The Reverential Prayer of Solomon is the next subject considered by Mr. Alfred Thomas in his book bearing the above title. Again, this is not strictly a prayer, but
“In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night ; and God said, ‘Ask what I shall give thee’,” 1
and Solomon’s response, says the author, must be ranked as one of the world’s best known prayers and as one of the most remarkable of those in the old Testament, as written for our learning. “The thoughts in dreams,” he claims, “generally follow the course taken in the waking hours, and as it is natural to suppose that Solomon’s reflecting mind would, at such a time in such circumstances, be much occupied with the grave responsibilities and cares of his royal office, it is not surprising that the subject recurred to him in the visions of the night. He realised that the office and work of a judge were chief among the daily routine duties of a sovereign in the East, and as a pacific reign like Solomon’s would be fertile in civil cases of every kind, wisdom to judge was the first and the most necessary quality.”
This was no mere dream, of course ; it is not merely the Spirit’s record of what Solomon dreamed ; it is the Spirit’s record of what transpired when “the Lord appeared . . . in a dream.” The waking yearnings of a young man of twenty are accepted as spiritual breathings in the nature of prayer ; in sleep, God invites him to put his deep-felt need into words ; this he does, and God replies—still in the dream, but the things promised in the dream were realised substantially in the waking life, to his more than adequate enrichment. Solomon, it should be noted, had recently offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar gt Gibeon, some three miles from Jerusalem where the ark was located, and it may be as arising from the former and on account of the latter distance from the ark, that God chose in this instance to deal with this matter, and to make His important communication,—”by dream.” on completion of the historic transaction, Solomon went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant and made burnt offerings and peace offerings, and a feast.
To God’s invitation Solomon replied,
“Thou hast showed unto Thy servant David my father great kindness, according as he walked before Thee in truth, and in uprightness of heart with Thee ; and Thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that Thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, 0 Lord my God, Thou hast made Thy servant king instead of David my father : and I am but a little child ; I know not how to go out or come in. And Thy servant is in the midst of Thy people which Thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give Thy servant therefore an understanding heart 2 to judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and evil ; for who is able to judge this Thy great people ?” The record adds, “And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.”
The author notes Gratitude as the opening characteristic of this request—gratitude for the mercy and kindness shown by God to his father, over whose faults he draws a loyal veil of silence, and to whose great and good qualities he knew himself to be so very much indebted. How we should be grateful for what are normally taken for granted as the ordinary blessings of parenthood ! Few are greater, yet few less thankfully recognised. Care through the feebleness of infancy ; protection from evil physical and moral ; guidance in reading, companionships and maintenance of good name ; provision of education—often by willing years of loving self-denial ; wholesome re-pression of tendencies to evil, and of self-will, and encouragement of good habits of thought and action ; counsel, guidance and warning to the inexperience of youth ; and the imparting of the Word by lip and life. “Gratitude should reveal itself in tender conversation, in graceful courtesies, in prompt obedience in the home, and should express itself in praise to the Giver of all good gifts. Young people of the present day in this world of quick change have need to realise more their indebtedness and duty to those who are in the evening of their days.”
Solemnity is next noted in the prayer. Realising he is to rule over a numerous people specially declared to be God’s, and in succession to “a father renowned as a warrior, a statesman, a poet and as a ruler of men,” no wonder the young king is seen to be overwhelmed with a sense of responsibility—”He would be henceforth the representative of Jehovah !” Confronted by a colossal task, beset by snares and difficulties, he does not dare to go forward without prayer for God’s help. This needs no elaboration to commend itself to readers as a superb example of what is necessary for us in our every undertaking—especially be it any manner of work in connection with our Father’s business. “To go on to unknown temptations, to unattempted duties, in a flippant, godless spirit is to show the foolhardiness of the captain who, in strange waters, wrecks his vessel on the hidden shoal because he scorns to employ a pilot.”
