Why the World hates God's believers

Atheism is not new, as shown in this passage. Following the thinking of atheism, it cannot escape from the conclusion that life is meaningless. Interesting phrases below like "born by mere chance", "as though we had never been", "body return to ashes", "breath ... is smoke", "life will pass away like the traces of a cloud". These are the same sayings that can be found in the modern world.

After accepting this meaningless life, the logical conclusion in the world with no God, is to enjoy ourselves, look after self, and thus self-centred, self-focused. Again, this is a remarkable reflection of the modern world, mirroring the world throughout time, in societies without God.

The third paragraph reflects the thinking of the unbeliever towards the believers of God - and the thoughts are timeless. So, since life is meaningless, might as well live for ourselves and take advantage of others. However, the slight annoyance of this lifestyle are the existence believers, ie Christians. They put others in check, they live according to a moral code that is beyond human understanding, and they instill a sense of guilt to those who live selfishly for themselves - "inconvenient to us and opposes our actions", "reproaches us for sins", "very sight of him is a burden to us", "his ways are strange". As a result, the unbelievers consider it a joy to make Christians stumble, to test their patience, to test their endurance, and sometimes to take their lives - "Let us test him with insult and torture", "let us test what will happen at the end of his life", "Let us condemn him to a shameful death,... he says, he will be protected."

The passage describes unbelievers, their actions and the motivation for their hate towards believers. Without God, life is meaningless, so live as much by focusing on self, and condemn the believers of God since they prevent us from our selfish lifestyle. This passage concludes by identifying such a way as wickedness, and finally associates this kind of reasoning to the Enemy.


Wisdom 2 (NRSVCE)
2 For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves,
“Short and sorrowful is our life,
and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end,
and no one has been known to return from Hades.
2 For we were born by mere chance,
and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been,
for the breath in our nostrils is smoke,
and reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our hearts;
3 when it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes,
and the spirit will dissolve like empty air.
4 Our name will be forgotten in time,
and no one will remember our works;
our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud,
and be scattered like mist
that is chased by the rays of the sun
and overcome by its heat.
5 For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow,
and there is no return from our death,
because it is sealed up and no one turns back.

6 “Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist,
and make use of the creation to the full as in youth.
7 Let us take our fill of costly wine and perfumes,
and let no flower of spring pass us by.
8 Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.
9 Let none of us fail to share in our revelry;
everywhere let us leave signs of enjoyment,
because this is our portion, and this our lot.
10 Let us oppress the righteous poor man;
let us not spare the widow
or regard the gray hairs of the aged.
11 But let our might be our law of right,
for what is weak proves itself to be useless.

12 “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,
because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;
he reproaches us for sins against the law,
and accuses us of sins against our training.
13 He professes to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a child[a] of the Lord.
14 He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
15 the very sight of him is a burden to us,
because his manner of life is unlike that of others,
and his ways are strange.
16 We are considered by him as something base,
and he avoids our ways as unclean;
he calls the last end of the righteous happy,
and boasts that God is his father.
17 Let us see if his words are true,
and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;
18 for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him,
and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.
19 Let us test him with insult and torture,
so that we may find out how gentle he is,
and make trial of his forbearance.
20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death,
for, according to what he says, he will be protected.”

Error of the Wicked
21 Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray,
for their wickedness blinded them,
22 and they did not know the secret purposes of God,
nor hoped for the wages of holiness,
nor discerned the prize for blameless souls;
23 for God created us for incorruption,
and made us in the image of his own eternity,[b]
24 but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his company experience it.

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins

1 John 2:2
And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

Our Lord Yshua is the propitiations for our sins. The Lord commands us to preach the gospel. There are many other things that accompany our walk and ministry in His name. There is knowledge, theology, prophecy, healings, deliverance, worship songs and also many good works that can be done for the disadvantaged people. However, the core of this is the gospel which is the good news that Jesus Himself has paid the price of our sins.

You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God

Joshua 24:19
But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 


Joshua was challenging the Israelites to see how committed they are in serving God, perhaps a little reverse psychology was in play there. He was correct in implying that it is not easy to serve God. In fact he may be literally correct in that we could not serve God, if it is up to us alone. Our sinful nature excludes us from serving Him. It is God who allows us to serve Him and we can only do this when we give ourselves to God. In other words, we cannot merely use our efforts but have to let God use us in order to serve Him.

Luke 22:53
But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.

