1 Kings 8:56

Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(56) That hath given rest.—Now for the first time the frequent promise of rest (Exodus 33:14; Deuteronomy 12:10, &c.)—partially fulfilled after the conquest of the days of Joshua (Joshua 21:44-45; Joshua 23:1; Joshua 23:14), and after the establishment of the kingdom of David (2Samuel 7:1)—was perfectly accomplished under Solomon the Peaceful, and the whole charter of gift of the promised land (Joshua 1:3-4) for the first time thoroughly entered upon. Of the “rest” of Israel, the transfer of the Ark of the Lord from the shifting Tabernacle to the fixed Temple was at once a sign and a pledge. Yet Solomon’s subsequent words imply that “entering into that rest” was conditional on fulfilment of Israel’s part in the covenant, by “walking in the ways of the Lord.” That condition, which he knew so well, he himself broke, and all Israel with him. Hence the fulfilment of the foreboding which emerges so constantly in his prayer. The glory of rest and happiness of his age was but a gleam of prosperity, soon to be swallowed up in dissension and disaster.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

8:54-61 Never was a congregation dismissed with what was more likely to affect them, and to abide with them. What Solomon asks for in this prayer, is still granted in the intercession of Christ, of which his supplication was a type. We shall receive grace sufficient, suitable, and seasonable, in every time of need. No human heart is of itself willing to obey the gospel call to repentance, faith, and newness of life, walking in all the commandments of the Lord, yet Solomon exhorts the people to be perfect. This is the scriptural method, it is our duty to obey the command of the law and the call of the gospel, seeing we have broken the law. When our hearts are inclined thereto, feeling our sinfulness and weakness, we pray for Divine assistance; thus are we made able to serve God through Jesus Christ.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

If the prayer of Solomon be, as it has all the appearance of being, a genuine document of the time, preserved in the archives to which the authors of both Kings and Chronicles had access, all theories of the late origin of Deuteronomy must be regarded as baseless. While references are not infrequent to other portions of the Pentateuch, the language of the prayer is mainly modelled upon Deuteronomy, the promises and threats contained in which are continually before the mind of the writer. (See the margin reference).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

1Ki 8:22-61. His Prayer.

22. Solomon stood before the altar—This position was in the court of the people, on a brazen scaffold erected for the occasion (2Ch 6:13), fronting the altar of burnt offering, and surrounded by a mighty concourse of people. Assuming the attitude of a suppliant, kneeling (1Ki 8:54; compare 2Ch 6:24) and with uplifted hands, he performed the solemn act of consecration—an act remarkable, among other circumstances, for this, that it was done, not by the high priest or any member of the Aaronic family, but by the king in person, who might minister about, though not in, holy things. This sublime prayer [1Ki 8:22-35], which breathes sentiments of the loftiest piety blended with the deepest humility, naturally bore a reference to the national blessing and curse contained in the law—and the burden of it—after an ascription of praise to the Lord for the bestowment of the former, was an earnest supplication for deliverance from the latter. He specifies seven cases in which the merciful interposition of God would be required; and he earnestly bespeaks it on the condition of people praying towards that holy place. The blessing addressed to the people at the close is substantially a brief recapitulation of the preceding prayer [1Ki 8:56-61].

Matthew Poole's Commentary

There hath not failed one word of all his good promise: see the like Joshua 21:45 23:14 2 Kings 10:10.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according, to all that he promised.... A land of rest, and rest in the land from all enemies; see Deuteronomy 12:9,

there hath not failed one word of all his good promises, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant: so Joshua observed a little before his death, Joshua 23:14 to which Solomon seems to have respect; and who lived to see a greater accomplishment of the gracious promises of God, and his faithfulness therein, both in the times of his father David, and his own.

Geneva Study Bible

Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

56. that hath given rest unto his people] For Solomon’s reign was to be specially a time of peace (cf. 1 Kings 2:33), and it was only in a time of profound tranquillity that the great works of the Temple and the king’s house could have been carried out. This no doubt was the idea of the LXX., who make this verse commence ‘Blessed be the Lord to-day.’

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 56. - Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised [a distinct reference to Deuteronomy 12:9, 10 (cf. 3:20), where we read that when the Lord should have given rest to Israel, then a place for sacrifice, etc., should be appointed (ver. 11). That place is now dedicated, and the king sees in this circumstance a proof that the rest is now at last fully attained. The permanent sanctuary is a pledge of settlement in the land. The rest hitherto enjoyed (Joshua 21:44) had been but partial. Only under Solomon were the Philistines brought into complete subjection (1 Kings 9:16), and hitherto the ark had dwelt in curtains]; there hath not failed [Heb. fallen; cf. 1 Samuel 3:19] one word [a clear reference to Joshua 21:45, as the preceding words are to ver. 44] of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand [cf. ver. 53] of Moses his servant [viz. in Leviticus 26:3-13, and in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, i.e., in the chapters which are the sources of this prayer, etc. 1 Kings 8:56

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The praise of Jehovah rests, so far as the first part is concerned, upon the promise in Deuteronomy 12:9-10, and upon its fulfilment in Joshua 21:44-45 and Joshua 23:14; and the second part is founded upon Leviticus 26:3-13 and Deuteronomy 28:1-14, where the "good word, which the Lord spake by Moses," is more precisely described as the blessing which the Lord had promised to His people and had hitherto bestowed upon them. He had already given Israel rest by means of Joshua when the land of Canaan was taken; but since many parts of the land still remained in the hands of the Canaanites, this rest was only fully secured to them by David's victories over all their enemies. This glorious fulfilment warranted the hope that the Lord would also fulfil in the future what He had promised His servant David (2 Samuel 7:10), if the people themselves would only faithfully adhere to their God. Solomon therefore sums up all his wishes for the good of the kingdom in 1 Kings 8:57-61 in the words, "May Jehovah our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us nor forsake us, to incline our heart to Himself, that we may walk in all His ways," etc. - that the evil words predicted by Moses in Leviticus 26:14., Deuteronomy 28:15, may not fall upon us. For 1 Kings 8:57 compare Deuteronomy 31:6, Deuteronomy 31:8, and Joshua 1:5. יטּשׁנוּ אל corresponds to ירפּך אל in these passages. In the Pentateuch נטשׁ is used but once of men who forsake the Lord, viz., Deuteronomy 32:15; in other cases it is only used in the general sense of casting away, letting alone, and other similar meanings. It is first used of God, in the sense of forsaking His people, in Psalm 27:9 in connection with עזב; and it frequently occurs afterwards in Jeremiah.