1Ki 8:58 | KingComments | STEP | In 2 Chronicles 7 after the prayer fire comes from heaven to consume the sacrifice and the glory of the LORD fills the temple for the second time ( ). This is lacking here because the emphasis here is on responsibility. We see this after arising from the prayer. Solomon speaks to the people and presents to them their responsibility. Each prayer at the same time gives a responsibility. First he praises the LORD that He has given His people rest. The rest of His people is the result of the rest He Himself found, depicted in the resting place of the ark in the temple. Further Solomon points to the unchangeable faithfulness of the LORD, His absolute faithfulness which is demonstrated by the fact that He has fulfilled every word He has spoken. He also expresses the wish that He will be with them and guide them. The past is also a guarantee for the future, because as the LORD was with the fathers, He can also be with them ( ). In the responsibility comes. In order to meet this, man also needs the help of God, that He inclines his heart to obedience. Day after day, “each day” ( ), we depend on God’s help. The effect of this will be “that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God” and that “there is no one else” ( ). Therefore Solomon points out that the heart must be perfect, undivided, with the LORD. There is nothing to share with the LORD that is not His. At the moment Solomon can still say that this is the case with the people. Unfortunately it will not stay that way and with us it is often not undivided.

‏ 1 Kings 8:58

The Faithfulness of the LORD

In 2 Chronicles 7 after the prayer fire comes from heaven to consume the sacrifice and the glory of the LORD fills the temple for the second time (2Chr 7:1). This is lacking here because the emphasis here is on responsibility. We see this after arising from the prayer. Solomon speaks to the people and presents to them their responsibility. Each prayer at the same time gives a responsibility. First he praises the LORD that He has given His people rest. The rest of His people is the result of the rest He Himself found, depicted in the resting place of the ark in the temple.

Further Solomon points to the unchangeable faithfulness of the LORD, His absolute faithfulness which is demonstrated by the fact that He has fulfilled every word He has spoken. He also expresses the wish that He will be with them and guide them. The past is also a guarantee for the future, because as the LORD was with the fathers, He can also be with them (Heb 13:8).

In 1Kgs 8:58 the responsibility comes. In order to meet this, man also needs the help of God, that He inclines his heart to obedience. Day after day, “each day” (1Kgs 8:59), we depend on God’s help. The effect of this will be “that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God” and that “there is no one else” (1Kgs 8:60). Therefore Solomon points out that the heart must be perfect, undivided, with the LORD. There is nothing to share with the LORD that is not His. At the moment Solomon can still say that this is the case with the people. Unfortunately it will not stay that way and with us it is often not undivided.