Then Hopefulness and Humility are exhibited. Solomon makes tacit reference to what God had done for his father, as implying ground of confidence that pledge and promise, like the throne, had come to him by inheritance. But he displayed the spirit seen in all great men. “He had enough to make him proud. He was immensely rich, flattered by courtiers, obeyed by a disciplined army, strikingly handsome and was at an age when no one thinks least of himself. But he recognised that God had made him what he was (‘Thou hast made Thy servant king’), and that, so far as wisdom and ability were concerned, he was ‘but a little child’.” The writer indicates the parallel here with other great characters in the Scriptures, as also the contrast with the king’s own brothers.
Whoever would enter the Kingdom of God, as Jesus taught emphatically, must lay aside all pride on whatever account, and become “as little children.”
There was wisdom, too, in Solomon’s choice of the gift of Wisdom ! It seems to us, perfectly to illustrate what we have found to be true in this life, and know will be a principle applicable to entry into (or exclusion from) the next.
Namely,
“For whosoever hath, to him shall be given ; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he thinketh he hath.” 3
There is a further point to be noted here : one concerning a feature which greatly enriches and ennobles any prayer in which it is present :
Unselfishness. “The choice was for the good of others rather than for the advantage of himself.”
No prayer of selfishness, greed, avarice, or the like, will ever he heard in Heaven. The Master himself came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. This is the spirit and hall-mark of all true greatness. And it animated Solomon in this request. “It was not like asking for knowledge and wisdom that he might himself be admired as a sage. This followed, but this he did not seek. He wished to rule God’s people well for their good, and asked that he might do what was just in judgement, what was equitable in law. Such equity establishes any rule on a sure foundation.”
“So our heavenly Father cares little that we should make money or win applause ; but He cares much that we should be wise, true and loving; and these graces He will in no wise withhold from those who seek. Sometimes He answers our prayers for these inward blessings in ways which we resent. The illness that throws us back upon Him, the failure that proves a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things that he possesseth, may work in us the peaceable fruit of righteousness.”
Chiefly, we know, when the Kingdom comes : but even now, “Blessedness of the highest kind comes to the poor in spirit, to them that mourn, to the meek, to them which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, to the merciful, to the pure in heart, to the peacemakers, and even to those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” “Many mature Christians have learnt to thank God for their unanswered prayers regarding temporal benefits.”
And there is yet one further point here for fruitful meditation. The importance of putting first things first, both in our lives and in our prayers. For just as His Son later assured us, saying, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you,” so, here, we see God demonstrating that there need never be an anxious thought respecting secondary matters, in the hearts of those who get their priorities right :”Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself . . . I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked . . .” And as Solomon’s choice of the higher, brought with it the lower blessings, so with us : those who are chiefly concerned to please God need have no anxiety or care about lower things. If we ask help to fulfil our mission, and rightly do our life-work, our heavenly Father will see that we do not want for necessities, natural or spiritual ; for He is able to give “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” 4 “Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath.”
“There is more wisdom in a whispered prayer Than in the ancient lore of all the schools.”
We are directed next to the study of The Effectual Fervent Prayers of Elijah. No. 1—In his Contest with the Prophets of Baal. It was when Ahab had seen Elijah and said to him, “You ruin of Israel, is that you ?” And Elijah had answered, “It is not I who have been the ruin of Israel, but you and your family . . .” and had instructed the king to gather to Mount Carmel, Israel and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal who fed at Jezebel’s table. Then followed Elijah’s very dramatic contest with the priests of Baal. He approached the assembly, and in one of the most impressive scenes depicted in the pages of the old Testament he threw out his ringing challenge to Israel, in a strenuous endeavour to deliver them from idolatry : “How long halt ye between two opinions ? If the Lord be God, follow Him : but if Baal, then follow him.” “And the people answered him not a word.”
Then, after stressing the numerical inequality of the situation, as being very much in their favour, and in a manifestly fair attempt to introduce an appearance of equality into the contest, the prophet puts his proposition. Let two bullocks be produced, and Baal’s prophets shall have their choice. They and he shall each prepare an animal for sacrifice, and lay the parts on wood and refrain from putting fire under ; they shall call on the name of their god, and he on that of his : “and the God that answereth by fire, let Him be God.”
