“If your people go out to fight against their enemy, no matter by which way you send them, and they pray to Adonai toward the city you chose, toward the house I built for your name; then, in heaven, hear their prayer and plea, and uphold their cause.”– 1 Kings 8:44-45
Solomon’s 6th petition is interesting.
He talks about how Hebrew soldiers should pray when engaged in warfare.
Look at the part where it says, “no matter which way you send them.”
That’s not a geographical statement.
It ain’t referring to the direction the soldiers are marching towards, like east or north or something.
Ya feeling me here?
It’s a statement of divine commissioning.
“Which way you send them” more means…
“Whatever battle or mission Adonai directs them to undertake.”
The emphasis is on the One doing the sending.
Israel goes to war because the Lord has sent them.
This is divine authorization.
And Adonai is the Commander in Chief of this Holy War.
So if Israel wishes to have victory…
The Torah rules governing holy war must be obeyed
Especially the Law of Herem that says all the spoils of war belong to God.
Onward.
Now, verse 45 is interesting.
Solomon prays that when his soldiers pray towards the Temple in Jerusalem…
That regardless of their current location…
He prays that the Lord will hear their prayers…
NOT from the inside of the Temple…
But from Heaven.
That’s an important distinction.
It recognizes that Adonai’s presence is not limited to some physical structure but that He lives in heaven.
This is also why Jews direct their prayers towards Jerusalem no matter where they happen to be living at the time.
But again, it’s not Jerusalem that’s important.
What’s important is that Jerusalem is where the Temple is located.
The modern Jew today, when praying towards the Temple, holds three thoughts in his heart.
FIRST, he is remembering God’s covenant promise that eretz Israel is his homeland.
SECOND, he is expressing his desire to live there in the future.
THIRD, he is looking towards God’s promise that eventually a new Temple will be built on top of Mount Moriah.
That last point should be particularly inspiring to all believers.
Why?
Because the construction of a new Temple on Mount Moriah signals the coming of the Messiah.
That’s why I believe all followers of the Messiah…
Whether Jew or Gentile…
Should direct their prayers to Jerusalem in the Holy Land.
That’s where your salvation originated.
And that’s where the Messiah will return in glory to complete what He began.
Interesting one, Rich. I can certainly see the basis for praying toward Jerusalem in Solomon’s day, and Daniel seems like a clear example of someone continuing to do exactly that while far from the land.
Your article got me thinking about Yeshua’s conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4.
She asked where people should worship. The Samaritans had their mountain, while the Jews looked to Jerusalem.
Yeshua answered:
“Lady, believe me, the time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Yerushalayim.” (John 4:21, CJB)
Then he said that the time was coming, and was already here, when true worshippers would worship the Father spiritually and truly.
I know you’re not saying that YHWH can only hear someone who is facing Jerusalem. You’ve written before about God being able to commune with us anywhere, so I think we’re on the same page there.
What I’m wondering about is the change Yeshua seems to be describing.
Solomon lived under an arrangement where YHWH had specifically chosen Jerusalem and the Temple as the center of worship. So Daniel facing Jerusalem makes perfect sense to me.
But then Yeshua comes along and says the time is arriving when worship of the Father will be “neither on this mountain nor in Yerushalayim.”
Could he be saying that with the coming of Messiah, the geographical direction itself would no longer have the significance it once had?
Jerusalem could still have tremendous importance in YHWH’s purpose and in the whole biblical story, of course. I’m just wondering whether Yeshua might be distinguishing between Jerusalem’s importance and the need to direct our prayers toward it.
Curious how you understand that, my friend.