2 Chronicles 8:11

2 Chronicles 8:11 says, And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come.  Solomon had built a separate house for his wife, who was Egyptian.  Matthew Henry says she was likely a proselyte to God, but her servants may not have been.  For whatever reason, he felt it wouldn't be right for her to dwell in David's house.  None of us are Christians by birth, and if we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, there is no place that we are not good enough to be.  Verse twelve adds, Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had built before the porch,  Solomon continued to offer burnt offerings to God.  He built the temple and consecrated it, but it would be of no purpose if he didn't continue to worship God there.  We offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice as Christians, but that doesn't mean we are not to do the same every day if we are to be effective in doing His work.  Verse thirteen continues, Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.  This verse just continues to speak of Solomon's observing the law of Moses, or God's law, in keeping all the sacred days.  As Christians, every day is a sacred day and we should observe God's commandments every day, not just one or two days a week when we gather to worship Him and study His word.  Verse fourteen states, And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded.  The priests and porters were assigned their time to serve according to God's order of service that was given to David.  We need to do things orderly in worship today, with people serving where and how God has called them to serve.  Verse fifteen adds, And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.  The priests, Levites, and porters didn't stray away from Solomon's command in this, which was in accordance with what God had established for their service. We need to all serve where and how God calls us to serve.  Verse sixteen continues, Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the Lord, and until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was perfected.  Solomon had followed the directions of God from the time the foundation of the temple was laid until it was completed.  Once the foundation of our faith is laid through putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we need to daily do our best to build on that foundation so that our faith may become perfected.  This is a lifelong calling.  Verse seventeen says, Then went Solomon to Eziongeber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom.  Solomon then moved on to other things.  Once we have completed one task for God, we need to move on to the next task that He calls us to.  Verse eighteen adds, And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.  Solomon entered into a business of commerce through sea trade with Huram.  Solomon sent his people to these ports but relied on Huram to provide the ships and knowledge to carry out the trade missions, with help from the Israelites.  We may have to work with those who are not Christians in order to more effectively do God's work, but we can never allow them to lead us away from serving and glorifying God.

2 Chronicles 8:1

2 Chronicles 8:1 says, And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the Lord, and his own house,  In the twenty years after Solomon had built the temple and the house for the king, he had also continued to build up the nation of Israel during the time of peace.  He did not sit idly by but stayed busy in doing good works, even if he was mainly noted for his wisdom.  We cannot just sit idly by when we complete one task for God but need to be continually at work for him.  Verse two adds, That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.  Solomon had been having the cities that had been restored to him by Huram rebuilt and the people of Israel were living there.  As stated, the kingdom of Israel was being built up thorough rebuilding projects, and we need to rebuild the church if it falls into disrepair today.  Verse three continues, And Solomon went to Hamathzobah, and prevailed against it.  Solomon was also defeating other people who were close to Israel.  We aren't called on to defeat other people militarily, unless they go to war against us, but we do need to be expanding God's kingdom by spreading the gospel.  Verse four states, And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath.  We are then told that Solomon had Tadmor built in the wilderness, as well as other store cities.  Again, he was busy fortifying Israel in the time of peace.  We may never be at peace with the world, but we do need to fortify ourselves with God's word as we live our lives.  If we have free time, there is no better way to spend it than using it to grow in our Christian life.  Verse five adds, Also he built Bethhoron the upper, and Bethhoron the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars;  There is a continuation of the listing of the cities Solomon had built and the fact that they were walled cities.  Verse six continues, And Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion.  Solomon had many cities built in Israel and Lebanon, and he built them for different purposes, all having to do with being ready for war.  We are wise if we use times of peace and prosperity to build up the kingdom of God.  Verse seven says, As for all the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not of Israel,  Verse eight adds, But of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute until this day.  Those who were not people of Israel who were left alive when their land was taken were forced to pay tribute to Solomon  We cannot expect to conquer other people to have them pay tribute to God, but we must give willingly to Him and share the gospel, and if they accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, then they too should willingly contribute to getting God's work done.  Verse nine continues, But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen.  The people of Israel didn't do any work as servants but were men of war.  We need to be prepared to fight those who oppose God, but our main calling is to reach out to them with the gospel.  Verse ten concludes, And these were the chief of king Solomon's officers, even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the people.  Solomon had his military organized, and we as the army of God need to be organized today, and God will call thoe who are to be in charge.

