And when Solomon had ended praying, the fire came down from the heavens and consumed the burnt-offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of Jehovah filled the house.
Solomon has just finished praying at the dedication of the temple, and God answers in front of the whole nation. The scene raises two questions: what did the fire mean, and what about worshippers who are given no such sign?
The fire falls at the exact moment Solomon stops speaking. One writer places this answer next to God's answer to David, and shows how both later gave Elijah his confidence.
God had answered Solomon by sending fire down from heaven. He had answered David in the same way, when a time of chastening was over and David had offered a sacrifice — see 2 Chronicles 7:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:26. So Elijah proposed an answer by fire as the test, and his confidence was not misplaced. His prayer was answered.
The fire and the glory were public. Everyone present saw them, and one writer explains what that did for the nation's standing with God.
The public acceptance of the sacrifice is what sets the people in open connection with God. It makes them confess that the LORD is good, and that His mercy endures for ever.
The fire came from God's side, not from human hands. One writer reads the scene as a picture of what a soul must see at the cross before it can rest.
Here we see God, and how He acts towards the sacrifice. This is what a soul taught by the Spirit and convicted of sin sees above all in the cross of Christ. Such people know the outward facts of the crucifixion. But they find no real ground of peace and rest until they see God acting in that scene — until they see God there dealing with His own Son as the sin-bearer. In the cross of Christ, faith sees the invisible God searching the victim. He tests and weighs its worth by the fire of His uncompromising holiness.
One writer reads the fire on the burnt offering as God's sign of acceptance. He then points to how God has answered the offering of Christ.
Here the burnt offering was offered up, and God showed His acceptance of it by sending fire down from heaven. That was a picture of Christ offering Himself as the true burnt offering. God has shown His acceptance of that offering, and His delight in it, by putting Christ at His own right hand in glory.
That acceptance shapes worship now. As another writer puts it, knowing that God has accepted Christ and His offering for us "stirs our affections, and fills our lips with praise." Our worship, he adds, "exceeds in spiritual intelligence anything that was possible for the people of God in the age of types and shadows" (W. W. Fereday).
One writer notes what this chapter adds to the account in Kings, and where it points.
First the cloud had appeared. Now the fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house… The book of Kings says nothing about this answer by fire on the sacrifices. And now all the people of Israel saw the fire and the glory of the Lord, and they bowed down and worshipped… In the same way, all Israel will one day see the glory of the Lord, and the Lord coming in glory, and will worship Him (Zech. 12:10).
A later house replaced Solomon's temple, and no fire fell on it. One writer treats that silence as a lesson.
This house took the place of the one Solomon had built. But there were important differences. No cloud and no glory of the Lord filled it, as they had filled the tabernacle and the first temple. No fire came down from heaven to consume their sacrifices, as it had for Moses (Lev. 9:24) and for Solomon (2 Chr. 7:1)… Thomas believed when he saw, but the Lord spoke of the blessing of those who believe without seeing (John 20). That was the position of this small company, and it is ours too. For them, God's acceptance of their sacrifices and His dwelling in His house was a matter of faith alone — faith resting on God's word.
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- Prayer — The fire fell the moment Solomon finished praying. Elijah later asked for the same sign, and his confidence was not misplaced.
- Fire — What came down was God's own action on the sacrifice. Faith looks past the outward event and sees God dealing with His own Son as the sin-bearer.
- Acceptance — The consumed burnt offering pictures Christ. God's answer now is Christ seated at His right hand in glory.
- Glory — The public acceptance placed the whole nation in open connection with God. It drew out their confession that He is good and that His mercy endures forever.
- Faith — Later builders saw no fire and no cloud, yet God still dwelt in His house. Their acceptance rested on His word, and so does ours.
And the priests could not enter into the house of Jehovah, because the glory of Jehovah filled Jehovah's house.
Solomon's prayer has just ended, and God answers twice: fire falls on the sacrifices, and His glory fills the house until the priests themselves are shut out. So what is this "glory," and why does God's presence keep His own servants outside?
