And when thou hearest, forgive – <\/B>literally, both hear and forgive – i. e., hear the prayer, and forgive the sin which alone causes God to chasten men or to withhold from them His choicest blessings.<\/P><\/p>\nFuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
1Ki 8:30<\/span><\/p>\n When thou hearest, forgive.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n The first prayer in Solomons Temple<\/strong><\/p>\n Simple, touching, and beautiful were the words of the first prayer offered under the roof of Solomons Temple. Forgiveness is the first thing asked for. Solomon takes it for granted that forgiveness will be the great thing needed by those who in after days would pray in that house. He does not tell us what shall be the prayer, further than as the nature of the prayer is implied in the nature of the answer he bespeaks for it. In that single request, in that one word, Solomon gathers up the essence, as it were, of all the prayers that ever should be offered beneath that Temples roof.<\/p>\n Possibility of the souls recovery<\/strong><\/p>\n If Kant emphasised the starry heavens and the moral law, if Daniel Webster emphasised the thought of personal responsibility to God, Hawthorne believed the greatest thought that can occupy the human mind is the thought of justice and its retributive workings through conscience. Doubtless there are a thousand problems that compete for the attention of youth; but for men grown mature and strong life offers no more momentous question than this: Can the soul, injured by temptation and scarred by sin, ever recover its pristine strength and beauty? Is there no place of recovery, though men seek it long with tears? I do not know, answers the old Greek, I do not know that God has any right to forgive sin. But Dante, having affirmed that man cannot forgive himself, thinks that sin may be consumed, and therefore makes the transgressor walk up a stairway of red-hot marble that pain may consume his iniquities. Hawthorns felt that somewhere life holds a fountain divine for cleansing the dust from the souls wing. Therefore, at the very gates of the jail into which the prisoner enters, Hawthorne makes a rose-bush grow, with thorns indeed to typify the sharp pains that society inflicts upon the wrong-doer, but with blossoms, too, offering fragrance to the prisoner as he goes in, and suggesting that if the petals fall through the frosts of to-day, these falling petals, passing into the roots will reappear in me richer blossoms of to-morrow. As if another life might recover the disasters of this; as if, no matter what mans harshness, great nature and natures God hold a wide, deep pity that can atone, forgive, and save. (N. A. Hillis, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n Verse 30. Toward this place<\/B><\/I>] Both tabernacle and temple were types of our Lord Jesus, or of God manifested in the flesh<\/I>; and he was and is the Mediator between God and man. All prayer, to be acceptable, and to be entitled to a hearing, must go to God through Him<\/I>. The human nature<\/I> of Christ is the temple in which dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily<\/I>; therefore with propriety all prayer must be offered to God through Him. “If they pray toward this place, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place; and when thou hearest, forgive.” This appears to me to be the true sense and doctrine of this verse.<\/P> <\/p>\n Thy dwelling-place; <\/B>which he adds, that the people might not idolize the temple, nor presume upon it, as if God were now fast tied to them, as having no other dwelling-place; and to direct them in all their addresses to God in his temple, to lift up their eyes above it, even to heaven, where Gods most true and most glorious dwelling-place is. <\/P> And when thou hearest, forgive, <\/B>to wit, the sins of thy people praying, and even of their prayers; which, if not pardoned, will certainly hinder the success of all their prayers, and the course of all thy blessings upon them. <\/P> <\/p>\n And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards this place<\/strong>,…. Not only he desires his prayers might be heard, but those of the people of Israel, then, and at all times in succeeding ages, whenever they should look towards the temple, and to him that was typified by it; to whose blood, righteousness, sacrifice and mediation, the acceptance of prayers with God is to be ascribed:<\/p>\n and hear thou in heaven thy dwellingplace<\/strong>; for though he condescended to take up his residence in the temple, yet his more proper and more glorious dwelling was in heaven, and from whence, notwithstanding the distance of it, he could hear the prayers of his people, and does:<\/p>\n and when thou hearest, forgive<\/strong>; manifest and apply pardoning grace and mercy on account of sins confessed, and repented of; or remove calamities and distresses on account of sin, which sometimes is meant, and frequently in this prayer, by the forgiveness of sin.