that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers.
Solomon has just finished his long prayer of dedication at the new temple, and he rises from his knees to bless the people. What he asks first for the nation is not about their circumstances but about their hearts: why ask God to bend hearts that the law told the people to bend themselves?
Where the Blessing Begins
Before Solomon asks anything for Israel, he blesses God for what God has already done. One commentator traces that order:
Leslie M. GrantAfter interceding with God, Solomon is free to bless the people, because their blessing depends on the pure grace of God for which Solomon had prayed. But he begins by blessing the Lord who had given rest to Israel from all their wars. He acknowledges, "Not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He spoke by Moses His servant." How good that the people heard again of God's perfect faithfulness to His word. And how good if we too remember that He has proven Himself true to us all through our own history.
The Request Itself
Solomon asks for God's presence first, and the inclined heart follows from it:
Leslie M. GrantIn verses 57-58 Solomon asks that the Lord would be with Israel as He had been with their fathers, inclining their hearts to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes and His judgments. He also asks the Lord to remember the words of his prayer, so that Israel might be blessed. Then all nations on earth would have this witness: the Lord is God, the only God.
So the inclined heart was never the end point. It opened the road to a worldwide witness.
A Condition Beyond Reach
Solomon ends his blessing by calling for a heart that is whole toward God. One writer calls that a condition the nation could never meet:
H. L. RossierHe offers his own words of intercession as a reason for God to bless His people. The result of that blessing should be "that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other." This will come true in Christ's thousand-year reign, which all this history, as we have so often said, is pointing us toward. But for this blessing to happen, the heart of Israel must be "perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes, and to keep His commandments." Again a legal condition — impossible for this fallible king and people to meet, and one that will find its fulfilment in Christ alone!
(Where older translations say "perfect" in verse 61, the ESV says "wholly true.")
Which Promises Solomon Names
Another commentator notices which promises Solomon leaves out:
W. W. FeredayFor the time being, everything depended on the faithfulness of the king and the people. So Solomon pointed back, not to the promises the Lord made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but to those He made to Moses when He brought Israel out of Egypt. The promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob look on to full and final blessing for Israel and for "all the families of the earth." They wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to be fulfilled.
The Man Who Prayed It
The rest of Solomon's own life shows why he needed this prayer. The heart he asked God to incline was later turned the other way:
H. L. Rossier"His wives turned away his heart." It is a terrible thing when something of the world settles in the heart and takes control of it. It turns our love away from its only object and towards things that are vile, shameful and guilty… Who would have believed that the Solomon of the temple, once on his knees with his hands spread out to God in front of all the people, would become an idol-worshipper?
Why Urging Is Not Enough
Solomon's closing words were an appeal, and appeals have limits:
Leslie M. GrantHe concludes his blessing by pleading with Israel to be loyal to the Lord God, walking in His statutes and keeping His commandments. The Old Testament is full of such appeals, but they did not keep Israel from disobedience. They needed what the New Testament reveals — a true knowledge of Christ and the value of His sacrifice.
Some say that all such urging is simply law. One writer answers:
A. J. PollockI remember hearing someone say, "All urging to obey is legal." I answered, "Then a large part of the New Testament letters is legal." He saw his mistake at once. He had overlooked God's gracious work in giving us the will — in setting our hearts right with Himself. So when He urges us in His word as we read it, or through His word preached to us, we can count on our hearts wanting to respond.
Summary
- Heart first. Solomon asks first for the heart, not for good circumstances. God must incline it before anyone walks in His ways.
- Grace before blessing. He prays for them first, then blesses them. Their blessing rests on God's pure grace, and not one word of His promise has failed.
- A heart God must give. The whole heart Solomon calls for was beyond that king and that people. Commentators point to Christ, who alone fulfils it.
- Proof in Solomon. The man kneeling with hands spread toward God later let his wives turn his heart away. His own prayer was more needed than he knew.
- The far horizon. The inclined heart was never the end point. The aim was that all the peoples of the earth would know the LORD is God, and there is no other.