I love reading the Old Testament. It gets a little horrific and monotonous in places but there is a thread of love, heart, and mercy throughout. The Old Testament is transformed through that same love, heart, and mercy of God to become the New Testament via His Son, Our Savior Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is present in the Old Testament and permeates the New Testament as well as us.
King Solomon brought the Ark of the Covenant from the City of David into Jerusalem
“Now in the ark there was nothing else but the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
“A cloud filled the house of the Lord… for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord… and I (Solomon) stand in the room of David my father, and sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised: and have built a house to the name of the Lord the God of Israel
Solomon’s prayer: “Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven above, or on earth beneath: who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that have walked before thee with all their heart… whatsoever they shall pray for in this place, and hear them in the place of thy dwelling in heaven; and when thou hearest, show them mercy… and forgive the sin of thy people Israel… and show them the good way wherein they should walk… when a man shall know the wound of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands in this house, then hear thou in heaven, in the place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do so to every one according to his ways, as thou shalt see his heart…”
Solomon also prayed for strangers and nonbelievers to come to call upon the Lord:
“Moreover also the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for thy name’s sake… for when he shall come, and shall pray in this place, then hear thou in heaven… and do all those things, for which the stranger shall call upon thee: that all the people of the earth may learn to fear thy name, as do thy people Israel…”
Solomon also prayed for sinners captured by their enemies:
“But if they sin against thee (for there is no man who sinneth not) and thou being angry deliver them up to their enemies, so that they be led away captives into the land of their enemies far or near; then if they do penance in their hear in the place of captivity, and being converted make supplication to thee in their captivity saying: ‘We have sinned, we have done unjustly, we have committed wickedness, and return to thee with all their heart, and all their soul, in the land of their enemies… then hear thou in heaven… and do judgment for them. And forgive thy people, who have sinned against thee, and all their iniquities, by which they have transgressed against thee: and give them mercy before them that have made them captives, that they may have compassion on them.”
Solomon blesses all Israel with gratitude:
“The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers, and not leave us, nor cast us off, but may he incline our hearts to himself, that we may walk in all his ways, and keep his commandments, and his ceremonies, and all his judgments which he commanded our fathers…. that all the people of the earth may know, that the Lord he is God, and there is no other besides him. Let our hearts also be perfect with the Lord our God, that we may walk in his statues, and keep his commandments, as at this day.”
The queen of Saba came to validate the God-given wisdom of Solomon:
Having heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions… she came to king Solomon, and spoke to him all that she had in her heart… she no longer had any spirit in her, and she said to the king… ‘thy wisdom and thy works, exceed the fame which I heard… blessed be the Lord thy God, whom thou hast pleased, and who hath set thee upon the throne of Israel, because the Lord hath loved Israel for ever, and hath appointed thee king, to do judgment and justice.’
And King Solomon was rich and getting richer as other kings brought him gifts:
King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory: and overlaid it with the finest gold. Moreover all the vessels, out of which king Solomon drank, were of gold… and King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches, and wisdom. And all the earth desired to see Solomon’s face, to hear his wisdom, which God had given in his heart…
But the fall of King Solomon came because:
King Solomon loved many strange women besides the daughter of Pharao…
The Lord said to the children of Israel: “You shall not go in unto them, neither shall any of them come in to yours: for they will most certainly turn away your heart to follow their gods. And to these was Solomon joined with a most ardent love, and he had seven hundred wives as queens, and three hundred concubines: and the women turned away his heart. And when he was now old, his heart was turned away by women to follow strange gods; and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
And the Lord was angry with Solomon… “because thou hast done this… I will divide and rend thy kingdom, and will give it to thy servant. Nevertheless in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Neither will I take away the whole kingdom, but I will give one tribe to thy son for the sake of David my servant, and Jerusalem which I have chosen.
So it came to pass at that time, that Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahias the Silonite, clad in a new garment, found him in the way: and the two were alone in the field.
Ahias to Jeroboan: “Take to thee ten pieces: for this saith the Lord the God of Israel: Behold I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give thee ten tribes.”
And to his son I will give one tribe, that there may remain a lamp for my servant David before me always in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen, that my name might be there… and I will all for this afflict the seed of David, but yet not for ever.
And the rest of the words of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom: behold they are all written in the book of the words of the days of Solomon. And the days that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel, were forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father, and Roboam his son reigned in his stead.
But Solomon’s Prayer from the Old Testament remains with us and is still new today, a prayer of love, heart, and mercy for all who worship God instead of worshipping themselves, king or no king!
Day 117: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Solomon’s Prayer from the Old World but still New Today!.
Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Third Book of Kings Chapters 8-11.
This Book opens with the death of King David. Solomon, his son, succeeded him. King Solomon ruled wisely, beautified Jerusalem, and built the Temple. But later he encouraged idolatry. After his death his kingdom split into two hostile sections, Israel in the North and Juda in the South.
Bible Notes:
3 Kings Chapter 8: The ark is placed in the Temple; The glory of the Lord fills the Temple; Solomon blesses God; Solomon’s prayer; Solomon asks to be heard; May God forgive trespassers; Plea for forgiveness; Rain asked for the repentant; Rewards for prayers and supplications; May God hear also strangers; God’s help in wars; Prayers of the repentant; Solomon blesses all Israel; Solomon’s peace offering.
Then all the ancients of Israel with the princes of the tribes, and the heads of the families of the children of Israel were assembled to King Solomon in Jerusalem…
…and the priests took up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, that is, out of Sion… and the tabernacle of the covenant…
Now in the ark there was nothing else but the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
…a cloud filled the house of the Lord… for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.