<\/p>\n “<\/strong> And hearken you to the supplication of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place. Yes, hear you in heaven your dwelling-place, and when you hear, forgive (salach).” <\/p>\n He then conjoined Israel with himself and prayed that YHWH would not only hear Solomon’s prayers on behalf of the people, but would also hear their own prayers as well. And he knew that it would be needed, for part of YHWH’s covenant with David had included the idea of his sons going astray from YHWH (2Sa 7:14<\/span>). And when that happened they would all need forgiveness, and especially the king himself. This idea of forgiveness is one found in Leviticus and Numbers (but interestingly not in Deuteronomy where the idea is presented in a different way). For this idea of God positively forgiving (salach) see Exo 34:9<\/span>; Leviticus 4-5 (eight times); Lev 6:7<\/span>; Lev 19:22<\/span>; Num 14:19-20<\/span>; Num 15:25-28<\/span>; Num 30:5<\/span>; Num 30:8<\/span>; Num 30:12<\/span>, and the Davidic Psa 25:18<\/span>; Psa 103:3<\/span>. In Deuteronomy it appears only as a negative idea in Deu 29:20<\/span>. It is thus not a Deuteronomic concept. And yet forgiveness is to be the very basis of the Temple’s effectiveness at being an instrument for reaching YHWH. <\/p>\n Solomon then listed seven ways in which YHWH’s people, and indeed other people, might call on Him or sin against Him, desiring His response. The first was in the cause of justice when men came before YHWH on oath, the second was when they might be smitten by their enemies because they had sinned against Him, the third was if the heavens were shut up so that there was no rain, for the same reason, the fourth was if natural disasters affected the land, the fifth was where foreigners might come to the Temple for His Name’s sake, the sixth was when His people went out to battle, and the seventh was if ever they found themselves captive in a foreign land, a common enough experience for many people in those turbulent and often violent days. <\/p>\n 1Ki 8:31-32<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid on him to cause him to swear, and he come and swear before your altar in this house, then hear you in heaven, and do, and judge your servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.” <\/p>\n The first scenario was where a man was called on to swear an oath before the altar in the Temple as to whether he was guilty or not. In such a case the prayer was that YHWH would respond justly and hear what was sworn, and act accordingly, condemning the guilty and bringing his judgment on his own head, and declaring the righteous to be righteous because he truly was ‘in the right’. See as examples Exo 22:11<\/span>; Num 5:19<\/span>; Num 5:21<\/span>. Note that by this prayer the Temple is seen as replacing the regular idea of being brought ‘before YHWH’ in the Tabernacle. <\/p>\n For the idea of swearing an oath before God compare Num 30:2<\/span>; Jos 2:17<\/span>; Jos 2:20<\/span>. See for this particular case, as already mentioned, Exo 22:11<\/span>; Num 5:19<\/span>; Num 5:21<\/span>. Again it is not a Deuteronomic concept. <\/p>\n 1Ki 8:33-34<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> When your people Israel are smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against you, if they turn again to you, and confess your name, and pray and make supplication to you in this house, then hear you in heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and let them remain in the land which you gave to their fathers.” <\/p>\n The second scenario was one where Israel were smitten before their enemies because they had sinned against YHWH (compare Jos 7:1-5<\/span>). The prayer was that if they then turned again to YHWH (repented), and confessed His Name (believed), and made supplication towards the Temple as the place where YHWH had established His Name’, then YHWH would hear from Heaven, and forgive their sin, and allow them remain in the land which He had promised and given to their fathers. In other words that they might not be driven out of their land in the way that YHWH had commanded that they drive the Canaanites out of it. Note the emphasis on ‘hear’ and ‘forgive’ and the consequence. <\/p>\n The change from ‘bring them again to the land’ to ‘let them remain in the land’ does not alter the basic Hebrew text. It simply requires a change of pointing (of pronunciation of the original consonants). It is required because if the people were outside the land they would not be able to ‘make supplication in this house’. For the phrase ‘smitten down before your enemies’ see Lev 26:17<\/span>; Deu 28:25<\/span>. For the idea of ‘the land that you gave to their fathers’ compare Deu 19:8<\/span>; Jos 18:3<\/span>. <\/p>\n 1Ki 8:35-36<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you, if they pray towards this place, and confess your name, and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, then hear you in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and send rain upon your land, which you have given to your people for an inheritance.” <\/p>\n The next example is when heaven is shut up so that there is no rain as a consequence of the fact that they have sinned against YHWH. Palestine was especially dependent on rain because it had almost no permanent rivers. Thus rain at the proper season was vital for their agriculture. The idea that God’s people were dependent on YHWH for rain from Heaven is constant throughout the Law of Moses (specifically in Lev 26:4<\/span>; Deu 11:11-17<\/span>; Deu 28:12<\/span>; Deu 