TRUE WORSHIP, Sarah Barry
ALL MAY KNOW THAT THE LORD IS GOD
Passage: 1Kings 8:41~66  
Key verse: 60
41 “As for the foreigner(A) who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— 42 for they will hear(B) of your great name and your mighty hand(C) and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, 43 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know(D) your name and fear(E) you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.(F)
44 “When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray(G) to the Lord toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 45 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.(H)
46 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin(I)—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive(J) to their own lands, far away or near; 47 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead(K) with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’;(L) 48 and if they turn back(M) to you with all their heart(N) and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray(O) to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple(P) I have built for your Name;(Q) 49 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. 50 And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy;(R) 51 for they are your people and your inheritance,(S) whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.(T)
52 “May your eyes be open(U) to your servant’s plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you.(V) 53 For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance,(W) just as you declared through your servant Moses when you, Sovereign Lord, brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”
54 When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the Lord, he rose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. 55 He stood and blessed(X) the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:
56 “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest(Y) to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises(Z) he gave through his servant Moses. 57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake(AA) us. 58 May he turn our hearts(AB) to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. 59 And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, 60 so that all the peoples(AC) of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other.(AD) 61 And may your hearts(AE) be fully committed(AF) to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”
The Dedication of the Temple(AG)
62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices(AH) before the Lord. 63 Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated(AI) the temple of the Lord.
64 On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat(AJ) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar(AK) that stood before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings.(AL)
65 So Solomon observed the festival(AM) at that time, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath(AN) to the Wadi of Egypt.(AO) They celebrated it before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. 66 On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good(AP) things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.
Cross references
- 1 Kings 8:41 : S Ge 31:15; Isa 56:3, 6; 61:5
- 1 Kings 8:42 : 1Ki 10:1; Isa 60:3; Ac 8:27
- 1 Kings 8:42 : Dt 3:24
- 1 Kings 8:43 : S Jos 4:24; S 1Sa 17:46
- 1 Kings 8:43 : Ps 102:15
- 1 Kings 8:43 : S Dt 28:10
- 1 Kings 8:44 : 1Ch 5:20; 2Ch 14:11
- 1 Kings 8:45 : Ps 9:4; 140:12
- 1 Kings 8:46 : Ps 130:3; 143:2; Pr 20:9; S Ro 3:9
- 1 Kings 8:46 : Lev 26:33-39; S Dt 4:27; S 21:10; S 28:64; 2Ki 25:21
- 1 Kings 8:47 : S ver 30; S Lev 5:5; Ezr 9:15; Ne 1:6; Jer 14:20
- 1 Kings 8:47 : Ezr 9:7; Ps 106:6; Jer 3:25
- 1 Kings 8:48 : S Dt 4:30
- 1 Kings 8:48 : S Dt 4:29
- 1 Kings 8:48 : 1Jn 1:8-10
- 1 Kings 8:48 : Ps 5:7; 11:4; Jnh 2:4
- 1 Kings 8:48 : Dt 12:11-14; Ne 1:9; Jer 23:3; 31:8
- 1 Kings 8:50 : 2Ki 25:28; 2Ch 30:9; Ps 106:46; Da 1:9
- 1 Kings 8:51 : S Ex 34:9; S Dt 9:29
- 1 Kings 8:51 : S Ex 1:13; Isa 48:10; Jer 11:4
- 1 Kings 8:52 : S ver 29
- 1 Kings 8:52 : Job 30:20; Ps 3:4; 22:2; 77:1; 142:1
- 1 Kings 8:53 : Ex 19:5; S 34:9
- 1 Kings 8:55 : S Ex 39:43; Nu 6:23
- 1 Kings 8:56 : S Ex 33:14; Dt 12:10; Heb 4:8
- 1 Kings 8:56 : S Jos 23:15; S Jer 29:10
- 1 Kings 8:57 : S Dt 4:31; S 31:6; S Mt 28:20; Heb 13:5
- 1 Kings 8:58 : S Jos 24:23
- 1 Kings 8:60 : S Jos 4:24
- 1 Kings 8:60 : S Dt 4:35
- 1 Kings 8:61 : Dt 6:5
- 1 Kings 8:61 : 1Ki 9:4; 11:4; 15:3, 14; 22:43; 2Ki 20:3; 1Ch 28:9; 29:19; 2Ch 16:9; 17:6; 25:2; Ps 119:80; Isa 38:3
- 1 Kings 8:62 : 8:62-66pp — 2Ch 7:1-10
- 1 Kings 8:62 : S 2Sa 6:13; 1Ch 29:21; Eze 45:17
- 1 Kings 8:63 : Ezr 6:16
- 1 Kings 8:64 : S Ex 29:13
- 1 Kings 8:64 : S Ex 27:1; 2Ki 16:14; 2Ch 4:1; 8:12; 15:8; Eze 43:13-17
- 1 Kings 8:64 : S 2Sa 6:17
- 1 Kings 8:65 : S ver 2
- 1 Kings 8:65 : S Nu 13:21
- 1 Kings 8:65 : S Ge 15:18
- 1 Kings 8:66 : S Ex 18:9
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. God singled out his people Israel (41-53)
God did not call and bless Israel only for their own sakes. Through Israel, God wanted to make himself known to all peoples of the earth. Solomon understood this. He asked God to answer the prayers of non-Israelites who learn of God's great name and pray to him. Solomon asked God to uphold the cause of his people when they went to war against their enemies. And if the Israelites went into exile because of their sins, Solomon asked God to forgive them when they repented. This would reveal the LORD's love and great faithfulness to the Israelites' captors.
2. All may know that there is no other God (54-66)
Solomon gave a final benediction. He praised God and then prayed for God to be with his people. He asked God to uphold his and the people's cause according to their daily needs. This would reveal to all peoples in the world that the LORD is God and there is no other. After Solomon's prayer, the temple dedication continued with sacrifices and a fourteen-day celebration. All were joyful.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for blessing us. There is no one like you. Help us to make you known in all the earth.
One Word: Make God known to all peoples