Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the oath before Your altar in this temple, then hear from heaven and act. Judge between Your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty, and so establish his innocence.”
"When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against You, and when they turn back to You and confess Your name, praying and making supplication to You in this temple, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel and bring them back to the land You gave to their fathers.”
"When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and when they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin because You have afflicted them, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land You gave Your people for an inheritance.”
"When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, and when a prayer or plea is made by any of Your people Israel - each one aware of the afflictions of his own heart, and spreading out his hands toward this temple - then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since You know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men), so that they will fear You all the time they live in the land You gave our fathers.”
"As for the foreigner who does not belong to Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your name - for men will hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm -when he comes and prays toward this temple, then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of You, so that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears Your Name.”
"When Your people go to war against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city You have chosen and the temple I have built for Your Name, then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.”
"When they sin against You - for there is no one who does not sin - and You become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with You in the land of their conquerors and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly'; and if they turn back to You with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to You toward the land You gave their fathers, toward the city You have chosen and the temple I have built for Your Name; then from heaven, Your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. And forgive Your people, who have sinned against You; forgive all the offenses they have committed against You, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy; for they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.”
"May Your eyes be open 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. For You singled them out from all the nations of the world to be Your own inheritance, just as You declared through Your servant Moses when You, O Sovereign Lord, brought our fathers out of Egypt."
1 Kings 8:31-53
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we have studied the Old Testament to this point and as we continue to study the rest of the scriptures, we will see over and over again how the people of God will find themselves in unpleasant circumstances brought on by their willful disobedience to Him and His subsequent discipline.
And just as frequently as we see the people of God getting into trouble with Him, we will see God’s chosen leaders step in and intercede for their people…praying for God’s mercy and grace and love to return to the people…praying for forgiveness and restoral.
We see this bear out in truth as we continue to look at Solomon’s temple dedication message.
For we see Solomon break into a whole series of scenarios that start with a standard “when someone or some people do something”…before Solomon adds his intercession plea by following with “then do this”. Let’s take a look at all the things the people of God did wrong and what Solomon asked for in intercessory prayer:
"When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the oath before Your altar in this temple, then hear from heaven and act. Judge between Your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty, and so establish his innocence.”
The mistake made here was simply stated as a man wronging his neighbor. We don’t know the exact nature of the offense but it obviously led the perpetrator to come to the altar and swear an oath.
So what does Solomon ask for in interceding for the wrongdoer?
First, he asks God to hear from heaven…and then act, judging the situation at hand and ensuring that the guilty are condemned while the innocent are found not guilty.
Solomon knew that God…the one true God of Israel…was a just God whose determinations are perfect. And so when interceding for justice, Solomon knew God would deliver.
"When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against You, and when they turn back to You and confess Your name, praying and making supplication to You in this temple, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel and bring them back to the land You gave to their fathers.”
Through our studies, we have witnessed many Israelite victories…not because they were mighty but because they had a mighty God on their side.
So what happened when God wasn’t on their side?
Well…they got beat because their sinfulness resulted in them losing God’s favor.
So what did Israel do when they got in trouble?
They turned back to God, confessed their sins and sought restoral. And when they did this, Solomon asked for God to hear them and forgive them, before bringing them back to the land given to their fathers…the promised land.
"When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and when they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin because You have afflicted them, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land You gave Your people for an inheritance.”
Sometimes, disobedience didn’t bring defeat at the hands of an enemy. Instead, it brought calamity in some other form like a drought which, just like the defeat at the hands of the enemy, would draw the believers into repentance and confession. And as they once again turned back to God, we again see Solomon asking God to hear the cries of His people and teach them the right way to live before sending the rain and quenching a dry and thirsty land.
"When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, and when a prayer or plea is made by any of Your people Israel - each one aware of the afflictions of his own heart, and spreading out his hands toward this temple - then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since You know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men), so that they will fear You all the time they live in the land You gave our fathers.”
Recall what happened to Pharoah and his people of Egypt when Israel was oppressed and held hostage. God sent a series of curses that punished them until Pharoah finally let the Israelites go under the leadership of Moses.