28:24<\/span>; compare 2Sa 1:21<\/span>; Isa 32:15<\/span>; Isa 44:1-5<\/span>; Isa 55:10-13<\/span>), for the rain filled the wadis and the natural wells, and produced the springs. See also 1 Kings 17-18. <\/p>\n Again the thought was that if they prayed towards the Temple and confessed His Name (believed) and turned from their sin (repented) when He afflicted them in this way, He would hear in Heaven (note not in the Temple) and forgive their sins. And this would result from the fact that He would teach them the good way in which they should walk, and the consequence would be that rain came on their land, the land which was given to them as their inheritance. <\/p>\n Note once more the emphasis on ‘forgiveness, a central concept in this prayer, a concept which is taken from Leviticus and Numbers. For the phrase ‘when Heaven is shut up and there is no rain’ compare Deu 11:17<\/span>. It is an idea also found in the Ugaritic literature (written prior to Israel’s entering into the land). For the idea that the land was given to them as their inheritance see Num 16:14<\/span>; Num 26:53-54<\/span>; Num 32:18<\/span>; Num 34:2<\/span>; Num 34:29<\/span>; Num 36:2<\/span>; Deu 4:21<\/span>; Deu 4:38<\/span>; Deu 12:9<\/span>; Deu 15:4<\/span>; Deu 19:10<\/span>; Deu 21:23<\/span>; Deu 24:4<\/span>; Deu 25:19<\/span>; Deu 26:1<\/span>; Joshua 14-24. <\/p>\n 1Ki 8:37-40<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities (gates); whatever plague, whatever sickness there be, whatever prayer and supplication be made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands towards this house, then hear you in heaven your dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart you know (for you, even you only, know the hearts of all the children of men), that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land which you gave to our fathers.” <\/p>\n Solomon then turned his thoughts towards the many natural disasters that could come on the land – famine, pestilence, blasting (by the Sirocco winds from the desert), mildew (a parasite fungus resulting from overmuch rain), locust and caterpillar, belligerent enemies, sickness and plague, and the plague within men’s hearts that set them to praying. And once they had recognised the plague that was in their hearts and spread forth their hands towards YHWH’s house (the Temple), Solomon asked that YHWH would hear ‘in Heaven His dwelling-place’, and would forgive, and work within His people a heart that feared His Name. <\/p>\n Note again his emphasis on the fact that YHWH’s supreme dwellingplace was not in the Temple but in Heaven, the need for repentance (a recognition of the plague in their own hearts), the necessary cry for forgiveness, and the desire for the action of YHWH in restoring their hearts, and their continuation in the land which YHWH had given to their fathers in godly fear. There was ever before their thoughts the fact that God’s judgment on the Canaanites had been that they would be driven out of the land that they inhabited. Thus he prayed that the same might not happen to Israel. <\/p>\n Note the thought which is contained here of prayer by individuals. This kind of disaster could strike at individual families, some here and some there, rather than the whole land. <\/p>\n In a verse where we might expect to find many parallels if any specific passage had been in mind there are in fact quite remarkably, given the subject matter, almost none. For famine in the sense in mind here see Gen 12:10<\/span>; Gen 26:1<\/span>; Genesis 41<\/span> often; Lev 26:19-20<\/span>. For pestilence compare Lev 26:25<\/span>; Num 14:12<\/span>. For blasting and mildew compare Deu 28:22<\/span>. For locusts see especially Exodus 10<\/span> (often) and Deu 28:38<\/span>. There is no mention of caterpillar in the Law of Moses. But as these are common disaster experiences it is really a collection from general knowledge and common sense, which indicates a general knowledge of the whole Law of Moses, and of the land, rather than a concentration on any particular piece of literature. After all Solomon took a great interest in the phenomena of nature (1Ki 4:33<\/span>). <\/p>\n “In the land of their cities (literally ‘gates”<\/strong>).’ The point here, of course, is that it was only their cities that could be besieged with the concentration being on their massive gates. But Solomon wanted to connect the idea with the land that YHWH had given them. This is an advancement on being smitten down by their enemies, which had in mind the open battlefield. Here prolonged sieges were in mind, of a kind carried out, for example, by David on Ammon (2 Samuel 10<\/span>). Some see ‘in the land, in the gates’ as signifying both in the countryside and in cities. <\/p>\n 1Ki 8:41-43<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> Moreover concerning the foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for your name’s sake, (for they will hear of your great name, and of your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he shall come and pray toward this house, hear you in heaven your dwelling-place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you for; that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by your name.” <\/p>\n This quite remarkable emphasis on YHWH’s openness to the prayers