32 `And also, unto the stranger who is not of Thy people Israel, and he hath come from a land afar off for the sake of Thy great name, and Thy strong hand, and Thy stretched-out arm, and they have come in and prayed towards this house:
And there were certain Greeks out of those coming up that they may worship in the feast,
Nor speak let a son of the stranger, Who is joined unto Jehovah, saying: `Jehovah doth certainly separate me from His people.' Nor say let the eunuch, `Lo, I am a tree dried up,' For thus said Jehovah of the eunuchs, Who do keep My sabbaths, And have fixed on that which I desired, And are keeping hold on My covenant: I have given to them in My house, And within My walls a station and a name, Better than sons and than daughters, A name age-during I give to him That is not cut off. And sons of the stranger, who are joined to Jehovah, To serve Him, and to love the name of Jehovah, To be to Him for servants, Every keeper of the sabbath from polluting it, And those keeping hold on My covenant. I have brought them unto My holy mountain, And caused them to rejoice in My house of prayer, Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices `Are' for a pleasing thing on Mine altar, For My house, `A house of prayer,' Is called for all the peoples.
And they have brought all your brethren out of all the nations, A present to Jehovah, On horses, and on chariot, and on litters, And on mules, and on dromedaries, Unto My holy mountain Jerusalem, said Jehovah, As the sons of Israel bring the present in a clean vessel, Into the house of Jehovah.
that ye were at that time apart from Christ, having been alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God, in the world; and now, in Christ Jesus, ye being once afar off became nigh in the blood of the Christ,
And there was a certain man in Cesarea, by name Cornelius, a centurion from a band called Italian, pious, and fearing God with all his house, doing also many kind acts to the people, and beseeching God always, he saw in a vision manifestly, as it were the ninth hour of the day, a messenger of God coming in unto him, and saying to him, `Cornelius;' and he having looked earnestly on him, and becoming afraid, said, `What is it, Lord?' And he said to him, `Thy prayers and thy kind acts came up for a memorial before God,
And having arisen, he went on, and lo, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch, a man of rank, of Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to worship to Jerusalem; he was also returning, and is sitting on his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, `Go near, and be joined to this chariot;' and Philip having run near, heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, `Dost thou then know what thou dost read?' and he said, `Why, how am I able, if some one may not guide me?' he called Philip also, having come up, to sit with him. And the contents of the Writing that he was reading was this: `As a sheep unto slaughter he was led, and as a lamb before his shearer dumb, so he doth not open his mouth; in his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and his generation -- who shall declare? because taken from the earth is his life.' And the eunuch answering Philip said, `I pray thee, about whom doth the prophet say this? about himself, or about some other one?' and Philip having opened his mouth, and having begun from this Writing, proclaimed good news to him -- Jesus. And as they were going on the way, they came upon a certain water, and the eunuch said, `Lo, water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?' `And Philip said, `If thou dost believe out of all the heart, it is lawful;' and he answering said, `I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God;'' and he commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down to the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him; and when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more, for he was going on his way rejoicing;
Phrygia also, and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya, that `are' along Cyrene, and the strangers of Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
`A queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and lo, a greater than Solomon here!
And Jesus having heard, did wonder, and said to those following, `Verily I say to you, not even in Israel so great faith have I found; and I say to you, that many from east and west shall come and recline (at meat) with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the reign of the heavens,
And it hath come to pass, Every one who hath been left of all the nations, Who are coming in against Jerusalem, They have also gone up from year to year, To bow themselves to the King, Jehovah of Hosts, And to celebrate the feast of the booths. And it hath come to pass, That he who doth not go up of the families of the land unto Jerusalem, To bow himself to the King, Jehovah of Hosts, Even on them there is no shower.
Yea, come in have many peoples, and mighty nations, To seek Jehovah of Hosts in Jerusalem, And to appease the face of Jehovah.
`And when a sojourner sojourneth with thee, and hath made a passover to Jehovah, every male of his `is' to be circumcised, and then he doth come near to keep it, and he hath been as a native of the land, but any uncircumcised one doth not eat of it; one law is to a native, and to a sojourner who is sojourning in your midst.'