So we know that God had a variety of ways to send a message when He was displeased and as we read these words of Solomon, we see that any of the events mentioned would result in the Israelites, aware of the afflictions in their hearts…praying and pleading for relief.
In those instances, we see where Solomon again asks for intercession…for God to hear from heaven and deal with the Israelites according to what they had done while still forgiving them with the end desire that Israel would come to respect God’s awesome power and fear Him to the extent that they would be afraid to give into sin.
"As for the foreigner who does not belong to Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your name - for men will hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm - when he comes and prays toward this temple, then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of You, so that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears Your Name.”
Note here that Solomon also intercedes for those who were not Israelites…those who were considered foreigners but nonetheless, worshiped and prayed to God.
In those incidents, Solomon asks God to hear the prayers of the foreigner and grant their requests so that “all the peoples of the earth may know your name”. Indeed, this came to full fruition after Jesus took His last breath on the cross of Calvary as the curtain in the temple tore in two separating the barrier between God and man as Jesus opened the gates of salvation for all people…Jew and Gentile.
There is no doubt that God answers prayers…and definitely prayers of intercession.
"When Your people go to war against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city You have chosen and the temple I have built for Your Name, then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.”
"When they sin against You - for there is no one who does not sin - and You become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with You in the land of their conquerors and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly'; and if they turn back to You with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to You toward the land You gave their fathers, toward the city You have chosen and the temple I have built for Your Name; then from heaven, Your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. And forgive Your people, who have sinned against You; forgive all the offenses they have committed against You, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy; for they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.”
There were and still would be times when Israel would have to face an enemy head on to defend themselves. In those instances, we see Solomon asking God to hear their prayers before and during battle and to “uphold their cause”.
But what about when Israel sinned against God and thus He handed them over to their enemies, sometimes resulting in Israel being taken captive?
Solomon still asked God to listen to the prayers and pleas of the people but only if they had a change of heart that resulted in repentance…a turning back to God with heart and soul. When that happened, Solomon asked God to hear His people, uphold their cause and forgive their offenses against them and cause their conquerors to show mercy. We will see this played out fully when Israel suffers through the Babylonian captivity and exile.
"May Your eyes be open 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. For You singled them out from all the nations of the world to be Your own inheritance, just as You declared through Your servant Moses when You, O Sovereign Lord, brought our fathers out of Egypt."
Finally, Solomon concludes his intercessory passage by asking God to hear his prayers as well as the prayer of Israel. He had asked God to listen to the people in many different instances, restoring when the people had sincerely turned their hearts and souls from sin and back to Him. And that restoral was important because of the covenant God had made with Israel’s forefathers who He had delivered from Egypt…that their people would gain the inheritance of what was promised them.
So who do you know that is going through difficult times? Many people are today, afflicted physically, emotionally, and/or financially. And many of these instances have come on because people have turned away from the Lord, choosing sin over righteousness…disobedience over compliance. Like the Israelites in the Old Testament, many also realize the wrongs of their ways and repent, pleading and praying to God for forgiveness and restoral.
And just as in the times of Solomon, God listens to the prayers of those who lift up the needs of others…those who choose to petition God with cries of intercession on behalf of His people in need.
These prayers will most definitely incorporate many of the words that Solomon used…asking God to hear…to judge with justice…to uphold…to teach…to forgive…and to restore as they are shaped to conform to the specific needs of the person one is praying for. And this is the beauty we continue to see over and over in God’s word…the beauty that comes from instruction on everything we need to know about living life for Him, to include interceding.
For in Jesus, we witnessed the Great Intercessor…the only Son of God sent to bear the sins of the world and pay the price once and for all for mankind…so that all who would believe and trust in Him thereafter would not perish but have everlasting life, finding themselves justified (or in other words…just as if I had never sinned…the simple way to remember justification) by the blood of Jesus on Calvary’s cross.
Friends, we need only look to Jesus to see that God answers the cries of need and intercession. And He answers those prayers in these days of the New Covenant…the New Testament…by saying to His people that restoral and forgiveness can only be fully realized when you turn your heart, soul and mind to my Son Jesus…the only One by which you can be saved…the only One through which you can find yourself to Me. (John 14:6).
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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