of foreigners brings out Solomon’s breadth of vision. It visualised a time when foreigners would hear of what God had done and would come to the Temple to seek the God of Israel (see 1Ki 10:1-13<\/span>; 1Ki 10:24-25<\/span>; 2 Kings 5<\/span>; compare Exo 12:48<\/span>; Num 15:14<\/span>; Psa 2:10<\/span>. The idea was expanded by Isa 56:6<\/span> ff. For the idea of hearing what God has done see also Exo 15:14-16<\/span>). <\/p>\n It is a prayer that assumes a state of peace, expansion and prosperity like the time of Solomon, a time when Israel’s messengers and traders were going out to the world and were being received as honoured guests, and when the fame of Israel was being spread abroad. Then foreigners would learn of YHWH’s greatness and of what He had done for Israel, especially in delivering them from Egypt, and would come to worship Him and pray in His Temple. (Solomon was trying to bring home to the people the great vision that he had in building the Temple). And his prayer was that YHWH would hear the prayers of such people, and that YHWH would answer them from ‘Heaven His dwellingplace’, and do what they asked, so that all the peoples of the earth might know His Name, and fear Him, just as His people did. And the result would be that, as a consequence of their answered prayer, they would know that this Temple was distinctive from all others and was called by the Name of YHWH, because in a very real sense YHWH had manifested His presence there by answering their prayers. <\/p>\n For the phrase ‘far country’ see Jos 9:6<\/span>; Jos 9:9<\/span>. For ‘mighty hand’ and ‘outstretched arm’ see Deu 26:8<\/span>. Compare Exo 32:11<\/span>, ‘with great power and with a mighty hand’. <\/p>\n 1Ki 8:44-45<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to YHWH towards the city which you have chosen, and towards the house which I have built for your name, then hear you in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.” <\/p>\n The final scenario is of the case where the war is being taken to the enemy (and therefore very different from 1Ki 8:33<\/span>, and having worse possible consequences) because YHWH has sent them. Then when from the land to which they have gone (‘by whatever way you shall send them’) they pray to YHWH towards the city which He has chosen, and the house which Solomon has built in His Name, he asks that YHWH will hear their prayer and supplication in Heaven, and hear and maintain their cause, giving them victory. <\/p>\n So praying towards the Tabernacle in the centre of the camp has now become praying towards the Temple in the centre of the land. Both were seen as the focal point through which Heaven could be reached because His Name was there, as a result of the presence of the Ark. Notice how Solomon was now trying to convince the people (and YHWH) that YHWH had chosen Jerusalem. This is the first mention of such an idea in Kings, and indeed in Scripture up to this point. <\/p>\n 1Ki 8:46-48<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> If they sin against you (for there is no man who sins not), and you are angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near; yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication to you in the land of those who carried them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have dealt wickedly,’ if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you towards their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name,” <\/p>\n But in all cases victory could not be assumed, even though they have been sent by YHWH. For there they might well sin against Him (always an especial danger during a belligerent campaign) and as a result YHWH might be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy so that they were carried off captive to their enemy’s land, whether far or near (Cushan Rishathaim of Mesopotamia would be an example of ‘far’ – Jdg 3:8<\/span>). The carrying off of captives was not just something practised by the great nations like Assyria and Babylon. They simply did it on a huge scale. It was common practise with prisoners of war. And it was common practise whenever nations invaded another nation. Indeed one of the spoils that they looked for was plenty of slaves to sell on or keep for their own use. We have the perfect example in 1Sa 30:2<\/span>, 1Sa 30:5-6<\/span>, 1Sa 18:1<\/span> where one of the reasons for the Amalekite invasion was in order to take captives as slaves. Compare also Deu 20:14<\/span>; Deu 21:10-11<\/span> where it was simply assumed as a matter of course that Israel would do the same. We can hardly doubt that other nations reciprocated. Consider for example Naaman’s Israelite slave girl (1Ki 5:2<\/span>). <\/p>\n So this idea of being carried away captive did not require later history to make sense. Indeed in Lev 18:25-28<\/span>; Lev 20:22<\/span>. YHWH had warned against the possibility of His ‘spewing them out’. It was thus to be expected. There would be many Israelites in captivity who had been there as a consequence of the wars described in the Book of Judges and since, and many more would be taken captive during the coming wars with Syria and other enemies. It was something that was happening all the time. And it was Solomon’s prayer that when such people were carried into captivity