{"id":18847,"date":"2017-05-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leithart.level2d.com\/?p=570"},"modified":"2017-05-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-03T00:00:00","slug":"chiasms-of-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2017\/05\/chiasms-of-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiasms of Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

S<\/span>olomon\u2019s prayer at the dedication of the temple begins with a prayer structured as a double chiasm (2 Chronicles 6:14\u201321).\u00a0The first runs from verses 14\u201317:<\/p>\n

A. Yahweh, God of Israel, you keep covenant, v 14a<\/p>\n

B. to servants who walk before you, v 14b<\/p>\n

C. You have kept (shamar<\/em>) what you spoke to David, v 15a<\/p>\n

D. You spoke with your mouth, fulfilled with your hand, v 15b<\/p>\n

C\u2019. Yahweh,\u00a0God of Israel, keep (shamar<\/em>) what you spoke to David, v 16a<\/p>\n

B\u2019. You shall have a man on the throne, if your sons walk as you walked, v 16b<\/p>\n

A\u2019. Yahweh,\u00a0God of Israel, confirm the word you spoke, v 17<\/p>\n

If we follow the three uses of the title \u201cYahweh, God of Israel,\u201d the prayer breaks down into two sections, the first a declaration that God is<\/em> loyal to His covenant and the second a request that He be<\/em> loyal to His covenant, from indicative to subjunctive. Both sections begin with the divine name, and the prayer ends with a third use of His name. The logic of the prayer\u2019s argument is: You keep covenant in general; you have kept your word to David; therefore, keep your word to David. At the center of the prayer is a statement about Yahweh\u2019s integrity.\u00a0He has mouth-hand coordination; what He speaks He performs. His hand is the \u201cAmen\u201d to His word (\u2018aman<\/em> is \u201cconfirm\u201d in v. 17).<\/p>\n

The second portion of the prayer (vv. 18\u201321) is also a chiasm of prayer:<\/p>\n

A. Heaven cannot contain Elohim, much less this house, v 18<\/p>\n

B. Turn Your face to prayer and supplication of Your servant, v 19a<\/p>\n

C. Hear the cry and prayer Your servant prays, v 19b<\/p>\n

D. Open your eyes toward this house, put name there, v 20a<\/p>\n

C\u2019. To hear the prayer of Your servant, v 20b<\/p>\n

B\u2019. Hear the supplications of Your Servant and Your people when they pray, v 21a<\/p>\n

A\u2019.\u00a0Hear from heaven, v 21b<\/p>\n

While Yahweh cannot be confined to the house (A), the house amplifies prayer so He hears in heaven (A\u2019).\u00a0Solomon asks that Yahweh \u201cmy<\/em> Elohim\u201d would hear his<\/em> prayer (\u201cYour servant,\u201d vv. 19 [2x], 20, 21), but in the end Israel\u2019s prayers are gathered up with Solomon\u2019s: \u201chear the supplications of Your servant and Your people Israel.\u201d Yahweh is, after all, not just the king\u2019s God but \u201cYahweh, God of Israel\u201d (vv. 14, 16, 17).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The center of this second chiasm resembles that of the first; both speak of the organs of Yahweh\u2019s body. The first states that Yahweh\u2019s hand follows up to accomplish what He commits to with His mouth, and the second is a prayer that the Lord\u2019s eyes would be open to hear. Putting them together, we have this scenario: Yahweh\u2019s eyes and (implicitly) His ears are open to the temple; He has said He will respond to the prayer of His people; when He hears their prayer, He stretches out His hand to accomplish what He has spoken.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Solomon\u2019s theology of prayer depends on understanding the relation of heaven and earth (shamaim<\/em> frames both chiasms, vv. 14, 18 [2x], 21; cf.vv. 23, 25, 26, 27, 30, 33, 35, 39;\u00a08x in the seven petitions, 12x in the entire prayer). Heaven is above earth, and Yahweh is greater than heaven (v. 18). Heaven is the source of help, the help Israel needs in every distress\u2014just judgment, victory, rain, healing, return from exile, and, above all, forgiveness. Only the God who exceeds heaven itself can supply these. Earth isn\u2019t autonomous; it\u2019s not a buffered place, immune from influence from outside. On the contrary: The events of earth depend on the fact that earth is porous to heaven. Yahweh the incomparable God of heaven isn\u2019t remote from Israel or from Gentiles who hear the fame of Israel\u2019s heroic God.\u00a0The temple enables prayers from earth to be heard in heaven because Yahweh\u2019s eyes and name are there in the place He has chosen. When prayers are directed to the temple, they resound in heaven and the God of heaven, who has spoken, responds with His hand.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Solomon\u2019s prayer at the dedication of the temple begins with a prayer structured as a double chiasm (2 Chronicles 6:14\u201321).\u00a0The first runs from verses 14\u201317: A. Yahweh, God of Israel, you keep covenant, v 14a B. to servants who walk before you, v 14b C. You have kept (shamar) what you spoke to David, v […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-ot-chronicles"],"yoast_head":"\nChiasms of Prayer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple begins with a prayer structured as a double chiasm (2 Chronicles 6:14\u201321). The first runs from\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2017\/05\/chiasms-of-prayer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chiasms 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