The proposition pleased them, and bullocks having been procured, Elijah tells the prophets of Baal to choose, “and dress it first, for ye are many.” We don’t know how it strikes readers, but for our own part we looked twice at the last four words. The opposing party might easily have urged that as he was alone, he should start right away, and they, being many, could afford to wait and join issue at leisure, later. But Elijah realised that it was essential, on all counts, that they should make their appeal first. They must be given opportunity to make a prolonged and wearying effort, the protraction of which could amply demonstrate in frenzied futility the uselessness of their invocations to a nonexistent god. Jehovah’s answer must be seen (such was his faith) in such contrasting, effective finality, as would sweep away these apostate prophets and end the indecision of His people. For this reason he takes the initiative and uses their numerical superiority as a reason why they should be first to make the trial : they could easily be ready first, and may as well proceed, so giving him time to follow with his own! The 450 could not evade compliance, for on the fairness of the proposed test the people had unanimously pronounced, “It is well spoken.”
Mr. Thomas treats of “The Failure,” “The Preparation,” and “The Triumph.” The trial which was to end in their discomfiture and destruction, began in early morning, and the author looks for points of commendation even in what as a whole must be condemned. Stressing that spiritual exercises at an early hour will be for us a noble preparation for the day, he brackets references which record how, “early in the morning,” Abraham sought that sanctified spot overlooking Sodom ; and rose to sacrifice Isaac ; Moses, too, at Sinai ; Job to sanctify his house by sacrifice ; the Psalmist, for prayer, for song, for sacrifice ; and, of course, Jesus himself. Whilst fully aware of the vanity of their repetition, he sees a lesson in their persistency, which should ever mark the servants of God, as exhibited in Jacob’s all-night wrestling, and exemplified in the parable of the importunate widow. The prayer of the Baal worshippers was earnest, but certainly misdirected, for their “god” was contemptible.
It should be noted that the Spirit punctuates the narrative of their prolonged plea, (1 Kings 18), by a threefold mention of that moment of time which was the peak and pivot of their vain endeavour (verses 26 to 29). They “called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, ‘O Baal, hear us’.” “And it came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them.” “And it was so, when midday was past . . .” Baal6 was the sun-god, whose name meant Lord, or possessor (of heaven), so that as the idolaters watched their god climbing, from his rising, towards his zenith of high noon, their monotonous but mounting chant from 4507 throats would, in crazy crescendo, reach, toward midday, a madding pitch of passionate excitement ; and as the sun reached its hottest, beating down out of a cloudless sky,8 burning them and everything around,—(everything, that is, except their sacrifice !) they leaped and limped also about the altar, dancing wildly with frantic fury in the manner characteristic of pagan devotion in the East : with grotesque bodily contortions for which they were trained, and striking various sacrificial attitudes which they had been taught. “But there was no voice, nor any that answered.”
It seems probable that this being the ineffectual climax of their most exhausting “now or never” effort, they would have collapsed their case, and gladly handed over the afternoon to Elijah, but for his most dramatic intervention “at noon.” It was as effective as it was unexpected: “Elijah mocked them”! Two thoughts arise. How dare he speak in the manner he did, when in the midst of his enemies —alone? And is it ever permissible to use irony, scorn, sarcasm, ridicule and contempt, when dealing with devotees of another persuasion, when sincere, however mistaken ? The answer to the former question seems to be that, like Jesus later, he knew he was “not alone” ; he had not undertaken this matter on his own responsibility; he had been commissioned by God and was being obedient in the face of whatever danger threatened, for “the righteous is bold as a lion.”
The answer to the latter question is that a period of critical apostasy is never the time for smooth words and prolonged parleying. Neglect to maintain separateness, intermarriage with those out of the Way, had led to tolerance of false religious views and accommodation of their forms of worship. Many faithful witnesses were dead ; the remnant was in danger of being silenced. The flock of Israel was in imminent critical danger of being stampeded into the pagan pen ; Elijah knew there must be strong words and swift action if Israel was to be saved from complete apostasy, and turned back in heart to truth, and worship of the one True God. That principle of priority, “first pure, then peaceable,” is the requirement of Heaven’s wisdom in any age, whether national, ecclesial or individual in its application.
