1 Kings 9:3

1Ki 9:3 And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

Ver. 3. I have heard thy prayer.] God sometimes answereth his people before they ask, {Isa 65:24} as he did David; {Psa 32:5} sometimes as they are asking, as he did Daniel; {Dan 9:20} but certainly after they have prayed, provided that they bring to him lawful petitions and honest hearts. The reason whereof, see Joh 16:26-27.

Mine eyes and my heart shall be there.] It shall well be seen that this house is mihi chara, cordi, et curae.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 9:3. The Lord said, I have heard thy prayer — This shows that the first verse is to be understood as we have just stated: for otherwise we must suppose this appearance of God to Solomon to have taken place, and this answer to have been given to his prayer, eleven years after he had finished the house, and addressed that prayer to him at the dedication of it; which is very unlikely. I have hallowed this house — By my glorious presence in the cloud, and by my acceptance of thy sacrifices. I have sanctified it to my proper use and service. Solomon had dedicated it, but it was God’s prerogative to hallow or consecrate it. Men cannot make a place holy; yet what we in sincerity devote to God, we may hope he will graciously accept as his. To put my name there for ever — As long as the Mosaic dispensation lasts: whereas hitherto my worship has been successively in several places. And mine eyes — My watchful and gracious providence. My heart — My true and tender affection. Shall be there perpetually — Shall be toward this place and people, upon condition of your obedience, as it here follows. Apply this to persons, to God’s living temples: those whom he hallows or sanctifies; whom he sets apart for himself, in consequence of their repentance and faith in Jesus, have his eye upon and his heart toward them; they have his love and his care, and this perpetually.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—

1Ki_9:3. Sept. inserts, after “Supplication that thou hast made before me,” “I have done to thee according to all thy prayer.”

1Ki_9:6. If ye shall at all turn.—A. V. implies only the slightest dereliction, “at all turn;” whereas שוֹב תְּשֻׁבוֹן is an intensive Hebraism, implying entirety, absolute apostasy. Which I have set before you: or, Moses set before you; so Sept. Notice also that the threatening (1Ki_9:7) is a quotation from Moses (Deu_28:37).

1Ki_9:8. This house is high—Omit italicised words at and which; is high=future tense, shall be high עֶלְיוֹן not exalted in renown (as Von Meyer, De Wette, Bähr), but shall stand high, a conspicuous example, a pre-eminent illustration of destruction. Others (the Peshito and Dr. Böttcher), “this house shall be a heap.” Sept.=ὁ οἶκος οὗτος ἔσται ὁ υψηλός. Vulg., et domus hæc crit in exemplum.

HOMILETICS OF 1Ki_9:3-9

RELIGION THE GLORY OF A NATION

I. That the religion of a nation does not consist in anything external.

1. Not in the grandeur of its temples. Architecture and artistic decoration are not essential to true piety. The most exquisite creations of the trowel and mallet can never rival the glorious edifice which has been already reared by the master hand of Deity. Nature is one vast cathedral, with its roof fretted with clouds and gemmed with stars; its aisles are the long-extended valleys; its pillars the lofty, massive hills; its altar the spot where the worshipper reverently bends his knee; and its music the manifold voices that rise from bird, or forest, or sea. Some of the costliest temples built by the art and adorned by the genius of man are consecrated to the worship of other than the only true God.

2. Not in the elaborateness of its ritual. The rites and ceremonies of the Israelitish religion in the days of Solomon were minute and exacting. Their worship was a rich, imposing pageant, calculated to impress both the worshipper and the spectator; and their history shows with what scrupulosity they observed the forms of their ritual when the spirit which gave those forms life and meaning was altogether quenched. It is the tendency of man to rest in the outward; and the devoutest worshipper has often to complain—

But I of means have made my boast,

Of means an idol made;

The spirit in the letter lost,

The substance in the shade.

3. Religion consists in the sincere worship of an ever-present God. The true glory of Moriah’s Temple was the hallowing presence of Jehovah. “I have hallowed this house which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually” (1Ki_9:3). When we fail to recognize the true God, when we forget His eye is upon us, when we are no longer conscious of His personal and all-compassionate love, religion ceases to be a power, ceases to be a reality. We may take our place in the temple, we may engage mechanically in its services, but there is no longer any true, acceptable worship (Mat_15:8-9).