Our Lord Yshua was speaking to the priests and elders who came to arrest him. He recognized that the evil is dominating many aspects of human life. In particular the Evil One uses humans to do his dirty way and the way this is done is through the sins of humans. All humans sins as Paul mentioned that we all fall short of His glory. However those who belong to Christ know what sin is, acknowledge when they sin and confess it to God in total repentance. How many times would God keep forgiving us, as Yshua implied, it is for as many times as we come back to Him.

Pray without ceasing

1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing

A commentary once described that the accurate way to think of what praying should be is that it is like breathing and blood flowing in our bodies. It is something that we are meant to do continuously, sometimes even without our conscious effort. The reality is that to many, praying is an activity that some may do regularly, while others do occasionally. It no doubts reflects our closeness to God. Praying should be our way of life. Something to be cautious about are sins - all of which hinder our praying life and drive us away from God even on the odd occasion. The commentary is correct, considering we have the Holy Spirit in us, and we have constant access to God.

Who Himself bore our sins

1 Peter 2:24
... who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree ...

Jesus, our Lord Yshua, put all of our sins onto Himself when He went to the cross. The agony during His prayer before the Transfiguration, maybe because of His realization of the separation from God because of the sins Yeshua put on Himself.

One very subtle point is that our Lord did not go to the Cross to prove Himself or gain acceptability as a sacrifice for our sins. Instead, it was to satisfy the Holy Justice of God, that the sins of humanity need to be paid for. And the only acceptable sacrifice is Jesus Himself who is totally pure.

But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Luke19:42
If you had known ... in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

There are things that God reveals to us, and there are things that God conceals from us. Those whom He regards as friends, He will reveal things too. To be considered His friend, depends on our walk with Him. As His children living in this sinful world, we are tempted by various things and falling for those temptations brings us further from God than before. That is why sometimes we fail to see the things God wants to reveal to us. Our hearts may become hardened as we are in denial or preoccupied with whatever sins we are involved in. However, it is not too late to remember that there is no condemnation in Christ Yshua and go back in repentance to Him.

In order to turn them from darkness to light

Acts 26:17-18
 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now[a] send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

A few key concepts of our Lord's mission for us is presented in this few verses. Firstly we need to be delivered from many people who will be against us. But God did not save us from our enemies and take us away. Instead His plan is to bring us back to those who do not believe and to open their eyes to bring them out of darkness.

The other sentence has the two major gifts, that is the forgiveness of our sins and the sanctification by faith in Christ. The forgiveness of sins is somethings which is given and cannot be earned. The sanctification process itself, will involve the Lord and we also cannot achieve this by ourselves.

For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man

Paul explains that it is necessary for us to die with Christ, and die to our old selves, because the law is bound to a person until death. Hence the concept of death and rebirth when we are saved by Christ and we have been set free from the old law.

The law is not bad at all, in fact it is holy. Without the law, sin was dead. But when the commandments came, sin was brought to life while we died in sins. So the commandments effect was to bring death, but it is really sin that kills.

Having established that it is not the law's fault but that sin is carnal and leads to death, Paul describes the constant battle in us between sin and righteousness. We know the good things that we should do but we tend to do the things that we know we should not do. Paul describes the quite hopeless situation of battling against our sins, but then he thanks God that He is able to deliver us from sin. He acknowledges that our minds may serve God, but our is flesh still sinful.




Romans 7
Freed from the Law

7 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Sin’s Advantage in the Law

7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”[a] 8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. 9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. 12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

Law Cannot Save from Sin

13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath

Such was the popularity and drawing power of Jesus that where He preached, it was full house. In addition people brought the sick for Him to heal. In this case, the place was so packed that they lowered a paralytic person down the roof to get to Jesus. Jesus healed by saying to the man "your sins are forgiven". This emphasises the point that physical sickness can be related to sins and another point is that Jesus has the power to forgive sins. The scribes were right in knowing that only God can forgive sins, but they were wrong in not seeing Jesus as God the Son.

Jesus also called Matthew, also known as Levi, the tax collector to follow Him. He went back to Matthew's house and had fellowship meal with other tax collectors. The Pharisees criticised Jesus of associating with tax collectors who were widely known as sinners, probably due to their dishonesty ways. But Jesus explained that it is sinners who He needs to call to repentance.

Then there Jesus was also questioned why John the Baptist's and the Pharisees disciples fast but Jesus' disciples, do not fast. Jesus mentioned that His disciples are celebrating with Him and there is no need to fast. This implies that Jesus Himself is the object of worship and there is no need to fast because He is with them. On the other hand, when He is no longer physically with them, then they should fast.

Another criticism by the Pharisees on Jesus is why his disciples eat on the Sabbath. Like the other responses, Jesus response to this implies that He is God. He referred to Himself as the Lord of the Sabbath, meaning the Sabbath is created for Him, thus revealing that He is God.