Arise, be bright, for come hath thy light, And the honour of Jehovah hath risen on thee. For, lo, the darkness doth cover the earth, And thick darkness the peoples, And on thee rise doth Jehovah, And His honour on thee is seen. And come have nations to thy light, And kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up round about thine eyes and see, All of them have been gathered, they have come to thee, Thy sons from afar do come, And thy daughters on the side are supported. Then thou seest, and hast become bright, And thine heart hath been afraid and enlarged, For turn unto thee doth the multitude of the sea, The forces of nations do come to thee. A company of camels covereth thee, Dromedaries of Midian and Ephah, All of them from Sheba do come, Gold and frankincense they bear, And of the praises of Jehovah they proclaim the tidings. All the flock of Kedar are gathered to thee, The rams of Nebaioth do serve thee, They ascend for acceptance Mine altar, And the house of My beauty I beautify. Who `are' these -- as a thick cloud they fly, And as doves unto their windows? Surely for Me isles do wait, And ships of Tarshish first, To bring thy sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, To the name of Jehovah thy God, And to the Holy One of Israel, Because He hath beautified thee. And sons of a stranger have built thy walls, And their kings do serve thee, For in My wrath I have smitten thee, And in My good pleasure I have pitied thee.
Thou hast an arm with might, Strong is Thy hand -- high Thy right hand.
And he turneth back unto the man of God, he and all his camp, and cometh in, and standeth before him, and saith, `Lo, I pray thee, I have known that there is not a God in all the earth except in Israel; and now, take, I pray thee, a blessing from thy servant.'
And it cometh to pass, at Elisha the man of God's hearing that the king of Israel hath rent his garments, that he sendeth unto the king, saying, `Why hast thou rent thy garments? let him come, I pray thee, unto me, and he doth know that there is a prophet in Israel.'
and she saith unto her mistress, `O that my lord `were' before the prophet who `is' in Samaria; then he doth recover him from his leprosy.'
And the queen of Sheba is hearing of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, and cometh to try him with enigmas, and she cometh to Jerusalem, with a very great company, camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stone, and she cometh unto Solomon, and speaketh unto him all that hath been with her heart.
`And also, unto the stranger who is not of Thy people Israel, and hath come from a land afar off for Thy name's sake -- (for they hear of Thy great name, and of Thy strong hand, and of Thy stretched-out arm) -- and he hath come in and prayed towards this house, Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast done according to all that the stranger calleth unto Thee for, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Thy name, to fear Thee like Thy people Israel, and to know that Thy name hath been called on this house which I have builded.
And Boaz answereth and saith to her, `It hath thoroughly been declared to me all that thou hast done with thy mother-in-law, after the death of thy husband, and thou dost leave thy father, and thy mother, and the land of thy birth, and dost come in unto a people which thou hast not known heretofore. Jehovah doth recompense thy work, and thy reward is complete from Jehovah, God of Israel, under whose wings thou hast come to take refuge.'
And they say unto him, `From a land very far off have thy servants come, for the name of Jehovah thy God, for we have heard His fame, and all that He hath done in Egypt,
and she saith unto the men, `I have known that Jehovah hath given to you the land, and that your terror hath fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted at your presence.
and Moses recounteth to his father-in-law all that Jehovah hath done to Pharaoh, and to the Egyptians, on account of Israel, all the travail which hath found them in the way, and Jehovah doth deliver them. And Jethro rejoiceth for all the good which Jehovah hath done to Israel, whom He hath delivered from the hand of the Egyptians; and Jethro saith, `Blessed `is' Jehovah, who hath delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of Pharaoh -- who hath delivered this people from under the hand of the Egyptians; now I have known that Jehovah `is' greater than all the gods, for in the thing they have acted proudly -- `He is' above them!' And Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, taketh a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron cometh in, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses, before God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 6
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 6 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 6
The glory of the Lord, in the vehicle of a thick cloud, having filled the house which Solomon built, by which God manifested his presence there, he immediately improves the opportunity, and addresses God, as a God now, in a peculiar manner, nigh at hand.
2Ch 6:1-11
It is of great consequence, in all our religious actions, that we design well, and that our eye be single. If Solomon had built this temple in the pride of his heart, as Ahasuerus made his feast, only to show the riches of his kingdom and the honour of his majesty, it would not have turned at all to his account. But here he declares upon what inducements he undertook it, and they are such as not only justify, but magnify, the undertaking.
2Ch 6:12-42
Solomon had, in the foregoing verses, signed and sealed, as it were, the deed of dedication, by which the temple was appropriated to the honour and service of God. Now here he prays the consecration-prayer, by which it was made a figure of Christ, the great Mediator, through whom we are to offer all our prayers, and to expect all God's favours, and to whom we are to have an eye in every thing where we have to do with God. We have opened the particulars of this prayer (1 Ki. 8) and therefore shall now only glean up some few passages in it which may be the proper subjects of our meditation.