II. That the religion of a nation depends for its permanence on obedience to God (1Ki_9:4-5).

1. Obedience is regulated by clearly defined injunctions. “To do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments.” Obedience must be intelligent, be governed by a studious appreciation of the Divine commands. We are surrounded by law. We cannot properly fulfil the great purpose of life without some acquaintance with the laws and forces in operation around us. The mariner needs it in order to pilot his vessel aright, the scientist to guide him in research, the physician to ameliorate human suffering. There should not be less study given to the laws of God for the government of our moral actions than is given to the laws of nature.

2. Obedience must be genuine and complete. “In integrity of heart and in uprightness.” We must be sincere. When we remember with what energy and publicity we have sometimes served sin, we should be animated with the more courage and earnestness in serving God. “He doeth not God’s will but his own, who doeth no more than himself will. Everything must be done as well as anything, else we do nothing.”

3. Obedience is illustrated by noble examples. “If thou wilt walk before me as David thy father walked.” God expects no impossibility. What one man has done, another may do. David had great imperfections; but he had also great virtues. The seed of the godly cannot expect to enjoy the entail of the blessing unless they tread in the steps of those who have gone before, and keep up the piety of their ancestors. Solomon’s subsequent fall lends to these repeated warnings a special interest.

4. Obedience ensures perpetuity of blessing. “Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever” (1Ki_9:5). Obedience and blessing run together. If we are faithful to our part of the covenant, God will never fail on His part. All the promises of God are conditional; and failure in fulfilment of the promise is no proof of changeableness in God, but of infidelity in man. While the condition is observed, the promise is inviolably kept.

III. That the decay of the religion of a nation is inevitably followed by national ruin (1Ki_9:6-9).

1. The ruin of its national greatness. “Then will I cut off Israel out of the land I have given them.” In the very land where the Jews were most highly exalted did they witness the most abject degradation. When the people forsook God, and turned to idols, the Temple of Solomon—the world-wide evidence of national prosperity and blessing—was destroyed, Israel ceased to be an independent kingdom, and the people were banished; and when, after the second temple was built, they rejected David’s greater Son—their promised, true, and eternal king in whom all nations of the earth were to be blessed—this temple was destroyed never to be rebuilt, and the people were scattered through the whole world, ceasing for ever to be an independent kingdom and nation. Irreligion will ruin a nation more completely than an invading army could do. The external evidences of national greatness are the last to go: the first fatal weakness begins within, and may progress for a time silently and unnoticed.

2. The ruin of its religious prestige. “And this house which I have hallowed for my name will I cast out of my sight.” The temple was the symbol and external evidence of the intense religiousness of the people. Never was there before a nation so favoured with religious privileges: it was its solemn mission to preserve and promulgate the idea of the Only True God, which idea had become lost amid the mists of heathenism. When Israel lost its religion it lost everything—temple, character, influence. The same is true of every nation that abandons God.

3. The ruin is held up as a terrible warning to all ages. “And Israel shall be a proverb and a bye-word among all people; and this house which is high (Heb. shall be high), every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss” (1Ki_9:7-8). Not a scornful hiss, but a hissing of terror (Jer_19:8; Jer_49:17). The temple and the nation shall be as conspicuous in their desolation as in their glory. No people in the world ever became such a proverb—everywhere despised, reviled, and persecuted. By its story it illustrates to all nations the unchanging truth uttered by the prophet Azariah to King Asa, “If ye forsake Him, He will forsake you” (2Ch_15:2).

LESSONS:—

1. Religion is at once the strength and the adornment of a people.

2. The chief concern of the monarch should be for the religious welfare of his people.

3. The nation that abandons God will be abandoned by Him.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES

1Ki_9:3. “To put my name there for ever.” God’s gifts are without repentance. When He puts His name in the temple, He does it, in intention, for ever. He will not arbitrarily withdraw it after so many years or so many centuries. Once placed there, it will remain there for ever, so far as God is concerned. But the people may, by unfaithfulness, drive it away.

—“Mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.” Solomon’s prayer had been that God’s eyes might be directed towards the temple continually. The answer given is—Not mine eyes only, but mine eyes and mine heart. To every house where the name of God is truly honoured applies the Divine saying, “Mine eyes and my heart shall dwell there for ever.”

—The Divine solicitude for the Church. 1. He investigates its moral condition.

2. He sympathises with its struggles.

3. He rejoices in its triumphs.

4. His care is unremitting.

1Ki_9:4. “If Thou wilt walk before me” (compared with 1Ki_9:6). The power of individualism.