Mark 2
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic

1 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 Immediately[a] many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Matthew the Tax Collector

13 Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. 14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

15 Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16 And when the scribes and[b] Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”

17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”[c]

Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting

18 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

23 Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

25 But He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: 26 how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”

27 And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

People Confess Their Sins and Reaffirm Covenant with God

The revival in Judah continues as described in this chapter. On this occasion, the Israelites fasted, wore sackcloth and put dust on their head - a ritual of repentance. They did this separately from the foreigners, who were then numerous in Israel. They read out from Scriptures in public, confessed their sins and worshipped together.

Below is the actual prayer and worship on that occasion being read out by the Levites, Jeshua, and others. It starts with the history of themselves as children of Abraham who was called by God, in this way they were acknowledging God being with them from the beginning. The prayer was an honest revelation of how God provided for them, how they rebelled and disobeyed, how God continued to show mercy until they were taken captives. One such verse is:
 33 However You are just in all that has befallen us;
      For You have dealt faithfully,
      But we have done wickedly.
Finally, it ends by reaffirming the covenant between themselves and God.


Nehemiah 9

The People Confess Their Sins

 1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.[a] 2 Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God.
4 Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the LORD their God. 5 And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said:

      “Stand up and bless the LORD your God
      Forever and ever!

      “ Blessed be Your glorious name,
      Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!
 6 You alone are the LORD;
      You have made heaven,
      The heaven of heavens, with all their host,
      The earth and everything on it,
      The seas and all that is in them,
      And You preserve them all.
      The host of heaven worships You.

 7 “You are the LORD God,
      Who chose Abram,
      And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans,
      And gave him the name Abraham;

 8 You found his heart faithful before You,
      And made a covenant with him
      To give the land of the Canaanites,
      The Hittites, the Amorites,
      The Perizzites, the Jebusites,
      And the Girgashites—
      To give it to his descendants.
      You have performed Your words,
      For You are righteous.

 9 “You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,
      And heard their cry by the Red Sea.

 10 You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
      Against all his servants,
      And against all the people of his land.
      For You knew that they acted proudly against them.
      So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.

 11 And You divided the sea before them,
      So that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land;
      And their persecutors You threw into the deep,
      As a stone into the mighty waters.

 12 Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar,
      And by night with a pillar of fire,
      To give them light on the road
      Which they should travel.

 13 “You came down also on Mount Sinai,
      And spoke with them from heaven,
      And gave them just ordinances and true laws,
      Good statutes and commandments.

 14 You made known to them Your holy Sabbath,
      And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws,
      By the hand of Moses Your servant.

 15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger,
      And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst,
      And told them to go in to possess the land
      Which You had sworn to give them.

 16 “But they and our fathers acted proudly,
      Hardened their necks,
      And did not heed Your commandments.

 17 They refused to obey,
      And they were not mindful of Your wonders
      That You did among them.
      But they hardened their necks,
      And in their rebellion[b]
      They appointed a leader
      To return to their bondage.
      But You are God,
      Ready to pardon,
      Gracious and merciful,
      Slow to anger,
      Abundant in kindness,
      And did not forsake them.

 18 “Even when they made a molded calf for themselves,
      And said, ‘This is your god
      That brought you up out of Egypt,’
      And worked great provocations,

 19 Yet in Your manifold mercies
      You did not forsake them in the wilderness.
      The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day,
      To lead them on the road;
      Nor the pillar of fire by night,
      To show them light,
      And the way they should go.

 20 You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them,
      And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth,
      And gave them water for their thirst.

 21 Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness;
      They lacked nothing;
      Their clothes did not wear out[c]
      And their feet did not swell.

 22 “ Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations,
      And divided them into districts.[d]
      So they took possession of the land of Sihon,
Heshbon,
      And the land of Og king of Bashan.

 23 You also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven,
      And brought them into the land
      Which You had told their fathers
      To go in and possess.

 24 So the people went in
      And possessed the land;
      You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land,
      The Canaanites,
      And gave them into their hands,
      With their kings
      And the people of the land,
      That they might do with them as they wished.

 25 And they took strong cities and a rich land,
      And possessed houses full of all goods,
      Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves,
      And fruit trees in abundance.
      So they ate and were filled and grew fat,
      And delighted themselves in Your great goodness.

 26 “ Nevertheless they were disobedient
      And rebelled against You,
      Cast Your law behind their backs
      And killed Your prophets, who testified against them
      To turn them to Yourself;
      And they worked great provocations.

