Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Chronicles
Chapter 6: Hear Thou From Heaven, and Forgive
At the temple's dedication Solomon prays one of the great prayers of Scripture. He marvels that the God whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain would dwell with men, and he pleads again and again that God would hear the prayers offered toward this house and forgive. He even looks ahead to a day of exile, and asks that if His people repent in a far country and turn back to Him with all their heart, God would hear from heaven and forgive. It is a prayer soaked in the mercy of God.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Chronicles chapter 6. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Hear and Forgive (2 Chronicles 6:18-21)
Solomon marvels that God would dwell with men, and pleads that He hear prayer toward the house and forgive.
When Thou Hearest, Forgive
"But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place. Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive."
Word Study
"forgive," Hebrew salach (סָלַח), to pardon, used in the Old Testament almost only of God. Solomon has already declared, "there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth" (verse 14), and now he asks the wondering question at the heart of the dedication: "But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house." He knows, as he said to Huram, that no building can hold the infinite God. So the temple is not a container for God but a place He graciously appoints for meeting, "the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there." Solomon's repeated plea is that God would "hearken," "have respect," keep "thine eyes... open upon this house day and night," and hear the prayers made "toward this place." And the climax of his plea is one word, mercy: "hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive (salach)." The very purpose of the house of prayer is that sinners might be forgiven. Solomon assumes his people will need pardon, and he builds the whole hope of the temple on the God who forgives. The transcendent God who cannot be contained is also the God who bends down to hear and to pardon.
Explanation
Solomon marvels that God would actually dwell with people on earth, since not even the highest heavens can contain Him, how much less a house built by human hands. Understanding this, he does not treat the temple as a cage for God but as the place God has appointed to put His name and meet His people. He pleads earnestly that God would pay attention to the prayers offered there, keeping His eyes on the house day and night, and hearing the supplications of Solomon and of Israel made toward that place. The heart of his request is that when God hears, He would forgive. The temple's great purpose is to be a place where God hears prayer and pardons sin.
Gospel Focus
"Will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth?" Solomon's wondering question is answered, beyond all he could imagine, in the gospel. The God whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain did come to dwell with men: "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14); His name is "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matthew 1:23). And by His Spirit He now dwells within His people, "the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are" (1 Corinthians 3:17). The temple pointed to this, a place where God meets sinners and forgives. Solomon's plea, "when thou hearest, forgive," rests on the truth that "there is forgiveness with thee" (Psalm 130:4), and it finds its full ground at the cross, where God is "faithful and just to forgive us our sins" through the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:9). Notice that Solomon points prayer "toward this place," the appointed meeting place; for us, the appointed meeting place is not a building but a Person, for there is "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). We pray in His name, and God hears from heaven and forgives. The uncontainable God has drawn near in Christ to hear the cry of every penitent heart and to pardon. Come to Him, and when He hears, He forgives.
If They Return With All Their Heart (2 Chronicles 6:36-39)
Solomon foresees exile, and pleads that God forgive His people if they repent in a far country.
There Is No Man Which Sinneth Not
"If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near; Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee."
Word Study
"bethink themselves," Hebrew heshiv el-libbam (הֵשִׁיב אֶל־לִבָּם), to bring back to their heart, to come to their senses. The last and longest of Solomon's petitions looks ahead, with remarkable foresight, to the very exile that would come centuries later. He begins with a sober truth in parentheses: "for there is no man which sinneth not." No one is without sin; Israel will surely fall, and judgment may carry them "captives unto a land far off." Yet even there hope remains, and it turns on repentance. If in captivity they "bethink themselves" (literally, bring the matter back to their heart, come to their senses), and "turn and pray," confessing "We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly," and "return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul," then Solomon asks God to "hear... and forgive thy people." The marks of true repentance are all here: coming to oneself, turning back, honest confession of sin, and wholehearted return. And the promise held out is that God's mercy reaches even to a far country; no distance and no captivity is beyond His pardon for the truly penitent. To a people who would one day read this in Babylon, or having just returned from it, these words were a lifeline: the God of the temple hears the repentant even in exile.
Explanation
Solomon looks ahead to a time when Israel's sin might lead to defeat and exile in a foreign land, acknowledging plainly that everyone sins. But he pleads that even then, if the people come to their senses in captivity, turn back to God, honestly confess their sin, and return to Him with all their heart and soul, praying toward the land and the temple, God would hear from heaven and forgive them. It is a prayer of astonishing hope: that God's mercy would reach His people even in the far country of exile, and that genuine, wholehearted repentance would always find forgiveness. For the exiles who would later read these words, it was a promise that the way home to God was never closed.
Gospel Focus
This petition is pure gospel. It begins where the gospel begins, with the honest admission that "there is no man which sinneth not", the same truth Paul presses, "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), and "if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" (1 John 1:8). And it holds out the same hope the gospel holds out: that no matter how far sin has carried us, genuine repentance finds forgiveness. The pattern of that repentance is exactly the prodigal son's, who "came to himself" (bethought himself) in the far country, arose, returned to his father, and confessed, "I have sinned" (Luke 15:17-21), and found not rejection but a robe, a ring, and a feast. God's mercy reaches to the farthest country of the soul. To "return... with all their heart and with all their soul" is the wholehearted turning God always honors: "ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13), a promise given, fittingly, to exiles in Babylon. And where Solomon bid the exiles pray "toward the house," we now come to God through Christ, the true temple and the one Mediator, in whom the penitent are always received. However far you have wandered, come to yourself, turn, confess, and return with all your heart, and the God who hears from heaven will forgive.
Chapter in Review
Second Chronicles 6 records Solomon's great prayer at the dedication of the temple. He marvels that God, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, would dwell with men, and understands the temple not as a cage for God but as the appointed place where He puts His name and hears prayer. Again and again Solomon pleads that God would hear the supplications made toward the house and, above all, "when thou hearest, forgive." His final petition looks ahead to exile, confessing that "there is no man which sinneth not," yet asking that if the people repent in a far country, turning to God "with all their heart," He would hear from heaven and forgive. The chapter magnifies the God who is both transcendent and merciful, whose house is a house of prayer and pardon, and it points to Christ, God come to dwell with men, the one Mediator through whom the penitent, however far they have strayed, are always forgiven.
Key Takeaways
- God dwells with men. The uncontainable God came to dwell with us in Christ and now dwells in His people by the Spirit.
- The house of God is a house of prayer and pardon. Solomon's great plea was "when thou hearest, forgive."
- There is no man which sinneth not. All have sinned; honest confession is where forgiveness begins.
- Repentance finds mercy even in the far country. If we come to ourselves, turn, and return with all our heart, God forgives.
- We come to God through Christ. The temple pointed to the one Mediator, in whom the penitent are always received.
Questions for Reflection
- Do you marvel that the God whom the heavens cannot contain has come to dwell with you in Christ?
- Is prayer, and the seeking of forgiveness, at the center of your walk with God?
- Have you honestly admitted that you, too, are among those who sin, and need pardon?
- However far you have wandered, will you come to yourself, turn, and return to God with all your heart?
- Are you coming to God through Jesus Christ, the true meeting place and Mediator?
References
- Scripture: 2 Chronicles 6:1-42, King James Version (commentary focuses on verses 18-21 and 36-39).
- Cross-references: Psalm 130:4; Jeremiah 29:13; Matthew 1:23; Luke 15:17-21; John 1:14; Romans 3:23; 1 Corinthians 3:17; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 John 1:8-9.
- Hebrew word meanings: standard lexical sources (Strong's, BDB) for salach and the idiom heshiv el-lev ("bethink themselves"); background on Solomon's dedication prayer.