…and I stand in the room of David my father, and sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised: and have built a house to the name of the Lord the God of Israel
Solomon’s prayer: “Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven above, or on earth beneath: who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that have walked before thee with all their heart… whatsoever they shall pray for in this place, and hear them in the place of thy dwelling in heaven; and when thou hearest, show them mercy… and forgive the sin of thy people Israel… and show them the good way wherein they should walk… when a man shall know the wound of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands in this house, then hear thou in heaven, in the place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do so to every one according to his ways, as thou shalt see his heart…”
Is it then to be thought that God should indeed dwell upon earth? For if heaven, and the heavens of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built?
“Moreover also the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for thy name’s sake… for when he shall come, and shall pray in this place, then hear thou in heaven… and do all those things, for which the stranger shall call upon thee: that all the people of the earth may learn to fear thy name, as do thy people Israel…”
“But if they sin against thee (for there is no man who sinneth not) and thou being angry deliver them up to their enemies, so that they be led away captives into the land of their enemies far or near; then of they do penance in their hear in the place of captivity, and being converted make supplication to thee in their captivity saying: ‘We have sinned, we have done unjustly, we have committed wickedness, and return to thee with all their heart, and all their soul, in the land of their enemies… then hear thou in heaven… and do judgment for them. And forgive thy people, who have sinned against thee, and all their iniquities, by which they have transgressed against thee: and give them mercy before them that have made them captives, that they may have compassion on them.”
Solomon blesses all Israel: “The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers, and not leave us, nor cast us off, but may he incline our hearts to himself, that we may walk in all his ways, and keep his commandments, and his ceremonies, and all his judgments which he commanded our fathers…. that all the people of the earth may know, that the Lord he is God, and there is no other besides him. Let our hearts also be perfect with the Lord our God, that we may walk in his statues, and keep his commandments, as at this day.”
…so the king, and the children of Israel dedicated the temple of the Lord.
3 Kings Chapter 9: The Lord talks with Solomon; Solomon and Hiram exchange gifts; Solomon builds and fortifies cities; Tribute exacted from foreigners; No Israelite slaves; Solomon’s religious practices; Solomon’s fleet brings gold.
…that the Lord appeared to him (Solomon) a second time, as he had appeared to him in Gabaon. And the Lord said to him: “I have heard thy prayer… I have sanctified this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever, and my eyes and my heart shall be there always… and if thou will walk before me… in simplicity of heart, and in uprightness… there shall not fail a man of thy race upon the throne of Israel… but if you and your children revolting shall turn away from following me… but will go and worship strange gods, and adore them, I will take Israel from the face of the land which I have given them; and the temple which I have sanctified in my name, I will cast out of my sight, and Israel shall be a proverb, and a byword among all people…”
And when twenty years were ended after Solomon had built the two houses, that is, the house of the Lord, and the house of the king… then Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee… and Hiram came out of Tyre, to see the towns which Solomon had given him, and they pleased him not… And he called them the land of Chabul to this day.
Pharao the king of Egypt came up and took Gazer… and gave it for a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
3 Kings Chapter 10: The queen of Saba visits Solomon; She admires his wisdom and riches; Her gift to Solomon; The queen of Saba departs; Solomon’s gold; Solomon’s ivory throne; Solomon’s household vessels and furniture; Solomon’s chariots and horses.
And the queen of Saba, having heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions… she came to king Solomon, and spoke to him all that she had in her heart… she no longer had any spirit in her, and she said to the king… ‘thy wisdom and thy works, exceed the fame which I heard… blessed be the Lord thy God, whom thou hast pleased, and who hath set thee upon the throne of Israel, because the Lord hath loved Israel for ever, and hath appointed thee king, to do judgment and justice.’
King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory: and overlaid it with the finest gold.
Moreover all the vessels, out of which king Solomon drank, were of gold…
And King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches, and wisdom. And all the earth desired to see Solomon’s face, to hear his wisdom, which God had given in his heart…
3 Kings Chapter 11: Solomon falls into idolatry; The Lord threatens Solomon; Adad is Solomon’s enemy; Razon is Solomon’s enemy; Rebellion of Jeroboam; Prophecy of Ahias; Jerobaum flees; Death of Solomon.
And King Solomon loved many strange women besides the daughter of Pharao…
The Lord said to the children of Israel: “You shall not go in unto them, neither shall any of them come in to yours: for they will most certainly turn away your heart to follow their gods. And to these was Solomon joined with a most ardent love, and he had seven hundred wives as queens, and three hundred concubines: and the women turned away his heart. And when he was now old, his heart was turned away by women to follow strange gods; and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
And the Lord was angry with Solomon… “because thou hast done this… I will divide and rend thy kingdom, and will give it to thy servant. Nevertheless in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Neither will I take away the whole kingdom, but I will give one tribe to thy son for the sake of David my servant, and Jerusalem which I have chosen.
And the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Adad the Edomite…
God also raised up against him (Solomon) an adversary, Razon…
And he was an adversary to Israel, all the days of Solomon: and this is the evil of Adad, and his hatred against Israel, and he reigned in Syria.
So it came to pass at that time, that Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahias the Silonite, clad in a new garment, found him in the way: and the two were alone in the field.
Ahias to Jeroboan: “Take to thee ten pieces: for this saith the Lord the God of Israel: Behold I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give thee ten tribes.”
And to his son I will give one tribe, that there may remain a lamp for my servant David before me always in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen, that my name might be there… and I will all for this afflict the seed of David, but yet not for ever.
And the rest of the words of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom: behold they are all written in the book of the words of the days of Solomon. And the days that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel, were forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father, and Roboam his son reigned in his stead.
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