 27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies,
      Who oppressed them;
      And in the time of their trouble,
      When they cried to You,
      You heard from heaven;
      And according to Your abundant mercies
      You gave them deliverers who saved them
      From the hand of their enemies.

 28 “But after they had rest,
      They again did evil before You.
      Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies,
      So that they had dominion over them;
      Yet when they returned and cried out to You,
      You heard from heaven;
      And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,

 29 And testified against them,
      That You might bring them back to Your law.
      Yet they acted proudly,
      And did not heed Your commandments,
      But sinned against Your judgments,

      ‘ Which if a man does, he shall live by them.’[f]
      And they shrugged their shoulders,
      Stiffened their necks,
      And would not hear.

 30 Yet for many years You had patience with them,
      And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets.
      Yet they would not listen;
      Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

 31 Nevertheless in Your great mercy
      You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them;
      For You are God, gracious and merciful.

 32 “Now therefore, our God,
      The great, the mighty, and awesome God,
      Who keeps covenant and mercy:
      Do not let all the trouble seem small before You
      That has come upon us,
      Our kings and our princes,
      Our priests and our prophets,
      Our fathers and on all Your people,
      From the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.

 33 However You are just in all that has befallen us;
      For You have dealt faithfully,
      But we have done wickedly.

 34 Neither our kings nor our princes,
      Our priests nor our fathers,
      Have kept Your law,
      Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies,
      With which You testified against them.

 35 For they have not served You in their kingdom,
      Or in the many good things that You gave them,
      Or in the large and rich land which You set before them;
      Nor did they turn from their wicked works.

 36 “Here we are, servants today!
      And the land that You gave to our fathers,
      To eat its fruit and its bounty,
      Here we are, servants in it!

 37 And it yields much increase to the kings
      You have set over us,
      Because of our sins;
      Also they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle
      At their pleasure;
      And we are in great distress.

 38 “And because of all this,
      We make a sure covenant and write it;
      Our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication at Temple Completion

Solomon made a speech and a prayer of dedication when the Temple was completed. The speech reminded the people above all that God in his sovereignty chose David to rule over his people and chose Jerusalem to be His city, and the place where the Temple will be build. The Temple would contain the Ark, where the covenant the LORD made with His people were put.

Solomon's prayer of dedication is one of the key prayers which call the people back to God by reminding them about their covenant promise. Like any good prayer, it starts by praising God first and how magnificent He is. Then it reminds the people about the covenant promise and that God is faithful. In this case, Solomon reminds people that we cannot actually build any house that can contain God. Yet Solomon prays to God to nevertheless hear the people when they come to the Temple to pray.

In particular Solomon lists a few punishments which may be the result of sin that the people may have done and asked God to forgive His people when they come and pray for forgiveness. Some of the wrongs include being done wrong by others, or have lost battles and wars, when there is draught, pestilence, locusts or when the foreigner comes to pray after being impressed by God.


2 Chronicles 6

 1 Then Solomon spoke:
      “The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud.

 2 I have surely built You an exalted house,
      And a place for You to dwell in forever.”

Solomon’s Speech upon Completion of the Work
 
3 Then the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 4 And he said: “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His hands what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying, 5 ‘Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a ruler over My people Israel. 6 Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ 7 Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a temple[a] for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 8 But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well in that it was in your heart. 9 Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’ 10 So the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke, and I have filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised; and I have built the temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 11 And there I have put the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD which He made with the children of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication
 
12 Then Solomon[b] stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands 13 (for Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and he stood on it, knelt down on his knees before all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven); 14 and he said: “LORD God of Israel, there is no God in heaven or on earth like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. 15 You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. 16 Therefore, LORD God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk in My law as you have walked before Me.’ 17 And now, O LORD God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David.
18 “But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple[c] which I have built! 19 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You: 20 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple day and night, toward the place where You said You would put Your name, that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. 21 And may You hear the supplications of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive.
22 “If anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take an oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, 23 then hear from heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, bringing retribution on the wicked by bringing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

26 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, 27 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.
28 “When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; 29 whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows his own burden and his own grief, and spreads out his hands to this temple: 30 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men), 31 that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways as long as they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.
32 “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for the sake of Your great name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray in this temple; 33 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.
34 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, 35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
36 “When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to a land far or near; 37 yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, and have committed wickedness’; 38 and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been carried captive, and pray toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and toward the temple which I have built for Your name: 39 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You. 40 Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place.
 41 “Now therefore,
      Arise, O LORD God, to Your resting place,
      You and the ark of Your strength.
      Let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation,
      And let Your saints rejoice in goodness.

 42 “O LORD God, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed;
      Remember the mercies of Your servant David.”[d