Word of Encouragement (02/05/2025)
“And now arise, O Lord God, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints rejoice in your goodness. 42 O Lord God, do not turn away the face of your anointed one! Remember your steadfast love for David your servant.” (2 Chron. 6:41-42)
The second and last petition with which Solomon concludes his prayer of dedication is, “Remember your steadfast love for David your servant.” As he finishes the prayer of dedication, he must answer one fundamental question: why should God hear and answer his prayer? This final petition answers that question.
Notice what the answer was not. He did not mention anything about the temple itself—how expensive the building project was and how magnificent it looked. It was indeed a costly project; he spared no expenses to build the most stunning temple in its beauty and grandeur. But while it was a great human achievement, he knew that it did not measure up to the supreme majesty of God: “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built” (v. 18)!
Neither did Solomon mention a list of his accomplishments. He was wise not to do so. What were they to God no matter how long the list? Did his life and the privileged upbringing he had not come from God? What about his abilities and wisdom with which he accomplished all of them? Were they not also God’s gracious gifts to him? “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it” (1 Cor. 4:7)?
His final appeal was to God’s covenant faithfulness/love toward David. He recognized that all the blessings he enjoyed were not due to his merit. Not was it due to God’s favor toward him, per se; he was only a beneficiary of God’s covenant with David, his father. But was David’s covenant with God based on his merit? No. It is true that God established His covenant with him when he offered to build a temple for him. But was it due to the merit of his generous offer that God granted this covenant? No. God did not grant him the privilege to do so because his hands had too much blood on them. God also reminded him how He called him to be Israel’s king when he was just a young shepherd boy (2 Sam. 7:8). Where can we find the basis of any merit in David? Solomon himself refers to David as “your servant” (v. 42). So then, Solomon’s appeal to God’s covenant with David was a humble acknowledgment of God’s grace as the foundation of his relationship with God whatever hope he had of God’s gracious dealings with him and his people.
We have a better foundation: Jesus Christ. Jesus has fulfilled the covenant of redemption between God and Himself and saved His people through His life, death, and resurrection. The covenant of grace God extends to us is based on the covenant of redemption, by which Jesus earned our redemption and all its attendant blessings. So, we pray in Jesus’ mighty name. What a blessing it is! And what a terrible thing it is to waste such a blessing!