SOLOMON PRAYED FOR ALL OF ISRAEL

PROCLAMATION

“And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, ‘Blessed be The Lord, that hath given rest unto His people Israel, according to all that He promised … The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; let Him not leave us, nor forsake us; That He may incline our hearts unto Him, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments …’ ”  1 Kings 8:55-58 (KJV)

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  The human author is unknown although some Bible scholars attribute this book to the prophet Jeremiah.  After he completed the house of The Lord and his house, Solomon gathered together all of the elders of Israel and had the priests bring the ark of the covenant to the newly constructed house of The Lord. (1 Kings 8:1-9)  When the priest came out after placing the ark in the holy place, the dark cloud, representing the glory of The Lord, filled the house of The Lord.  Then Solomon spoke to the people saying that The Lord said that He would dwell in this house in the thick darkness.  Solomon then blessed the congregation of Israel. (1 Kings 8:10-14)  He recounted how The Lord God had blessed his father David.  He said that David wanted to build a house for The Lord but He told David that his son would build the house.  Solomon stood before the congregation of Israel and praised God for fulfilling His promise. (1 Kings 8:15-26)  Then Solomon listed all the conditions for which the people of Israel would pray in this house. (1 Kings 8:27-53)  Then Solomon blessed the people with what sounded like a prayer for them.  Afterwards Solomon offered a sacrifice unto The Lord of twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep.  Then Solomon held a seven-day-long feast for all of Israel, after which he blessed them and sent them to their homes. (1 Kings 8:54-66)

APPLICATION

The Bible teaches us that we ought to always pray. (Luke 18:1)  We are also taught that we should pray for others and not just for ourselves. (James 5:16)  Remember that after Job lost all that he had, including his health, God blessed him with twice as much as he had only after he prayed for his friends. (Job 42:10)  When we sincerely pray for and bless others, The Good Lord will bless us. (Proverbs 11:25)