Elijah had been silent from sunrise until noon, watching the sad and sorry spectacle, deliberately delaying his own preparations for reasons we may conjecture. His eagle eye would watch that no priestly craft was used to set the altar wood ablaze with the sun’s assistance, else mob hysteria would spread from prophets to people in loud acclaim that Baal was God. Conversely he would want them to see in detail his own bona fide abstention from the use of any concealed fire. But there were three more apparent reasons why he must, (at that critical moment when their own full and fair trial had failed), lash them on in their futile fanaticism to the extreme of endeavour, namely, (1) that the triumph of Jehovah may be utterly overwhelming and, beyond cavil, complete ; (2) that onlooking Israel may see clearly that Baal existed only in the imagination, by his systematic removal of every excuse his priests might have raised, had he not stung them to action by allusion, in turn, to various possibilities in which they believed9 (he did not invent them, as is frequently assumed) ; and (3) that he might maintain this increasingly farcical display : deliberately keeping it running to a predetermined timetable, the terminal of which is indicated in verses 29 and 36.
So he mocked, and his first lash is deeply ironic. The A.V. only weakly conveys the half of it ! “Cry on, but cry louder,” he urged in effect, it’s the least that you can do, “for,” as you say “he is the supreme God,” (ki Elohim hu). He may be holding audience, musing or meditating ; but he can’t ignore a situation as desperate as this ! It’s up to you to shout, let him know that everything, now, is at stake!
What a pity, if through your fault, he were pursuing game in heaven whilst he lost credit on earth ! or happened to be off on an excursion just when you so badly need him in the audience chamber ! And as to the possibility that “he sleepeth,” students should pursue this in Clark, who cites a rabbi (veiling it in Latin, out of consideration for English sensitiveness to coarseness) who reveals that Elijah finally reduces Baal to the lowest degree of contempt as a god, by his sarcastic suggestion as to where, perhaps, he has gone. And the result upon the priests was to compel them not only to do as they were bidden, but to follow the pagan practice of gashing themselves with sword and lance, smearing themselves with human blood in the hope that it might successfully supplement that of the sacrifice which, alone, seemed insufficient! And this went on from “midday,” (when their hopes had been so dashed), until “the time of the offering of the evening oblation” ; (“was approaching” is obviously to be understood here), their hearts slowly sinking lower still, as the symbol of their sun-god falls from its zenith ; “And it was so, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any attention,” just as at noon!
Respecting the use of ridicule, the author remarks, “It should never be substituted for reason, as too often it is. It is a favourite weapon with sceptics who are at a loss for an argument. But where reason is wasted upon stupidity then it is fitting.” By Elijah, “ridicule was righteously applied. He rallied the idolaters with a ridicule that was full of argument.” It must have driven them to absolute exhaustion and despair, in which he leaves them “prophesying” (or rather, praying, after their fashion, and supplicating),—having carefully left himself just sufficient time to make his own preparations for the swift, conclusive triumph : at the precisely intended time. To witness this, he said to the people, who by this time must have been well and truly wearied with the dismal failure displayed, “Come near unto me.”
In the name of the Lord he repaired the Lord’s altar which had been thrown down, using twelve stones ; dug a trench round it arranged the wood and laid on it the pieces of the second bullock which he cut up. Then, using four available barrels, he ordered them to be filled with water and poured over the “burnt offering,” and on the wood ; and this to be done a second and a third time. This made twelve barrelfuls, the overspill of which ran round the sacrifice, in the trench—which he then filled with water, probably drawn from a nearby spring. Then, “at the time of the offering of the evening oblation,” Elijah came near and offered his brief prayer :
“0 Lord, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that Thou art God in Israel, and that I am Thy servant, and that I have done all these things at Thy word. Hear me, 0 Lord, hear me, that this people may know that Thou, Lord, art God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again.”
What contrast this prayer presents in its fewness of words—and in its being said once only ! It “pleads for the honour of God” and “sues for mercy to the penitent.”
The miraculous fire of Jehovah fell, and, as Mr. Thomas remarks, it did not work upward from the wood, as in the ordinary operation, but consumed first the burnt offering. Then the wood, notwithstanding its sodden state.
