1 Kings 6:13

_CONCERNING THIS HOUSE WHICH THOU ART IN BUILDING, IF THOU WILT WALK IN MY STATUTES, AND EXECUTE MY JUDGMENTS, AND KEEP ALL MY COMMANDMENTS TO WALK IN THEM; THEN WILL I PERFORM MY WORD WITH THEE, WHICH I SPAKE UNTO DAVID THY FATHER:_ NO JFB COMMENTARY ON THESE VERSES....

11-14 None employ themselves for God, without having his eye upon them. But God plainly let Solomon know that all the charge for building this temple, would neither excuse from obedience to the law of God, nor shelter from his judgments, in case of disobedience....

The first promise to “dwell among” the Israelites had been made to Moses Exodus 25:8; Exodus 29:45, but had not been repeated to David. The next promise, “I will not forsake, etc.,” if not absolutely new, seems to have been more positive and general than previous similar promises Deuteronomy 31:6, Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:5. God will not at any time or under any circumstances wholly forsake Israel....

EXPOSITION SOLOMON'S TEMPLE.—The preparations for the building of the Temple having been related in the preceding chapter, the historian now proceeds to describe the edifice. He begins his narrative with a precise statement of the date of its erection (1 Kings 6:1); then follows (1) a description of the shape, size, and arrangement of the exterior (1 Kings 6:2), and (2) a detailed account of its internal fittings and adornments (1 Kings 6:15-11). The promise made to Solomon during its erection finds a place in 1 Kings 6:11; while the vessels,

AND I WILL DWELL AMONG THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL,.... In this house now building, and which was in the middle of the land, and where he would meet with them, and accept their sacrifices, not only of slain beasts, but of prayer and praise: AND WILL NOT FORSAKE MY PEOPLE ISRAEL; and leave them to the mercy of their enemies, and to be carried captive by them, but protect and defend them....

CHAPTER 6THE DESCRIPTION OF THE TEMPLE _ 1. The date of the beginning of the building (1 Kings 6:1)_ 2. The house, the porches and side chambers (1 Kings 6:2) 3. The divine charge (1 Kings 6:11) 4. The internal arrangements (1 Kings 6:15) 5. The cherubim (1 Kings 6:23) 6. The doors (1 Kings 6:31) 7. The inner court and the temple finished ...

DESCRIPTION OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. The Temple area is on the eastern hill of Jerusalem, which overlooks the valley of the Kidron, with the Mount of Olives on the opposite side. It was probably not the Zion captured by David (2 Samuel 5), but the site was purchased by him from Ornan, or Araunah, the Jebusite (2 Samuel 24:18). It is marked by an outcrop of rock, now called the _Sakrah._ The Temple hill is divided from the Upper City on the western hill by a valley called the Tyropœ an (cheese-makers). The Temple was part of a great scheme of building which has been restored by Stade, whose reconstruction is now generally adopted in descriptions of early Jerusalem. To understand aright the difficult account of Solomon's buildings in these Chapter s, Ezekiel's restored Temple (Ezekiel 40-48) and Josephus'sketch of Herod's Temple (_Wars,_...

AMONG. in the midst of....

_and I will dwell among the children of Israel_ This is an expansion of the promise made to David. The same words are used (Exodus 29:45) in connexion with the furnishing and completion of the tabernacle. As God's presence in both Tabernacle and Temple was to point on to the Incarnation, the fitness of the phrase on both occasions is manifest. _and will not forsake my people Israel_ The threat that God would do so, if Israel were disobedient, is found Deuteronomy 31:17....

C. THE PROMISE TO SOLOMON 6:11-14 TRANSLATION (11) And the word of the LORD came unto Solomon, saying, (12) With regard to this house which you are building, if you continue to walk in My statutes and My judgments you execute, and you keep all My commandments to walk in them, then I will establish My word with you which I spoke unto David your father. (13) And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and I will not forsake My people Israel. (14) So Solomon built the house and finished it. COMMENTS During the course of the building of the Temple the Lord came to Solomon with a gracious promise. While this promise is absent from the Greek or Septuagint version of the Old Testament, there is no substantial reason to question its genuineness. The word of the Lord came to Solomon on this occasion (1 Kings 6:11) probably through a prophetic intermediary (Nathan?)