2 Chronicles 7:12

2 Chronicles 7:12 says, And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.  God appeared to Solomon during the night, and He often appeared to people during the night.  We need to acknowledge that God can speak to us at any time.  God also said He had chosen the temple as a place dedicated to Himself and for it to be a house of sacrifice.  Our church buildings today should be places chosen by God as houses of worship and sacrifice to Him.  Verse thirteen adds,  If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people:  God then warned of some bad things that could happen to the people of Israel if they turned away from Him, and bad things can still happen to God's people in the world today if we turn away from Him, even though we will still be His people if we are saved by accepting Jesus Christ.  Verse fourteen continues, If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. We hear this verse quoted a lot today, but it isn't enough to just quote it.  We as Christians must humble ourselves, pray, seek God's face, and turn form our wicked ways, and then God will heal our land.  The burden is not on the lost people to do this, but on Christians.  Verse fifteen states, Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.  God told Solomon that He would be attentive and hear the prayers made in the temple if teh people were obedient.  We don't have to go to the church building for God to hear our prayers, even though He will hear prayers offered there as long as we are asking by faith in accordance with His will.  We can pray to God anywhere at any time and He will hear our prayers if we are one of His people.  Verse sixteen adds, For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.  God said he had chosen and sanctified the temple as a place that His name would be forever, and His heart and eyes would be there at all times.  We also know that later, Jesus Christ said that His body was the temple of God, and it is He through whom God forgives and blesses the world, and not a physical building somewhere.  Verse seventeen continues, And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments;  God then set some requirements on Solomon if God was going to bless him.  He was to walk before God as David had and obey God's commandments and observe His laws and judgments.  If we expect God to bless us today, we need to do the same thing, not to be saved but because we are.  Verse eighteen concludes, Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.  God said that if Solomon did this, that He would fulfill His promise that there would always be a descendant of David on the throne of Israel.  We also know that this was fulfilled with Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, and the only ruler of God's people that there ever was or ever will be.  Still, as Christians, we are expected to follow God's commandments, as servants of God and not rulers.  Verse nineteen says, But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;  After the promise of God doing good things for the people of Israel came the warning of what would happen if they turned away from God and followed other gods.  We need to realize that if we allow anything to become more important to us than God is, then we are chasing a false god.  Verse twenty adds, Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.  God said if they turned away from Him, that He would allow them to be carried out of the land He gave them, and the temple would be destroyed and made a byword to all nations.  The people of the world would talk about the fact that God and His people couldn't keep His house from being destroyed.  W know they would have been only half correct.  God could have kept it, but He worked through His people, and if they refused to obey Him, there was no need for the temple.  Verse twenty-one continues, And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and unto this house?  God said that if His people turned away from Him that the people of the world would look at the temple in astonishment and ask why God had done this.  We may have beautiful church buildings today, but if we are not obedient to God when we enter them, the people of the world may look at them and ask why God allows some things that we may do there to happen.  Verse twenty-five concludes, And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.  God said that if this happened it would be because of the disobedience of His chosen people.   If the church becomes ineffective in the world today, it will be for these same reasons.  Just as He had freed them from bondage in Egypt and they would have then chosen to reject Him, He has freed us from the bondage of sin if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, but He will still allow us to choose to sin.   

2 Chronicles 7:1

2 Chronicles 7:1 says, Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. After Solomon completed his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices and God's glory filled the temple.  I believe this would have been great evidence that God had heard Solomon and accepted the sacrifice.  The sacrifice was consumed by fire, but the people were unharmed, and through our faith in Jesus Christ, our sins are consumed or washed away, but we are unharmed.  We may not have any visual conformation that God answers our prayers, but we should be filled with His presence in our hearts if we are sincere in our prayers, and that is what is important.  Verse two adds, And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house.  The priests couldn't even go into the temple because it was so filled with the glory of the Lord.  We can only enter into God's glory through putting our faith in Jesus Christ, and once we do, He should fill us completely with His Spirit.  Verse three continues, And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.  The people of Israel all bowed down with their faces to the ground and worshipped and praised God when they saw this.  They then proclaimed that God was good and that His mercy lasted forever.  People might have the same reaction today, but I believe many would still try to discount what had happened or run away in fear instead of worshipping God.  We as followers of Christ have seen a greater miracle, Jesus Christ sacrificing Himself on the cross for our sins, and we need to bow down to God and worship Him every day.  His mercy does last forever.  Verse four states, Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord.  Solomon and all the people then offered sacrifices to God, and we as Christians need to sacrifice everything we have God for His use.  He will never leave us in need if we do.  Verse five adds, And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.  Solomon offered a sacrifice of a great number of ox and even more of sheep.  As stated before, we need to offer everything we have to God once we become one of His people, and we should never think that we are being asked to give too much.  Verse six continues, And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the Lord, which David the king had made to praise the Lord, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.  The priests began to celebrate with music, and the people all stood when they heard the trumpets sound.  We still need to worship God with music and song, and do so because of His mercy to us, which will last forever.  Verse seven says, Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord: for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the brasen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat.  Solomon offered sacrifices in the middle court of the temple because the brazen altar couldn't contain all the sacrifice.  It would be something wonderful if we had offerings to God so great that they overflowed even the needs of the church, or God's people.  Verse eight adds, Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt.  Solomon and the great congregation of Israel kept the feast going for seven days.  Sometimes today we have a hard time keeping worship services to God going on for over an hour.  Verse nine continues, And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.  On the eighth day, they made a solemn assembly since they had kept the dedication of the altar for seven days and the feast for seven days.  This day would have been at the end of the second seven days and would be the day of atonement Matthew Henry points out.  Every day should be a day of atonement for God's people, because our sins are continually washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ.  Verse ten states, And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the Lord had shewed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.  Matthew Henry also points out that the fifteenth day started the feast of tabernacles, which lasted until this twenty-second day.  The people had continued to worship God this whole time, with a merry heart for God's goodness to His people.  We should always be thankful to God for His everlasting mercy to us as Christians.  Of course, His mercy is offered to all, but not everyone benefits from it.  Each individual must accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord in order to benefit from God's mercy.  Verse eleven adds, Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the Lord, and in his own house, he prosperously effected.  Solomon had completed the building of the temple and of his own house.  Jesus Christ completed the sacrifice for the salvation of all people on the cross, and we simply need to accept His gift.