This is the second time the house fills and the priests must stand back. One writer traces both moments:
There seem to be two occasions when the glory filled the house so that the priests could not minister. The first (2 Chron. 5:11-14) is before Solomon's prayer... the cloud appears as an answer to their shout of praise. The second was after Solomon had finished praying (2 Chron. 7:3). Fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. The same two facts are recorded as on the first occasion. The priests could not enter the temple because of the glory. And the people worship and repeat the same words: "For He is good; for His mercy endures forever."... This scene is the high point of their blessedness, the very heart of their glory. From then on the glory declines; the fine gold grows dim.
The glory follows fire falling on an offering. One writer sees in that a picture of something later:
There was the burnt offering offered up, and God signified His acceptance of it by sending fire down from heaven. That was a picture of Christ offering Himself as the true burnt offering. God has shown His acceptance of it, and His delight in it, by putting Christ at His own right hand in glory.
The word is not decoration. It is God Himself, made visible:
God has always filled His house with glory. He did it with the tabernacle set up in the wilderness (Ex. 40), the temple in the kingdom (2 Chr. 5:14), and the church at Pentecost (Acts 2)... But what makes up the "glory"? It is the Lord's own presence — the sign of which was the cloud, both in the tabernacle and Solomon's temple. The glory of the Lord is the display of what He is, of the sum and excellence of all His attributes, whether seen with the eye or seen by faith. And so He fills His house with every perfection of His own spiritual being made visible.
The verse turns on a negative: the priests could not enter. One writer reads this as the limit of the whole system Solomon served under:
A striking picture of what no one could reach, even under the law at its most glorious. God's presence excluded that of the priests. In the heavenly sanctuary the priests are able to stand in the presence of His glory, to dwell there, and to have their part there. And indeed what we already have in spirit now cannot be matched in the temple of the thousand-year reign.
Another writer compares the temple with the tabernacle, starting from the temple's innermost room, the most holy place:
I have looked into how these two buildings worked, and so far I have not found a record of a priest serving in the most holy place in the temple. When Solomon had dedicated the temple and the cloud covered it, this is what was said: "And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD's house" (2 Chr. 7:2). It strengthens the thought that the temple was more for the display of the glory of the LORD... while the tabernacle has approach to God more in view.
The glory faded after that day. Another writer looks ahead to the day it returns:
When the Temple of God is built in the thousand-year reign... then the glory of God will once more fill the house. The LORD will be in His holy Temple; His glory will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together.
The chapter's order — sacrifice, then united praise, then glory — is a pattern for today, not just history:
So now, if we want the house of God filled with the glory of God, we must keep the lessons taught here. These things are foundation principles. A crucified, risen, and glorified Christ. Christ holding His own proper place of authority, in gathering and in rule. The hearts of His people as one in giving thanksgiving, praise, and blessing. Then the glory of the presence of the Lord will be known among us.
- Sacrifice first. The glory does not fall on an empty house — fire consumes the offering, and only then does God fill the place.
- Glory means Presence. The cloud is not scenery; it is the display of everything God is, all His perfections made visible in His own house.
- Shut out. The priests could not enter. That closed door shows the limit of the law at its most glorious.
- Display, not access. One writer reads the temple as built to display God's glory; the tabernacle pictures drawing near to Him.
- Still to come. What Solomon saw is a preview: the glory will fill God's house again, and all flesh will see it together.
And all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of Jehovah upon the house, and bowed themselves with their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshipped and thanked Jehovah For he is good, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever.
Solomon has just finished praying at the temple's dedication, and God answers with fire and glory. The whole nation falls face-down on the pavement and sings of His goodness — why does this sight bring worship, and why that song?
The fire showed that God accepted the sacrifice already offered. Commentators read this as a picture of what God later did with Christ.
The burnt offering was offered up, and God showed He accepted it by sending fire down from heaven. That was a picture of Christ offering Himself as the true burnt offering. God has shown that He accepts it and delights in it by putting Christ at His own right hand in glory.
Faith sees God Himself at work in this scene.
We see God here, and how He acts toward the sacrifice. This is what faith sees above all in the cross of Christ, when the Spirit has taught a soul and convicted it of sin. People know the outward facts of the crucifixion. But until they see God at work there, dealing with His own Son as the sin-bearer, they find no real ground of peace and rest. In the cross of Christ faith sees the invisible God searching the victim. He tests and weighs its worth by the fire of His uncompromising holiness, and He condemns sin in the flesh.
Sacrifice comes first, and glory follows. That order carries a promise.