The very stones and dust were vitrified and volatilised ; and lastly, the water in the trench was licked up ! The demonstration was irresistible that the celestial fire, which the apostates worshipped as a “god” under the name of “Baal,” was, like all else, completely in the hands of Jehovah.
The author enlarges on the choice by Elijah of the broken-down altar ; of the memorial of the piety of earlier times and of the posthumous influence for good or evil. “The service of Jehovah must be pure and not be contaminated by the remotest connection with idolatrous abominations.” He speaks of the significance of the wood ; of the twelve stones, and barrels of water (but could have added immersion to his antitypes). The wood typifies the Cross which held the Sacrifice accepted of Heaven.
The twelve stones were representative of the twelve tribal sons of the man whose new name, “Israel,” should remind them of the true God with Whom fervent prayer still “prevailed.” The four barrels, three times, again exhibit the twelve tribes, as arranged in the divine pattern of four groups of three, in the Tabernacle encampment, and again in the pattern of the stones in the Breastplate.
We can see in this the ignoring of the division into ten and two tribes, for in the outworking of the acceptance of the Sacrifice represented by that accepted at Elijah’s hands, the Lord shall be King over all the earth—and at the centre will be the restored Kingdom of Israel : “And I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel ; and one King shall be King to them all : and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all : neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, . . . I will save them, . . . and will cleanse them.: so shall they be My people, and I” (not Baal) “will be their God.” 10 But this ultimate application, the writer, unfortunately, has not been privileged to see, but he has the profitable thought that as a plentiful rain was about to “come upon all Israel through the repentance of the people for whose sin it had been with-holden, . . . in this sign, the Gospel also is preached to us. We too must be saved from spiritual drought and death through repentance toward God and faith in Christ.”
Finally, we think the author may well be right in observing that, as this is the last instance on record in which God accepted a sacrifice offered on a patriarchal altar, the destruction of that altar, in the very acceptance of the sacrifice, pointed to the pleasure of God that patriarchal high places should be removed, and that all Israel should henceforth worship at the Levitical altar of the temple at Jerusalem. This is greatly strengthened by the fact that Elijah was offering his prayer in perfect parallel with what was happening at Jerusalem. It was “at the time of the offering of the evening oblation”; “the hour of prayer”; “the ninth hour”; the time at which Jesus was sacrificed for us, “cried with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit.” 11
1 Kings 3 : 5.
2 “Clever” critics who stress that Solomon did not ask for “wisdom,” should themselves consult 2 Chronicles 1 : 10,
3 Luke 8 : 18, R.V.
4 Eph. 3 : 20.
5 “This is no doubt an instance of the ‘battologia,’ or ‘vain repetition,’ wherewith the Gentiles are reproached by our Lord (Matt. 6 : 7), and which has a parallel in the conduct of the Greeks of Ephesus, who ‘all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.’ (Acts 19 34). But we are not to suppose that no other words were uttered but these. ‘0 Baal, hear us,’ probably floated on the air as the refrain of a long and varied hymn of supplication.”—Speaker’s Comm.
6 “Baildon,” near Shipley, Yorks., is said to signify “Hill of Baal”
7 Mr. Thomas has “850,” on the strength of verse 19, but Moffatt brackets the reference to the additional 400 “prophets of the Asherah” (wooden symbol of the moon-goddess) as a later addition. Certainly, they are not mentioned at the slaying which Elijah carried out as required by God (Deut. 13). Some think they effected their escape ; Mr. T. thinks they may be included in the “prophets of Baal.” The latter is unlikely, seeing they are distinguished in verse 19 ; the former is incredible, for not only were they surrounded by the multitude, but Elijah’s eye was jealously watching that God’s triumph should be utterly completed : “Let not one of them escape.”
8 Deducible from next incident and prevalent drought.
9 Pagans did, and still do, represent the gods of their imagining, as hunting, warring, musing and sleeping, etc,
10 Ezek. 37 ; 22, 23.
11 1 Kings 18 : 36 ; Acts 3 : 1 ; Matt. 27 : 46, 50 (3 p.m. as we speak).
Review of “The Early Earth” by John Whitcomb (1972)