2 Chronicles 6:32

2 Chronicles 6:32 says, Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;  Solomon then began to instruct them about strangers, people who were not born in Israel, who came to the temple to worship.  We are all strangers to God until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and once we do accept Him there is no separation between us.  Verse thirty-three adds, Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.  Solomon asked that God hear the prayers of the strangers who came accepting Him as their God and then came to the temple to worship Him.  He asked that this be done so that the whole world would know about the greatness of God and that the temple was built to honor and glorify God.  God still calls all people to Him today, and if they accept His gift of salvation, He will always hear their prayers.  Verse thirty-four continues, If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;  Solomon then referred to the people of Israel who went to war against the people of the world and their praying toward the city and the temple.  We as Christians are at war with the forces of evil today, and we must always pray to God as we engage int the battle, but we don't need to look to a particular place when we pray.  We only need to come by faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse thirty-five concludes, Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.  Solomon asked that if they sought God's guidance and strength that He would hear them and give it to them.  One thing we can be sure of is that if we pray to God for wisdom and strength as followers of Christ, He will hear us and answer our prayer.  Verse thirty-six states, If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;  Solomon then made a plea for the people if they sinned against God and stated that everyone sinned.  He talked about God becoming angry with the people of Israel, His chosen people, because of their sin and His allowing them to be defeated by another nation.  We as Christians are still going to sin at times, I believe, and God is going to be upset with us because of our sin, but He will never allow us to be spiritually defeated forever.  Once we are saved, we are God's child forever. Verse thirty-seven adds, Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;  Solomon continued to talk to God about the people who had sinned and were carried away captive who then repented of their sins and called on God again.  If we have allowed sin back into our lives as Christians and have fallen captive to it, we must repent and ask God for forgiveness to be restored to all that we should be spiritually.  The people of Israel in captivity were still God's chosen people to work through, and even if we give in to sin as Christians, we are still one of God's people and He will call us to repentance and restore us when we repent and ask forgiveness.  Verse thirty-eight continues, If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:  This verse is a continuation of Solomon's talking to God about the people in captivity for their sins repenting and calling on Him again.  Verse thirty-nine concludes, Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.  Solomon asked God in the situation where His people were in captivity because of their sin and repented that He would hear and forgive them.  We can be certain that as followers of Christ, even if we have sinned again, if we repent and ask God's forgiveness, He will hear us and forgive us.  Verse forty says, Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.  Solomon asked God to look on the temple and hear his prayer.  Jesus Christ is the true temple of God, and if we pray to Him, God will see us and hear our prayers.  Verse forty-one adds, Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.  Solomon was basically asking God to enter the temple as His resting place and to let the priests be clothed in salvation.  As I have stated before, as followers of Christ, our bodies are the temples of God, and the Holy Spirit indwells us as His resting place, and we have God's salvation forever.  Verse forty-two continues, O Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.  As Solomon asked then, God is never going to turn His face away from those who are His, even if we fall back into sin.  He is always going to have His arms outstretched to welcome us home.