Notice next that fire from heaven consumed the sacrifices, and then glory followed. We are told that "the glory of the LORD filled the house." Does this not teach us what a sure title to glory the blood of the cross is? There is a most blessed link between "the sacrifice" and "the glory." Like the torn veil, the death of Christ removes every obstacle to going into God's presence at once. Glory must follow. Right now we stand between the cross and the glory, free to enter the holiest place by faith.
Why did the people fall on their faces? Seeing what God has done leaves no room for self.
Nothing humbles us like knowing what God has done for us in Christ. It leaves no room for self-praise. It is a finished work... So it is by sharing God's mind about the glories of Christ, and about the unsearchable value of His work on the cross, that the heart is emptied of self and of earth and filled with praise and thanks to God. We are taken up with God, and we delight to tell God what He is. This is worship.
Worship answers what God has revealed of Himself, and its form can be very simple.
In its true and simplest sense, worship is giving glory to God in the sanctuary, according to what He has revealed about Himself. Many other things may gather around it, but they are not worship in that true and simple sense. Abel worshipped when he laid his lamb on the altar. That was very simple, but it was enough, because he met God in the appointed way and owned His glory.
The words they sing are not new that day. The same refrain runs through Israel's history and on into its future.
David proclaimed this refrain in his day, and the whole congregation with him (1 Chron. 16:34). Years later Solomon echoed it, and the people said it with him (2 Chron. 5:13; 7:3). The returning remnant, in all their weakness, said it when the foundations of the Temple were laid again (Ezra 3:11). One day the people of Israel, brought back and fully delivered, will confirm it in full chorus. Language that suited them nearly three thousand years ago will suit Israel forever.
Commentators look past Solomon's reign here and read the scene as a picture of the age when Christ rules Israel and the world.
The next major event we notice is the building and dedication of the temple. The glory of Jehovah fills it. It is a picture of the millennium... Grace will restore the nation to the rule and glory of Christ. And because it is grace, it will not stop with Israel: God will display the glory to the world.
The same pattern reaches into our own day.
In the same way, Christ presented Himself to God as an offering and sacrifice, with a sweet fragrance. God the Father showed that He accepted it by raising Him from the dead and setting Him at His own right hand. He showed it too by sending down the Holy Spirit, who filled the Church of God with the glory of His presence (Acts 2:1-4).
- Fire first. God answered Solomon's prayer with fire, showing He accepted the offering. He showed the same about Christ by seating Him at His own right hand.
- Then glory. Glory followed the sacrifice, never preceded it; the blood of the cross is what gives a believer title to glory.
- Then bowing. Seeing a finished work empties the heart of self; being taken up with God and telling Him what He is — that is worship.
- Then the song. The people sang David's own refrain, and a restored Israel will sing it again: "His steadfast love endures forever" — words fit for eternity.
- Then the future. The filled house previews the day when grace restores the nation and the glory reaches beyond Israel to the world.
And the king and all the people offered sacrifices before Jehovah.
Fire had fallen from heaven on the temple Solomon dedicated. Only then did the king and the nation bring their sacrifices — worship as an answer to what God had already done.
One writer builds his whole reading of the verse on its opening word, "Then."
And devotedness will be bound up with it. Such amazing mercy stirs the affections and desires of the heart, and the soul forms purposes according to the will of God. So this inspired narrative next tells us: "THEN," yes, "then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the LORD." (v. 4.) Why do so many Christians today find it so hard to yield themselves and their possessions to the Lord? The answer is plain. It is because Christ is so little understood — God's estimate of Him so weakly grasped, His perfections not known.
He traces a shortage of giving back to a shortage of knowing Christ.
The sacrifices here follow a fire that came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering. The same writer links that fire to what faith sees at the cross.
We do not find "strange fire" offered here. Instead, "the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices." We see God here, and His actions in relation to the sacrifice. This is what the faith of a Spirit-taught, sin-convicted soul especially sees in the cross of Christ. They are not ignorant of the outward facts of the crucifixion. But they find no real ground of peace and rest until they see God acting in the scene. They must see God there dealing with His own Son as the sin-bearer.
He then defines worship, starting from what fills the heart.
Communion with God's mind about the glories of Christ, and about the unsearchable value of His work on the cross — that is what really empties the heart of self and of earth. It fills the heart instead with praise and gratitude to God. We are taken up with God, and we delight to tell God what He is. This is worship.