they might remember YHWH and call on Him from wherever they were, and admit that they were sinners who had behaved sinfully (for as Solomon has pointed out there are none who sin not), with the result that their captors would treat them more leniently. There was no suggestion of restoration from their captivity. It recognised that they would be there permanently and referred rather to compassion being shown to them in their captivity. <\/p>\n And the point was that wherever YHWH’s people were they should be able to look towards the land, and towards Jerusalem and towards the Temple, as they had once looked towards the Tabernacle, and be sure that YHWH would hear them. The spirit is more that of Lev 26:38-45<\/span> than of Deuteronomy 28-29, for in the latter there is a clear promise that they will be restored to their land, something which Solomon did not have in mind here (it is so clear in Deuteronomy that it is difficult to see how he could have overlooked it had he had that passage in mind). There is not even the hint of a return from captivity. This was indeed the condition of many Israelites who had been taken captive since the time of Joshua. It has nothing to do with the Exile. And we can safely say that while this prayer could have been prayed by someone who had in mind Leviticus 26<\/span> or who had a working knowledge of extracts from Deuteronomy (like, say, Solomon), it could not have been written by a thoroughgoing Deuteronomist. <\/p>\n Note again the emphasis on repentance (‘we have sinned, and have done perversely, we have dealt wickedly’) and on faith (‘if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul — and pray’), and on the desire that they receive forgiveness for all their sins and transgressions, because they were still the people of His inheritance. And he prayed that YHWH’s eyes might be opened towards them and He would hear their cry, because they were the chosen of YHWH (Exo 19:5-6<\/span>; Exo 20:1-18<\/span>) in spite of their captivity. <\/p>\n For the warning about being carried away captive on a large scale as a judgment on His people way (but not in these specific terms) see Lev 26:33<\/span>; Deu 28:64<\/span>. For His eyes being open towards them see on 1Ki 8:29<\/span>. <\/p>\n 1Ki 8:49-50<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> Then hear you their prayer and their supplication in heaven your dwelling-place, and maintain their cause, and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions in which they have transgressed against you, and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them,” <\/p>\n The word used for ‘sinning’ here indicates gross rebellion. Thus the forgiveness is greatly needed. We note again the centrality of forgiveness in response to repentance, and the emphasis again that YHWH will hear them ‘in Heaven Your dwellingplace’. As we have seen forgiveness was a subject emphasised in Leviticus and Numbers, although there a sacrificial ministry was in mind (and would be assumed in most of Solomon’s prayer). Here there could be no sacrifices offered (at least as far as we are aware) because they were in a far off (or not so far off) land. That YHWH heard ‘from Heaven’, and not from some far off Jerusalem, was also important. Wherever they were He was within reach. And the whole point is that in the place of their captivity they would experience the compassion of their captors because they had repented towards Him. <\/p>\n 1Ki 8:30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.<\/p>\n Ver. 30. And hearken thou, &c.<\/strong> ] These repetitions of the selfsame petitions, argue greatest earnestness. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And when thou hearest, forgive,<\/strong> ] q.d., <\/em> Whatever else thou deniest us, grant us pardon; yea, forgive the sin of our prayers; for when we have prayed for the forgiveness of sins, we had need pray again for the forgiveness of our prayers; such a spring and sink of sin there is within us.<\/p>\n dwelling place. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia. App-6. <\/p>\n when they shall: 2Ch 20:8, 2Ch 20:9, Neh 1:5, Neh 1:6 <\/p>\n toward this place: or, in this place <\/p>\n and hear: 1Ki 8:34, 1Ki 8:36, 1Ki 8:39, 1Ki 8:43, 1Ki 8:49, 2Ch 6:21, Psa 33:13, Psa 33:14, Psa 113:5, Psa 113:6, Psa 123:1, Ecc 5:2, Isa 57:15, Mat 6:9 <\/p>\n forgive: 1Ki 8:34, 1Ki 8:36, 1Ki 8:39, 2Ch 7:14, Psa 130:3, Psa 130:4, Dan 9:19, Mat 6:12 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: 1Ki 8:32 – hear thou 1Ki 8:33 – in 1Ki 8:35 – confess 1Ki 8:48 – pray unto 1Ki 12:27 – go up 2Ki 20:2 – he turned 2Ch 6:20 – thine eyes 2Ch 30:27 – their prayer Ezr 10:1 – before the house Psa 5:7 – I worship Psa 20:6 – he will Psa 138:2 – toward Isa 38:2 – turned Dan 6:10 – his windows Luk 18:10 – into<\/p>\n 1Ki 8:30. When they shall pray toward this place None but the priests might enter that place, but when the people worshipped in the courts of the temple, it was to be with an eye toward it, not with a superstitious regard or veneration, as though it were holy in itself, or in any respect the ground of their confidence in their worship, which would have been idolatry; but, as an instituted medium of their worship, helping the weakness of their faith, and typifying the mediation of Jesus Christ, who is the true temple, and to whom we must have an eye in all our approaches to, and intercourse with, God. Hence, the pious Jews that were at a distance looked toward Jerusalem for the sake of the temple, even when it lay in ruins, Dan 6:10. Hear thou in heaven Which he adds to direct them, in their addresses to God in or looking toward this temple, to lift up their eyes above it, even to heaven, where Gods most true and most proper dwelling-place is. When thou hearest, forgive The sins of thy people praying, and even of their prayers; which sins, if not pardoned, will certainly hinder the success of all their prayers, and the course of all thy blessings.