Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 9:3-9

"And Jehovah said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances; then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever, according as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. But if ye shall turn away from following me, ye or your children, and not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And though this house is so high, yet shall every one that passeth by it be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath Jehovah done thus unto this land, and to this house? and they shall answer, Because they forsook Jehovah their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath Jehovah brought all this evil upon them." — 1 Kings 9:3-9 (ASV)

And the Lord said to him. —This vision of the Lord presents a remarkable contrast with that recorded in 1 Kings 6:11–13, while the Temple was being built. Then all was promise and encouragement; now, not only is warning mingled with promise, but, as in Solomon’s own prayer, the sadder alternative seems in prophetic anticipation to overpower the brighter.

In this (as has often been remarked) there is a striking exemplification of the austere and lofty candor of the inspired narrative. This candor sternly contradicts that natural hopefulness in the hour of unexampled prosperity, which would have shrunk from even entertaining the idea that the blessing of God on the Temple should be frustrated, and the glory of Israel should pass away.

It is notable that, in its reference to the two parts of the promise to David, there is a subtle and instructive distinction. Regarding the Temple, just built in fulfillment of that promise, it is declared without reserve that, in case of unfaithfulness in Israel, it shall be utterly destroyed and become an astonishment and a proverb of reproach before the world. But concerning the promise of the perpetuity of David’s kingdom—the true Messianic prediction, which struck the keynote of all future prophecies—it is only said that Israel shall be cut off from the land, and so become a proverb and a byword in captivity.

Nothing is said to contradict the original declaration that, even in case of sin, the mercy of God would chastise and not forsake the house of David (2 Samuel 7:13–14; Psalms 89:30–37). So, again and again in prophecy, captivity is denounced as a penalty of Israel’s sin; but the hope of restoration is always held out, and thus the belief in God’s unchanging promise remains unshaken. The true idea is strikingly illustrated by the prophet Amos (1 Kings 9:9–11): I will sift the house of Israel, among all nations ... yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth ... I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof.