Chapter 5 begins with a big statement. “Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished.”
Why is that big? Because it takes a lot to finish. It’s easy to start. Shoot, I could start something new everyday. It’s invigorating, it’s fresh, it’s engaging. But finishing something is hard. It takes endurance. It takes steady, incremental progress, chipping away at the goal day-after-day, until finally, you reach the end. You may want to give up. You may want to leave it unfinished and say, “Ah, it’s good enough. We’ll just let it be.” But Solomon finished. Other great men finish. Great women finish. Someone with character and drive finishes.
In chapter 6, the phrase of choice is something akin to “the Lord has fulfilled what He promised.” At least five times we see a variation of this phrase, meaning of course, that the author is trying to make a point. God keeps His promises, and we can pray according to His promises.
Also worth noting—this prayer in chapter 6 may be the longest prayer recorded in the Bible (outside of the Psalms). It follows a certain refrain, “If this happens…then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive (or maintain their cause).” The format and requests are simple, but thorough. For it covers nearly every type of situation people prayed for in those days and still pray for today.
Finally, in chapter 7, we see a huge worship fest. Sacrifices, bowing on faces, trumpets and music. I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like it.
But some day we may.
Omer Redden 