Scripture Daily

Context No. 2284 of 4322 · 1 Kings

Context · Reflection

1 Kings 8:31-36: in context

31“If a man sins against his neighbor, and an oath is laid on him to cause him to swear, and he comes and swears before your altar in this house, 32then hear in heaven, and act, 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. 33“When your people Israel are struck 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, 34then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them again to the land which you gave to their fathers. 35“When the sky is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and confess your name, and turn from their sin when you afflict them, 36then hear 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 on your land which you have given to your people for an inheritance.

In his prayer at the temple's dedication, Solomon anticipates the times when Israel will sin and suffer the consequences, and he asks God's mercy for those times. When your people are defeated by an enemy because they have sinned, he prays, if they turn back to you and confess your name and pray, then hear in heaven and forgive and restore them. When there is drought because they have sinned, if they pray and confess and turn from their sin, then hear and forgive. Again and again the pattern is the same: sin, its consequences, then turning and confession, and God's forgiveness and restoration.

The pattern that runs through Solomon's prayer is one of hope: after sin and its consequences, there is a way back through turning and confession, and God stands ready to forgive and restore. Solomon does not pretend the people will not sin, or that sin has no consequences; he anticipates defeat, drought, the troubles that sin brings. But he prays, and God confirms, that these consequences are not the end, that when the people turn back, confess their sin, and pray, God will hear, forgive, and restore. The way back is always open through turning and confession, and God is ready to receive those who return. This is a great comfort for those who have sinned and are suffering its consequences. When our sin has brought trouble, when we are suffering the results of our wrongdoing, we can feel that we have forfeited God's mercy, that there is no way back, that we must simply bear the consequences with no hope of restoration. Solomon's prayer answers otherwise: the way back is open. When we turn back to God, confess our sin, and pray, he hears, forgives, and restores. The consequences of our sin are not the final word; God stands ready to forgive and restore those who return to him. If we confess our sins, John says, he is faithful and just to forgive us; the way back through confession is always open. This is grounded in the character of God, who is ready to forgive and restore the returning. If my people, God says, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin. God does not wait grudgingly to receive the returning sinner; he stands ready to forgive and restore those who turn back to him. Return to me, he says through Joel, for I am gracious and merciful. This calls us to turn back to God when our sin has brought consequences, trusting that he forgives and restores. Solomon's prayer holds out the repeated assurance that after sin and its troubles, the way back is open through turning and confession, and God stands ready to forgive and restore. And when we have sinned and are suffering its consequences, we are called not to despair as though there were no way back, but to turn to God, confess our sin, and pray, trusting that he hears, forgives, and restores those who return to him, for the consequences of sin are not the end, and the way back to God is always open to the one who turns and confesses.

When my sin has brought trouble and I am suffering its consequences, do I feel that I have forfeited God's mercy and there is no way back, only to bear the results with no hope of restoration, or can Solomon's prayer, that when the people turn back and confess and pray, God will hear, forgive, and restore, assure me that the consequences of my sin are not the final word, so that I turn back to God, confess my sin, and pray, trusting that he stands ready to forgive and restore those who return to him?

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