomon came near to God, he saw that he had to keep a right standard. He "stood before the altar of the LORD." He had made a "bronze platform" — the same word used for the washing basin. Its measurements were exactly those of the altar. That surely suggests the true features of purity involved in approaching a holy God. He kept God's standard "in the presence of all the assembly of Israel."
Chronicles never lists the old bronze altar of Moses among the things brought into the temple. One writer asks what became of it.
Henri L. RossierThe altar of Moses stood only for the place where God could meet the sinner. It is a type of the cross. There God could show Himself righteous in justifying the guilty… So the first bronze altar has disappeared. It reappears here as a platform, a pedestal on which Solomon stands in the sight of all the people. The place of the sin offering becomes the place where Solomon — Christ — is glorified.
Solomon stands at the altar with his hands spread out in prayer. The same writer asks what role the king is really filling here.
Henri L. RossierBut something else strikes us here. On his platform Solomon is in reality much more an intercessor, an advocate for Israel, than a king. There, on the platform, he bows the knee and spreads out his hands in prayer toward heaven… On his platform, which once was an altar, he takes only the place of an intercessor. He prays for the people whose future conduct — their sin already visible — would bring all God's counsels to nothing, if indeed His counsels could be brought to nothing.
The platform under his feet and the plea coming from his mouth cannot be separated. That link is the point of the whole scene.
Henri L. RossierThis role that Solomon filled on behalf of Israel is the very role the Lord fills today on our behalf. "If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1-2). His office as Advocate rests on the propitiation He has accomplished. In the same way, Solomon's intercession could never be separated from this platform, that mysterious and marvellous figure of the altar.
Solomon prays where all Israel can see him. One writer holds this up as a model for anyone who leads.
Eugene P. Vedder Jr.What a wonderful example Solomon sets for us here! All the kings of the earth sought his presence to hear his wisdom. Yet this great and glorious king kneels down in public before the Lord and acknowledges His greatness and faithfulness. Of Solomon we are told, "Solomon loved the Lord" (1 Kings 3:3). May God give us more such leaders, who truly love the Lord and who publicly honour and acknowledge Him! This is true wisdom.
The prayer that follows can be read aloud in a few minutes. One writer draws a blunt lesson from that.
W. W. FeredayIt would be a pleasure to copy out the king's whole prayer, but there is no space. Anyone can read it in five minutes, and without rushing it. Sadly, we have had to listen to public prayers that took much longer than Solomon's, but had far less definite content. When shall we learn that we are not heard for our "much speaking"? (Matt. 6:7)… Definiteness and persistence in prayer are commended by God in His Word.
The same crowd that watched him kneel saw God answer: fire came down and consumed the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house.
- Altar. The bronze altar was where God met the sinner. It is a type of the cross, and the whole scene starts there.
- Platform. That altar reappears under Solomon's feet as a pedestal. The place of the sin offering becomes the place where all Israel sees the king lifted up.
- Posture. Standing, kneeling, hands spread. On that platform he acts as an intercessor, not a ruler. He pleads for a people whose sin was already showing.
- Advocate. Solomon's pleading rests on the platform under his feet, just as Christ's advocacy rests on the propitiation He has made.
- Answer. God answered a short, clear, public prayer from a kneeling king with fire from heaven and glory filling the house.
For Solomon had made a platform of bronze, 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 he kneeled down on his knees before the whole congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward the heavens,
Solomon is dedicating the temple in front of the whole nation, and the verse stops to describe the platform he stood on and the way he knelt. The details are not decoration — commentators see in the platform's size and the king's posture a picture of how anyone may approach God.
Verse 13 breaks into the story as an aside:
Leslie M. GrantSolomon then stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly and spread out his hands. Verse 13 is an aside. It tells us that he had made a bronze platform five cubits square and three cubits high, the same size as the altar, where all the assembly could see him. He stood on this, then knelt down and spread out his hands toward heaven.
Only Chronicles records this platform, and its measurements repeat what the Lord told Moses:
Henri L. RossierThe part of this passage about the platform is missing from the book of Kings. The platform Solomon made and on which he stood in front of all the people had exactly the same dimensions as the bronze altar in Exodus 27:1. "And you shall make," the Lord had said to Moses, "the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits."
The altar was the place where the sin offering died. Here that same shape returns under Solomon's feet:
Henri L. RossierSo the first bronze altar has disappeared, only to reappear here as a platform. It is a pedestal that lifts Solomon into the sight of all the people. The place of the sin offering becomes the place where Solomon — Christ — is glorified.
Raised up where everyone could see him, Solomon does not act like a king:
Henri L. RossierSomething else strikes us here. On his platform Solomon is really much more an intercessor, an advocate for Israel, than a king. There, on the platform, he bows the knee and spreads out his hands in supplication toward heaven... on his platform, which once was an altar, he takes only the place of an intercessor. He prays for the people whose future conduct — their sin already visible — would bring all God's plans to nothing, if anything could ever bring His plans to nothing.
The link between the platform and the altar is what gives his pleading force. The same writer brings it into the present:
Henri L. RossierThis role that Solomon filled on behalf of Israel is the very role the Lord fills today on our behalf. "If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1-2). His work as Advocate rests on the propitiation He has accomplished. In the same way, Solomon's intercession could not be separated from this platform, that mysterious and wonderful picture of the altar.
(Propitiation is the sacrifice that answers God's claim against sin.)
Solomon was the most celebrated ruler of his age, and he went down on his knees in front of the entire nation:
Eugene P. Vedder Jr.What a wonderful example Solomon sets for us here! All the kings of the earth sought his presence, to hear his wisdom. This great and glorious king kneels down in public before the Lord and acknowledges His greatness and faithfulness. Scripture says of Solomon, "Solomon loved the LORD" (1 Kings 3:3). May God grant us more such leaders who truly love the Lord and who publicly honour and acknowledge Him! This is true wisdom.
Does this make kneeling a rule for prayer? One writer welcomes it without binding anyone to it:
C. H. MackintoshThe New Testament lays down no rule about the posture of the body. And we must say this: when Scripture is silent, no one has any right to make a law. We do like to kneel whenever we can. We think it a fitting posture for expressing the reverent, devoted feelings of the heart.
- Altar — The platform matched the bronze altar of Exodus 27 in length, breadth and height. The place of sacrifice became the place where all Israel saw the king.
- Access — Solomon stood on the altar's likeness, so his pleading rested on sacrifice, not on his own greatness.
- Advocate — What Solomon did for Israel, Christ does now for His people. His advocacy rests on the propitiation He has made.
- Attitude — On that same platform the king knelt. The crown gave way to bent knees and open hands.
- Audience — He did it all in front of the whole nation. Writers still hold up that public honouring of God as an example for leaders.