2 Chronicles 6:22

2 Chronicles 6:22 says, If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;  Verse twenty-three adds, Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.  Solomon asked that if people had a disagreement with each other, that they bring it before God at the altar and He hear them from heaven and decide the issue.  He also asked that the guilty be punished and the one in the right be justified.  We need to allow God to settle our disagreements as Christians today, because He expects us as followers of Christ to be at peace with each other in the world. Verse twenty-four continues, And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;  Solomon also acknowledged that the people of Israel might sin, and if they did, he asked that they return to God's house and confess and repent for their sins in the name of God.  It is not enough to just confess our sins if we don't repent, or turn away, from them.  Even though our sins are all washed away by the blood of Christ, as His followers we are still capable of sin, and if we do sin, we cannot just become indifferent to it.  We must still confess it and repent.  Verse twenty-five concludes, Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.  Solomon asked God to hear the confessions and requests for forgiveness from His people and restore them to the land He had given them.  As Christians, we never lose our everlasting salvation, but if we sin, we may lose our joy or our effectiveness in reaching people with the gospel, but when we confess our sins to God, we can be certain that He will forgive us and restore us to a right relationship with Him.  Verse twenty-six states, When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;  Solomon asked that if the people were being punished for their sins, in this case by having the rain withheld, that if they confessed and turned away from their sins that God would hear and forgive them.  Of course, he said if they did so before the temple, but we today can ask God for forgiveness wherever we are, and if we are truly repentant, He will forgive us and restore us to a right relationship with Him, whether our physical condition changes or not.  Verse twenty-seven adds, Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.  Solomon asked that God not only forgive the people and send the rain, but that He teach them the good way to live.  God is always going to guide us to the path of righteousness as followers of Christ, and then we simply have to not stray from it or return to it if we have strayed.  The Holy Spirit will guide and empower us to do this.  We are never to attempt to become righteous before God by our own abilities.  Verse twenty-eight continues, If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:  Verse twenty-nine concludes, Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:  Solomon then expanded it from a lack of rain to pests destroying crops and the people suffering because of the sins of the people of Israel.   He again asked in this case that the people be forgiven and restored if they repented before the house of God.  Verse thirty says, Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)  Solomon then asked this be done according to the hearts of the people, because God alone could know the heart of people.  God knows if our repentance is sincere today as Christians, because He knows our heart.  Verse thirty-one adds, That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.  Solomon also asked that once the people repented and were forgiven that they would walk in the path of God.  As Christians, if we sin and repent, God will restore us to the path of righteousness, but we will never lose our status as a child of God if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.

2 Chronicles 6:12

2 Chronicles 6:12 says, And he stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:  Solomon then stood before all the people of Israel and spread his hands out to them.  He was now going to pray for the consecration of the temple.  Jesus Christ stands before us today with His arms outstretched asking us to be consecrated to Him.  Just as Solomon knew that only God could consecrate the temple, only Jesus Christ can consecrate us today, and we need to accept Him as our Savior and Lord and pray to Him that we will always be consecrated to Him.  Verse thirteen adds, For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven.  Solomon had a brazen scaffold made so he could be above the people so they could see him, but he kneeled on the scaffold to show his humility before God and then spread his hands toward heaven to in appeal to God.  Even if we are in a position of authority in the church today, we need to let people know that we are humbled before God.  Solomon did not do this to call attention to himself, but to call attention to God and that should be our desire today.  Verse fourteen continues, And said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:  Solomon began by acknowledging that there is but one God, and thanking Him for His mercy toward those who walked before Him with all their heart.  In order to be saved, we must acknowledge that there is but one God and thank Him for showing His mercy to us, even before we walked in His ways.  Just as God kept His covenant with the people of Israel, He will keep His covenant with us today if we have entered into that covenant relationship by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and we should always be thankful to Him for that.  Verse fifteen states, Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.  Solomon said that God had fulfilled His promise to David that day, and one day, God is going to fulfill His promise to all who put their faith in Jesus Christ and take us to our heavenly home.  Verse sixteen adds, Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.  Solomon then asked that God fulfill His promise to David that one of his descendants would always sit on the throne of Israel, and this promise was fulfilled with Jesus Christ, a descendant of David and the eternal King of God's people.  Solomon also said that this applied to those who obeyed God, and God's promise of salvation can only come through putting our faith in Jesus Christ, and then we need to be obedient to Him.  Still, we will not lose that covenant relationship even if we fail to obey Him at all times.  Verse seventeen continues, Now then, O Lord God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.  Solomon then asked for God to let His word that He spoke to David be verified, and we can rest assured that once God has made a promise, we have no need to ask Him to verify it.  Verse eighteen says, But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!  Solomon the acknowledged that even the heavens could not contain God, so why would he expect a house that he built to contain Him.  We should never attempt to confine God to church buildings.  Verse nineteen adds, Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:  Solomon then asked God to hear his prayer, and as followers of Christ, God will always hear and answer our prayers.  We may not want to acknowledge the answer when it comes, but our prayers will always be answered.  Verse twenty continues, That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.  Solomon then said that God had promised to be with them in the place His name had been put, the temple, both day and night.  We have the assurance that as Christians God will be with us day and night, since the Holy Spirit dwells within us.  Verse twenty-one concludes, Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.  Solomon asked God to hear the prayers of the people from His dwelling place, which was not the temple but the heavens and for Him to forgive the people of Israel when they sinned.  God is still in the heavens, and He will hear our prayers and if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, He has already forgiven our sins.  Still, we need to lift up our prayers to Him, even if He already knows what we need.