and if they shall take it to heart in the land whither they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done iniquity and have dealt perversely;
Solomon is dedicating the new temple. At the height of the celebration he looks ahead to the worst thing that could happen: defeat, and life as captives in a foreign land. Here he gives that broken people their words. Does God still hear prayer offered far from the house He has chosen?
Solomon seems to describe just one possible future among many. One commentator reads the wording as something firmer:
In verses 36–39 Solomon speaks of an occasion when Israel sins against God. He does not say "if they sin," since "there is no one who does not sin." God's anger gives them up to captivity under an enemy, whether near or far. He adds "when" — not "if" — they come to themselves in the land where their enemies have carried them captive. There they repent and plead with God, saying, "We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly." There is no shadow of doubt that Israel will do this in the end, though centuries have passed since they were scattered through the world. The pride of man's natural heart is so great that he will not stop rebelling against God. He keeps that up even while going through the forms of religious observance. But the Great Tribulation will in the end break down their arrogant pride, so that they make the confession seen in verse 37.
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Solomon has just built a magnificent house. Yet when he asks for pardon, he points past it — upward. One writer explains why:
Forgiveness is linked with God in His dwelling-place, the heaven of heavens, and not with the house. For grace is sovereign and has its source in God dwelling in the heavens. The temple and its magnificence were well suited for the law and the covenant. But forgiveness is with God in His dwelling-place, and that is where Solomon looks… Solomon knows there is no one who does not sin. He stands in the presence of the holiness and righteousness of God, who can only meet man on the ground of infinite mercy and sovereign grace. He did not know, as we do, how the cross of Christ secures that mercy — indeed makes it abound.
The captives have no way to reach the temple and no outward sign left that they are God's people. One writer says the prayer is meant for that very moment:
The Holy Spirit, through His inspired instrument, teaches the contrite and humble to look up through the surrounding gloom to God's eternal dwelling place. It is a gracious hint for the last and closing days of the people's long captivity. They are in a far country, with no access to the temple. Every outward mark that they are still the chosen people of God is gone. Let them only look up to the heaven of heavens, and He who sits on the throne will hear, and will forgive.
Later, Daniel prayed toward Jerusalem while the city lay in ruins. One writer explains what backed him:
Was there any divine reason for Daniel's praying toward Jerusalem? Certainly there was! First, the Lord had said to Solomon, about the temple at Jerusalem, "My eyes and My heart will always be there." Jerusalem was God's centre. It was, it is, and it always shall be. True, it was in ruins — the temple was in ruins; but God's word was not in ruins, and here is faith's simple but solid warrant.
Israel had a place on earth to turn toward in prayer. One writer warns Christians not to copy the habit:
No matter what the sin or the affliction — personal or national — God was there to be prayed to. And so Israel did. Even when they were out of the land, they looked to it as a witness of this great truth. But just think of the folly of Christians taking up such things. A Christian turns to the east because a Jew did it — as if the God who is revealed to us is in the east more than any other spot on earth. No, we belong to heaven, and we look there if we look anywhere.
The captives do not work up this change of heart themselves. One commentator names its source:
It will be a work of God's grace in their hearts that moves all this. That grace makes them return to the Lord with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity (v. 38). This prayer of Solomon has in it the element of a prophecy. Even today many Israelites turn their eyes toward Jerusalem, though they are still cold toward the Lord Jesus.
- Sin assumed. Solomon builds his prayer on one admission: no one is without sin. Exile is a matter of when, not if.
- Chastening. Captivity is God's answer to long rebellion. It breaks a pride that religious routine leaves untouched.
- Confession. The captives own their guilt without excuse, and God's grace in their hearts produces that confession.
- Direction. No temple is within reach, so the exile looks up. Forgiveness is with God in heaven, not with the building — the ground Daniel stood on while Jerusalem lay in ruins.
- Restoration. Solomon's prayer runs ahead as prophecy: the scattered people will be heard and forgiven. Christians belong to heaven and look there, not to any place on earth.
and if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land which thou gavest unto their fathers, and the city that thou hast chosen, and the house that I have built unto thy name;
Solomon has just finished the temple. At the height of Israel's glory, his prayer turns to the worst thing that could happen: sin, defeat, and exile in a far country. This verse names the way back — a return with the whole heart and soul, made in enemy territory, with prayer aimed at the land, the city, and the house.
Look closely at the wording of this whole section. Solomon does not speak of national ruin as a risk that might never come, and he speaks the same way about the confession that follows:
In verses 36-39 Solomon speaks of an occasion when Israel sins against God. He does not say "if they sin," because "there is no one who does not sin." God's anger then delivers them to the captivity of an enemy, whether near or far. He adds "when" — not "if" — they come to themselves in the land of their captivity. There they repent and plead with God, saying, "We have sinned, we have done wrong, and have committed wickedness." There is no shadow of doubt that Israel will do this in the end, though they have been scattered through the world for centuries.
The condition Solomon states is inward. What God promised to answer was never a flawless record of obedience:
He had promised this. If they were led into captivity, and then turned to Him with all their heart while surrounded by their enemies, He would bring them back. He never said, if they kept the law to the letter, for that would not have been possible for them.
Notice where the answer comes from. Solomon asks God to hear from heaven, not from the building — so a door stays open even after the building falls:
The Holy Spirit gives this repeated cry through His inspired instrument: "Then hear from the heavens, Your dwelling place." This teaches the contrite and humble to look up through the surrounding gloom to God's eternal dwelling place. This is a gracious hint for the last, closing days of the people's long captivity. They will be in a far country, with no access to the temple. Every outward mark of their still being the chosen people of God will be gone. Let them only look up to the heaven of heavens, and He who sits on the throne will hear, and will forgive.
