and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart;
Solomon prays in front of the whole nation, and he begins by describing the God he is speaking to. Two things stand out. God keeps His covenant, and God shows steadfast love. Everything he goes on to ask rests on both.
The king standing between God and the people
Here Solomon does not act as a ruler giving orders. He stands in front of God for the whole nation. One writer sees in that role a picture of someone greater.
J. N. DarbyFor the moment Solomon fully assumes the character of priest. It is he who stands before the Lord, as well as between the Lord and the people — a remarkable type, in terms of his position, of what Christ as King will be for Israel in the day of His glory.
Another writer notes his posture as he pleads for others, and the name he gives to God.
H. L. RossierThere he stretches out his hands toward heaven, taking the character of intercessor... He knows and proclaims the Lord, the God of Israel, as the Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth.
Greatness confessed in public
Solomon does not confess this in private.
Eugene P. Vedder Jr.What a wonderful example Solomon sets for us here! This great and glorious king kneels in public before the Lord and acknowledges His greatness and faithfulness. All the kings of the earth sought his presence so they could hear his wisdom. Scripture says of him, "Solomon loved the LORD" (1 Kings 3:3). May God grant us more leaders like this, who truly love the Lord and who publicly honour and acknowledge Him! This is true wisdom.
Covenant and mercy held together
Older translations call this steadfast love "mercy." One writer explains what would happen without it.
H. L. RossierHe acknowledges that God keeps His covenant — Israel had not kept it — and His mercy (v. 23). Without mercy, keeping His covenant would be the certain condemnation of His people. Yet this mercy itself was according to the covenant of the law: God kept it with those who "walk before Him with all their heart."
One writer points out which covenant Solomon has in mind. Horeb is the mountain where God gave Israel the law.
J. N. DarbyNotice here also that everything refers to the deliverance out of Egypt, to Horeb, to the law, and not to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
The condition attached
The verse does not promise this steadfast love to everyone. It is for servants "who walk before you with all their heart." One writer marks a turn in the prayer. Solomon starts on covenant ground. Later he pleads for pardon instead.
The Bible TreasuryIn the second part Solomon is no longer on covenant ground. Forgiveness would not be needed if he and the people had righteously fulfilled the conditions laid on them. God made His promise depend on their obedience. In the first part there is no doubt or fear that he or the people would fail to take heed to the law. There his request is "let your word be verified." He is calling on God not to forgive, but to fulfil His promise.
Another writer reads the whole prayer the same way. God gave present blessing as He fulfilled His promises to David. But Israel could enjoy that blessing only if they obeyed.
The name he uses, and the fuller name we have
Solomon addresses "O LORD, God of Israel." One writer compares that name with the way the New Testament letters address God.
Leslie M. GrantSolomon's prayer at this time is quoted in full, because it was to be kept always in Israel's memory. He spoke in the presence of the whole assembly of Israel, and addressed God as "the Lord God of Israel." How much fuller and more precious are the prayers of the New Testament letters, such as Ephesians 1:17, addressed to "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory." Such a prayer goes far beyond the scope of the one nation, Israel. It centres our thoughts not on the blessing of a nation, but on the one great source of blessing, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Summary
- Unmatched. Solomon begins with who God is. No God stands like Him in heaven above or on earth beneath. He says it out loud before the whole nation.
- Faithful. The God who has no equal binds Himself by a covenant, and He keeps it. So Solomon can ask Him to make good the word He has given.
- Merciful. Israel broke its side of the covenant. Covenant-keeping alone would have condemned them. The steadfast love joined to it leaves them hope.
- Conditioned. God promises that love to those who walk before Him with a whole heart. The blessing is real, but obedience is its condition.
- Approached. Solomon stands between God and the people as a picture of Christ the King. He called God the God of Israel. Believers now know Him as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ — a name that reaches far past one nation.