whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house,
Solomon is dedicating the temple. In the middle of a long list of national disasters, he turns to something no one else can see: the trouble a man carries inside himself. The verse ties three things together — an affliction only the sufferer knows, a prayer, and hands stretched toward God's house.
The Trouble Inside
Older translations read "the plague of his own heart." The trouble is hidden rather than public, and there is only one way of relief:
Hamilton SmithSolomon, in his prayer, speaks of every man knowing "the plague of his own heart," and points to the only way of relief — spreading it out before God (1 Kings 8:38). A plague in the heart is something known only to the individual, something that comes in to spoil his joy. It may be an unsettled question between the soul and God; it may be some secret sin left unconfessed. Faith, seeing the grace that is in the heart of Christ, can spread the plague out before Him and find deliverance from every evil influence.
Outward Trouble, Inward Cause
The verse sits at the end of a list of famine, disease and crop failure — blows that fall on a whole nation. God uses them to reach one heart at a time:
Leslie M. GrantGod would send these to draw attention to the plague of sin in the hearts of people (verses 37-38). If this produced self-judgment, so that people prayed toward the temple and recognised God's glory, then Solomon would expect the Lord to hear in heaven and forgive. He would act in grace toward each person as He discerned their need (verse 39). This forgiveness would instil in hearts a wholesome fear of God (verse 40).
Confession Woven Through the Prayer
The verse opens the door to "whatever prayer, whatever plea." Yet one note sounds through the whole of Solomon's prayer:
Arno C. GaebeleinThe prayer lists the different troubles and begs the Lord to hear and to forgive. It is the model prayer for Israel. Confession of sin and prayer for forgiveness run through all the petitions. It acknowledges sin as the one cause of all troubles and disaster. So Solomon's prayer taught Israel to cast itself on the Lord with supplication and repentance for sin. There Israel would find that the Lord hears and delivers His people.
Hands Stretched Toward the House
Why stretch the hands toward a building? That house held a place in Israel's life, and something else fills that place now:
W. T. P. WolstonGod's house in Jerusalem was then the gathering place of His people, and there they were to pray in days of difficulty. Now the house of the Lord is the assembly, and its gathering centre is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You and I have the wonderful privilege today of bringing before God all that concerns Him, in the name of His own blessed Son. We can be sure that He will hear and help.
Why the Knowledge Is a Mercy
Knowing your own heart sounds like bad news. Yet the person who has faced what is in him is the one who values grace most:
W. W. Fereday"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). The one who knows the plague of his own heart will be grateful for a statement like this. A principle such as grace gives hope to the most unworthy; in fact it opens the door for us all.
Knowing It, and Watching It
The verse says each man knows his own affliction. That knowledge has a daily use:
G. C. WillisEach of us has his own weakness. It takes purpose of heart and self-judgment to keep that weakness from gaining power over us — "the sin which clings so closely" (Heb. 12:1). Each of us knows "the plague of his own heart" (1 Kings 8:38).
Summary
- Plague. The affliction is inward — an unsettled question with God, or a sin never confessed. It spoils a person's joy.
- Known. Only the person who carries it knows it. God sends outward troubles to draw attention to it.
- Spread. The remedy is to spread it out before God, hands stretched toward His house. For us, the gathering centre is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Heard. God hears, forgives, and meets each person according to the need He alone discerns. Confession runs through every petition of this prayer.
- Feared. Forgiveness does not breed carelessness. It plants a wholesome fear of God, and sends each of us back to watch the weakness we know best.