Centuries later Daniel prayed toward Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon. Writers point to this verse as his warrant, even though the city he faced lay in ruins:
Was there any divine reason for Daniel to pray toward Jerusalem? There certainly was! Jerusalem was God's centre. It was, it is, and ever shall be. True, it was in ruins — the temple was in ruins; but God's word was not in ruins, and here is faith's simple but solid warrant.
Solomon prayed for a whole nation. Yet Jonah took hold of that same prayer as one man needing forgiveness and rescue:
Jonah's mind surely turned back to Solomon's prayer at the dedication of that temple. It is recorded in 2 Chronicles 6, and he no doubt knew it well... Words such as these gave Jonah authority from the Lord Himself to count on God's mercy to forgive his sin and deliver him.
The verse rests on God's own choice — the city He chose, the house built for His name. One writer draws out the lasting principle, and adds a warning:
Solomon struck the right note when he touched this great point of election. He shows how God, having taken this house to dwell in, could always be prayed to — always looked to in every trouble. No matter what the sin or the affliction might be, personal or national, God was there and they could pray to Him. And so we find Israel did. Even when they were out of the land, they looked to it as a witness of this great truth. But just think of the folly of Christians taking up such things... No, we belong to heaven, and we look there if we look anywhere.
- When, not if. Solomon builds the fall of his own nation into the dedication of his own temple. He treats sin, captivity, and the confession that follows as certainties.
- Heart, not record. The terms are a return with all the heart and soul; God never made restoration wait on keeping the law to the letter.
- Heaven, not walls. The prayer asks God to hear from His dwelling place above. He still hears the contrite when the temple, the land, and every outward mark of belonging are gone.
- Faith, not sight. Daniel prayed toward a ruined city because God's word about it was not in ruins. Jonah claimed the same words for one man's sin.
- Upward, not eastward. God made Himself reachable in every trouble. Christians belong to heaven, so that is where they look.
then hear thou from the heavens, from the settled place of thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their right, and forgive thy people their sin against thee.
Solomon dedicates the temple at the height of Israel's glory. Yet his closing requests look ahead to a day when the people are captives far from home, with no temple to visit. What is left to plead when every promise tied to obedience has been broken?
One commentator finds two footings in this prayer. The shift from the first to the second produces the cry for pardon.
In Solomon's prayer there seemed to be two different grounds on which he stands to present his requests. The first he takes is the promise given to his father David with a condition attached. In the second, it is the mercy of God that can forgive after sin is committed. Suppose sin appeared in any one man, or in the nation as a whole. Even if Solomon himself was not guilty, the whole kingdom would be lost unless God in His mercy went beyond the terms of His covenant with David. So in the case of transgression there can be no cry but for forgiveness.
So where should a captive look for pardon? Not to the house Solomon had just finished.
Forgiveness is linked with God in His dwelling-place, the heaven of heavens, and not with the house. For grace is sovereign and has its source in God dwelling in the heavens. Nothing could be hidden from the all-searching eye of God. The thought of 2 Chronicles 6:36 — "there is no one who does not sin" — seems to press upon his heart, and so he prays for forgiveness. For if God judged by law, and by righteousness apart from grace, He would, yes must, forsake His house and leave Israel under the awful judgment of a broken covenant.
The refrain of this prayer — hear from heaven, Your dwelling place — speaks to people with nothing left to see or touch.
Solomon's prayer does not look ahead to the coming happy time. It looks to the near future, when Israel would forsake the Lord, and the Lord would forsake His house and dwell in the heaven of heavens. Even there He would hear the pleas and confessions of the repentant. The Holy Spirit, through His inspired instrument, gives this repeated cry: "Then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place." This teaches the contrite and humble to look up through the surrounding gloom to God's eternal dwelling place. It is a gracious hint for the last and closing days of the people's long captivity. They will be in a far country, with no access to the temple, and every outward mark that they are still God's chosen people will be gone. Let them only look up to the heaven of heavens, and He who sits on the throne will hear, and will forgive.
Notice Solomon's wording. He prays about a certainty, not a possibility.
In verses 36-39 Solomon speaks of an occasion when Israel sins against God — not "if they sin", for "there is no one who does not sin". God's anger then hands them over to an enemy who carries them off, whether near or far. He adds, "when" (not "if") they come to themselves in the land of their captivity. There they repent and plead with God, saying "We have sinned, and have acted perversely and wickedly." There is no shadow of doubt that Israel will do this in the end, though centuries have passed since their scattering through the world.
The same writer expects more than a short reprieve.
Solomon prays that God would hear from heaven, and He surely will. He will fully restore the remnant of Israel to their land for good, with His full, free forgiveness.
One writer points to Daniel, a captive who kept praying on the strength of this word.
Daniel based his action on the Word of God. He had heard God's Word saying that if His people were in captivity they were to pray to Him, and to look toward His house. Daniel acts on this scripture. He does not shut his windows, nor increase, nor lessen his petitions: he is just that day what he had been every day before. He was a very even saint. It was not the great difficulty that took him to his knees three times daily.
- Sin assumed. Solomon does not ask if the people will fail; he builds his prayer on a settled truth: there is no one who does not sin.
- Covenant exhausted. Once sin comes in, no one can plead a promise that hung on obedience. Only mercy beyond its terms will do.
- Heaven addressed. God grants pardon from His dwelling place in heaven, not from the house just built, because grace is sovereign and springs from God Himself.
- Distance no barrier. With the temple gone and every outward mark of favour lost, the contrite still look up through the gloom, and the One on the throne hears.
- Answer certain. Daniel rested on this word in captivity. Its fullest answer — Israel restored for good, freely forgiven — is still to come.