A Nation Worships God

MEMORY VERSE: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?” —I Kings 8:27

II SAMUEL 7:18,19,27-29; I KINGS 8:62,63,65,66

PRAYER falls into various categories. A prayer may be a request to God for certain desired blessings, such as guidance in serving him and strength to do his will. There are prayers in which we ask for forgiveness of sins. There are circumstances under which one may be prompted to ask for certain temporal blessings, such as good health in order to serve God more effectively.

Then there are prayers of thanksgiving. Such prayers could be thought of, perhaps, as more akin to worship than those prayers in which we simply ask God for blessings. The two prayers cited in this lesson are more particularly those of thanksgiving, although in both of them there is also a mingling of requests. One of these prayers is by David, the other by Solomon, David’s successor to the throne.

As was indicated in our last lesson, David desired to build a house, or temple, for the Lord. He was not permitted to do this, but the Lord promised to establish his ruling house forever. The word “house” in this record, whether used with respect to a place in which to dwell, a temple, or a ruling family, is the same word in the Hebrew. When symbolically applied to a ruling house it has the same meaning as in our more modern usage when we speak of the various ruling houses of Europe.

David was deeply appreciative of the Lord’s promise to him that he would be the head of a special ruling house which would continue forever, and his prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord concerning this promise is recorded in II Samuel 7:18-29. While basically this is a prayer of thanksgiving, it is also a petition to the Lord that he fulfill his promise. Verse 29 reads, “Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed forever.”—II Sam. 7:29

Solomon’s prayer is the one he presented to the Lord at the dedication of the temple. While David had not been permitted to build a temple for the Lord, Solomon was, and the Lord blessed him in this work. When it came time to dedicate this temple, Solomon prayed most earnestly to the Lord—a prayer of appreciation of God’s blessing upon the undertaking, and his blessing upon its use as the center of divine worship in Israel.

In connection with this prayer. Solomon also admonished the people of Israel to faithfulness in their service of God; and there was the offering of sacrifice. (I Kings 8:62,63). They also celebrated the Lord’s blessing upon the building of the temple by a great feast.—I Kings 8:65,66

Solomon’s temple was a magnificent structure, probably the costliest and, for sheer beauty, the greatest building of its kind which up to that time had ever been constructed. Certainly Solomon had a right to be thankful to God for having blessed him in its building.

But at that time in his life Solomon was also a humble man, and despite the grandeur of the temple for which he was given the credit of building, he could not help but wonder whether or not it was truly a suitable place for the Lord, so, as in our memory verse, he prayed, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?”—I Kings 8:27

Many centuries later the Apostle Paul again put this thought into proper perspective in his sermon on Mars’ hill. As Paul addressed the Athenians on this hill, there towered above him the ruins of the mighty temple known as the Parthenon, a celebrated Doric temple of Athena, built in the fifth century B.C. It was undoubtedly the pride and glory of those ancient Athenians.

But Paul, somewhat like Solomon, was not particularly impressed with any temple which man could build. He said concerning the true God of Israel—unknown to the Athenians—“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” (Acts 17:24) God prefers to dwell in the hearts of his people.

QUESTIONS

Name some of the different types of prayer.

What were the occasions of the two prayers from which the lesson quotes?

| Home Page | Table of Contents |