1 Kings 8:36

36 then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.

1 Kings 8:36 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:36

Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy
servants, and of thy people Israel
By removing the judgment of drought upon them:

that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk;
the way of worship and duty prescribed by the Lord which was good in itself, and good for them, good things being enjoyed by them that walk therein; and this the Lord sometimes teaches by afflictions, as well as by his word; but whenever he does it, it is by his Spirit, and then afflictions are blessings, ( Psalms 104:19 ) ( 2 Chronicles 6:27 ) where the same phrase is differently rendered:

and give rain upon the land which thou hast given to thy people for
an inheritance;
as he did at the prayer of Elijah, ( James 5:18 ) .

1 Kings 8:36 In-Context

34 then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel. May You restore them to the land You gave to their fathers.

35 When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them,

36 then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.

37 When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemy besieges them in their cities, whatever plague or sickness may come,

38 then may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel make—each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward this temple—