<\/p>\n And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive. And when thou hearest, forgive – literally, both hear and forgive – i. e., hear the prayer, and forgive the sin … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 8:30”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9027\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
I. <\/strong>That all men are sure to need forgiveness: that whatever differences there may be among them in other respects, they all agree in this, that they are sure to need forgiveness. Now, what is forgiveness? Forgiveness implies that a man has done something that is wrong–some wrong that is especially directed against some other being–and so which might justly excite the being wronged to regard the wrong-doer with an unfriendly and angry feeling, and seek to inflict punishment upon him: but that the being wronged resolves to pass by the offence done him–to blot it out from recollection, so far as may be–to cherish no angry spirit towards the offender, and to take no vengeance upon him for that which he has done.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>The chief thing which beings like us ought to ask for in our prayers, is the pardon of our sins. Solomon seems to have thought that there was nothing which men needed so much; nothing which it was so important that they should get; nothing which included and meant so much. It was of this, no doubt, that our Blessed Lord was thinking, when, alluding to something which He did not name, but which all would understand, He said, One thing is needful. For see what is meant by being an un-forgiven sinner. It means that a man has the anger of the Almighty God resting upon him. It means that the creature, weak, helpless, dependent, is at enmity with the Creator, without whose aid he cannot draw a breath, move a limb, live a moment. It means that the word of the True is solemnly plighted to destroy him: that the power of the Almighty is solemnly engaged to destroy him. It means that he is one of those, concerning whom God has declared that when they leave this world, they must enter into a place of infinite and never ending woe and wretchedness; and there dwell through eternity still under the burden of His wrath. That is what is meant by being a sinner, not forgiven; it means that everything is wrong! And what is meant by being forgiven? It means that everything that was wrong before, is now set right. It means that everything that was ban before, is now made good. It means that God, before an enemy, is now a friend. It means that God, formerly the angry Judge, is now the reconciled and gracious, Father. It moans that Gods true word, formerly plighted to destroy us, and God s Almighty power, formerly engaged to destroy us, are now plighted and engaged to preserve and bless us.<\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>God is the only being who can forgive, in the large and full sense of that word. Yell will remember, when I say this, the remark of the Scribes and Pharisees when our Saviour told a certain man that his sins were forgiven: they said, This man blasphemeth: who can forgive sins but God only? And they said what was true, if Christ had been a mere man. No one but God can forgive sin. And it is quite easy to show you how and why it is so. For, you know quite well, an offence can be forgiven only by the person against whom it was committed. Now all sin is in its essential nature, something committed against God; and therefore it can only be forgiven by God. There is a striking illustration in Scripture of this great truth, that sin especially consists in wrong done to God–that its great aggravation consists in this–and that when the conscience is awakened, the thing that weighs most heavy on a man s heart is, that he has sinned against God.<\/p>\n
IV. <\/strong>Prayer is the way to obtain the forgiveness of sins. You see Solomon looked forward to days when sinful beings should, under the consciousness of guilt, employ the natural and recognised means for getting that guilt forgiven. He took it for granted, that when men felt they needed forgiveness, they would pray to God to forgive them: and so he himself, in anticipation of very many prayers which would be offered for pardon, says, Hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling-place; and when Thou hearest, forgive. But indeed it is so plain that when you want anything from God, the right way to get it is to ask for it: this is so completely the dictate of common sense, that the matter needs no enforcement or illustration. (A. K. H. Boyd.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"