1 Kings 8:32
Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
This verse belongs to Solomon's most remarkable prayer, offered at the dedication of the temple God employed him to build. It was offered as he entered upon his work amid remarkable manifestations of divine power, giving precious views of the divine character and showing that Israel depended on God. In the verse Solomon asks God to hear in heaven and judge disputes between people with righteous and equitable judgment, condemning the wicked to bring his way upon his head and justifying the righteous to give him according to his righteousness. In its larger setting the prayer teaches that God is not confined to a temple; when His people gather to worship He meets them by His Spirit, and He also visits and encourages them in their homes and wherever they may be, so His children can worship Him in every place. The prayer shows that God honored the people who built a sanctuary where they could meet to worship Him, and that sincere worshipers receive His blessing.
When he offered the prayer Solomon knew God and felt his need of divine power, praying that the hearts of his people might be undividedly given to the Lord. Corrupting influences later led him away from God and temple worship into idolatry, and the same Solomon who offered this prayer afterward broke allegiance to God and became the seducer of his people into false worship. His later idolatry stands in contrast to his prayer: although God had honored him and entrusted him with sacred things, he turned from obedience and built high places for his idolatrous wives. He later departed from the standard of righteous judgment he had prayed for, and his own conduct as judge became tyrannical and oppressive, with the wicked no longer made to face the consequences of conduct nor the righteous given according to righteousness. The light of that prayer did not save Solomon, for he afterward forsook the very temple to worship idols, proving that men in positions of sacred trust as teachers of truth to others can be found unfaithful and turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them, and that the people made the repository of His law need clearer and increased light from heaven and must be spiritualized, elevated and vitalized by the sacred truth they profess, stripped of self-sufficiency and spiritual pride, distrusting self and sensing that they are kept by the power of God through faith.