NOTES for Ch2 6:1-42
During his prayer, Solomon says that he has built a dwelling for the Lord, who is pleased to dwell in thick darkness. Is there not a discrepancy here between the Lord’s will and the will of David and Solomon, who on their own initiative wished to give Him a gift He did not need?
But no, the Lord did not reject the temple given to Him, although He did adjust the time of its construction. Yes, in the ultimate depths the Lord is hidden from us and surpasses all our efforts to comprehend Him fully. Yet He Himself chose to make a Covenant with people and therefore did not reject the temple as a place of communion with them, as a house reminding them of the Covenant. In essence, it is precisely for the Lord’s unity with the people that Solomon prays. He lists many needs, highly varied and entirely practical, but we could reduce the essence of his requests to one fundamental petition: may the people walk before the Lord, and may He not withhold His mercy from them.