1. The national is vastly influenced by the personal.

2. A monarch may foster or blast the religious interests of his people.

3. The greater the authority placed in the hands of one man, the greater is his responsibility for its use or abuse.

4. How momentous are the opportunities presented within the compass of a single life!

1Ki_9:6-9. Because men endure uninterrupted prosperity with much greater difficulty than they do crosses and afflictions, therefore, when they are at the summit of their wishes and their hearts’ desire, it is most necessary that the grave importance of God and of eternity should be held up before them, so that they may not fall into security, and forget to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling (Mat_16:26; 1Co_10:12). The more abundantly God displays His mercy and love towards an individual or towards a nation, so much the more fearful will be the righteous sentence, if the riches of His mercy are despised. In happy and prosperous days forget not that the Lord tells us, “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” How many men, how many families, how many nations, blessed in every respect, have come to a fearful and shameful end! Askest thou—“Wherefore is this? The only reply is—Because they have forsaken the Lord their God; for what a man sows that shall he also reap. Let him who will not recognize a Divine justice, turn to the twice-destroyed temple of Jerusalem, and to the world-scattered people who have become a byeword amongst all nations.—Lange.

1Ki_9:7. If our growth in grace does not correspond with our privileges, our boast of the temple and the best form of worship will but delude and destroy us.

1Ki_9:9. Apostasy is hateful even among the heathen. Solyman, the Grand Signior, rejected the revolt of his Christian subjects to Turkism, and doubled their taxations.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

9:3-9 The Lord answered Solomon’s prayer by reviewing the conditions of the covenant. Obedience would bring prosperity and the Lord’s blessing; disobedience could mean utter disaster, including destruction of the city and Temple, and deportation of God’s people (see Deut 28:36-37, 63-68). Although God’s covenant was irrevocable, receiving its blessings depended upon faithfulness to its terms (Ps 89:24-37).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(3) To put my name there for ever.—The meaning of the words “for ever” is determined by the prayer which they answer. They simply mark the Temple as the “settled habitation to abide in for ever” (see 1Ki_8:13), in contradistinction from the movable tabernacle. Whether they were to have a larger significance is expressly declared to depend on the faithfulness of Israel (see 1Ki_9:7-8).

Mine eyes and mine heart.—See 8:29.

(3-9) And the Lord said unto him.—This vision of the Lord presents a remarkable contrast with that recorded in 1Ki_6:11-13, while the Temple was in building. Then all was promise and encouragement; now, not only is warning mingled with promise, but, as in Solomon’s own prayer, the sadder alternative seems in prophetic anticipation to overpower the brighter. In this there is (as has been often remarked) a striking exemplification of the austere and lofty candour of the inspired narrative, sternly contradicting that natural hopefulness in the hour of unexampled prosperity, which would have shrunk from even entertaining the idea that the blessing of God on the Temple should be frustrated, and the glory of Israel should pass away.

It is notable that, in its reference to the two parts of the promise to David, there is a subtle and instructive distinction. As for the Temple, now just built in fulfilment of that promise, it is declared without reserve that, in case of unfaithfulness in Israel, it shall be utterly destroyed, and become an astonishment and a proverb of reproach before the world. But in respect of the promise of the perpetuity of David’s kingdom—the true Messianic prediction, which struck the key-note of all future prophecies—it is only said that Israel shall be “cut off from the land,” and so “become a proverb and a byword” in captivity. Nothing is said to contradict the original declaration, that, even in case of sin, the mercy of God would chastise and not forsake the house of David (2Sa_7:13-14; Psa_89:30-37). So again and again in prophecy captivity is denounced as a penalty of Israel’s sin; but the hope of restoration is always held out, and thus the belief in God’s unchanging promise remains unshaken. The true idea is strikingly illustrated by the prophet Amos (1Ki_9:9-11): “I will sift the house of Israel, among all nations . . . yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth . . . I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. I have heard thy prayer] This could not have been the form of God’s message, if thirteen years had passed away since the dedication. God’s way is rather that spoken of by Isa_65:24 ‘While they are yet speaking I will hear.’ The LXX. adds after the first clause of this verse ‘I have done for thee according to all thy prayer.’

to put my name there for ever] The place which God had chosen was now made known; and God’s purposes change not.

mine eyes and mine heart shall be there] As in the former vision at Gibeon, God had given more than Solomon asked, so it is here. The prayer was that God’s eyes might be open toward the house, the promise is that His heart shall be there perpetually.

This verse is largely expanded in 2Ch_7:12 seqq. thus: ‘I have heard thy prayer and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house that my name may be there for ever.’ This addition appears to be the work of a later writer who wished to express by it, that God’s answer was as large as the king’s prayer.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made before me,.... With delight and pleasure, and had accepted it; meaning the prayer recorded in the preceding chapter:

I have hallowed this house which thou hast built; by the cloud of glory filling it, and by fire descending from heaven, and consuming the sacrifices offered in it, Ch2 7:1.

to put my name there for ever; there to grant his presence, so long as his pure worship should be continued in it; so the Targum adds,

"and my Shechinah or divine Majesty shall abide in it, if my will is done there continually:''

and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually; his eyes of Providence should be upon it, to watch over it, and protect it, and his worshippers in it; and he should have a cordial regard to the sacrifices there offered, and to the persons of the offerers, so long as they offered them in a right way, and to right ends and purposes.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The answer given by God to Solomon’s prayer is reported more fully in 2Ch 7:12-22.

When God puts His Name in the temple He does it, in intention, “forever.” He will not arbitrarily withdraw it; there it will remain “forever,” so far as God is concerned. But the people may by unfaithfulness drive it away 1Ki 9:7-9.

And mine eyes and my heart - An answer in excess of the prayer 1Ki 8:29; “Not Mine eyes only, but Mine eyes and Mine heart.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

I have hallowed this house; I have, by my glorious presence in the cloud, and by my acceptation of thy sacrifices, sanctified it to my proper use and service.

For ever; as long as the Mosaical dispensation lasts; whereas hitherto my name and worship hath been successively in several places.

Mine eyes, i.e. my watchful and gracious providence.

Mine heart; my true and tender affection.

Shall be there; shall be towards this place and people, Perpetually; upon condition of your obedience, as it here follows.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And the Lord said unto him This message is given at greater length in 2Ch_7:12-22. Vers. 13, 14, e.g., contain a reference to that part of the prayer which related to drought and rain), I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication These two words are found similarly united in Solomon"s prayer, (vers. 38, 45, 54) that thou hast made Heb. supplicated before me; I have hallowed this house which thou hast built sc. by the manifestation described 1Ki_8:11. Cf. Exo_29:43: "the tabernacle shall be sanctified" (same word) "by my glory." In 2 Chronicles we read, "I have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice," where, however, it is worth considering whether instead of the somewhat singular jbz tyb the original text may not have been lbz tyb, (1Ki_8:13) to put my name there 1Ki_8:29; cf. vers. 16, 17, 18, 19; also Deu_12:11; Luk_11:12 forever 1Ki_8:13. As Solomon offered it, so God accepted it, in perpetuity. That the house was subsequently "left desolate" and destroyed (2Ki_25:9) was because of the national apostasy (vers. 8, 9), and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. In 1Ki_8:29 Solomon asked that God"s "eyes may be open towards the house." The answer is that not only His eyes shall be open, but eyes and heart shall be there Eph_3:20; see Homiletics on; the 1Ki_3:5 eye to watch, the heart to cherish it.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For ever - As long as the Mosaic dispensation lasts; whereas hitherto my worship has been successively in several places. Eyes - My watchful and gracious providence. Heart - My tender affection. Shall be there - Shall be towards this place and people.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The divine promise to Solomon, that his prayer should be answered, is closely connected with the substance of the prayer; but in our account we have only a brief summary, whereas in the Chronicles it is given more elaborately (vid., Ch2 7:12-16). "I have sanctified this house which thou hast built, to put my name there." For the expression, see Deu 12:11. The sanctifying consisted in the fact, that Jehovah put His name in the temple; i.e., that by filling the temple with the cloud which visibly displayed His presence, He consecrated it as the scene of the manifestation of His grace. To Solomon's prayer, "May Thine eyes stand open over this house" (Kg1 8:29), the Lord replies, giving always more than we ask, "My eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually."

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

your prayer and your request

The words "prayer" and "request" mean basically the same thing and emphasize that Yahweh recognized that Solomon's request was sincere. See how you translated similar words in 1 Kings 8:28. AT: "your request" (See: Doublet)

to put my name there forever

The name is a metonym for the person. AT: "to dwell there and to claim possession of it forever" (See: Metonymy)

My eyes and my heart will be there

The eyes and heart are synecdoche for the whole person. AT: "I will protect and care for it" (See: Synecdoche)

translationWords

Yahweh

pray

set apart

name

eternity

heart

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And My eyes and My heart will be. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, “and My Divine Presence will dwell there if My will is done.” And My eyes and My heart will be there. If My heart and My will are there.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.