The verse names only two parties: the king and the people. It names no priest.
Solomon does take the lead at the dedication of the temple, but he is hardly the high priest on that occasion. "Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the LORD" (2 Chron. 7:4). But it was right for the king and all the people to act here, with no mention of the priests or the Levites. Solomon was foreshadowing the kingly and priestly glories combined in Christ. The prophet speaks of Christ: "He shall build the temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon the throne, and He shall be a priest upon His throne" (Zech. 6:13). It was only a brief glimpse, but it was the union of the kingly and priestly glories of the millennial day in the Person of Christ.
Israel's sacrifices cost the nation its wealth. One writer says what the same devotion costs a believer now.
And this was most admirable in its season. The admirable thing then for an earthly people was to pour out all the wealth of the earth at the feet of God. The admirable thing now for a heavenly people is to count whatever we have as nothing for the sake of Christ. That is, it is suffering now. As the Apostle Paul said, "What things were gain to me [as a Jew], I counted loss for Christ."
A later generation rebuilt the house under very different conditions. The signs seen in this chapter were gone.
But a few weak captives were now raising the house. They depended on a Gentile king for the very materials they were using, and hostile tribes surrounded them. Beyond all this, they had none of the visible signs of the Lord's presence — no Shechinah, and no fire coming down from heaven to consume the sacrifices they laid on the altar. (See 2 Chr. 7:1-4.)
- Then. God's fire falls first. Everything the people give is the answer to it.
- Sight. They saw God at work in the sacrifice. Bare facts about the cross give no peace.
- Self. Knowing what Christ is worth to God empties the heart of self. What fills it instead is praise — and that is worship.
- Scope. King and people act together, and the verse names no priest. It is a brief glimpse of Christ as king and priest in one Person.
- Cost. Israel poured out the wealth of the earth at God's feet. The answer now is to count whatever we have as nothing for Christ.
And king Solomon sacrificed a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.
The temple's dedication reaches its high point here. King and nation answer God with an offering so large the numbers are hard to picture — what kind of offering was it, and what does it mean for readers who already have one perfect sacrifice?
The offerings that day were not all of one kind. There were so many that the altar could not hold them, and Solomon had to press extra ground into service.
On this day countless sacrifices, burnt offerings, meal offerings, and peace offerings are presented. Joy and fellowship prevail throughout: Solomon offers as peace offering alone 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep, and since the bronze altar was too small for all these offerings, he sets apart the middle of the court for the sacrifices.
Dedicating anything to God takes sacrifice. The kind of offering chosen here also shows what the temple was for.
The dedication of the temple required sacrifice, just as anything dedicated to the Lord must come with sacrifice. It was true even of the Lord Jesus, consecrated to God soon after His birth. The sacrifice then spoke of His own sacrifice, which is infinitely more valuable than 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep. These were peace offerings, speaking of the fellowship between God and the people accomplished by the sacrifice of Christ, making the way clear for God to dwell with mankind, as the temple illustrates. Once they had offered these, the house was dedicated.
The scale of the day is staggering. Yet Scripture itself says animal blood could never take sin away.
The sacrifices of that day almost stagger the imagination — 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. Yet we read in Hebrews 10:4, "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Oh, the value of the one offering of the Lord Jesus. On a single day, by offering up Himself, He settled the whole dreadful question of our sins once and for all. "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." Having no more consciousness of sins is our happy experience. We are now God's worshippers, purged once for all.
The verse does not say Solomon dedicated the house; it says the king and all the people did. Pouring out the wealth of the earth was right for Israel then. What matches it now is something else.
And this was entirely fitting in its season. The fitting thing then for an earthly people was to pour out all the wealth of the earth at the feet of God. The fitting thing now for a heavenly people is to count whatever we have as nothing for the sake of Christ. That is, it means suffering now. As the apostle Paul said, "Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ." He counted them rubbish. And he did not only begin that way. As he adds, "Indeed, I count everything as loss." He counted them so when he began, and he counted them so still. There are many who count them so at first, but then begin to like them again.
These numbers also look forward. What Israel did in one day pictures the praise of a coming kingdom.
At this time Solomon, together with the people, offered sheep and oxen in such great numbers that they could not be counted. This seems amazing. But it is typical of the great work of grace that God will do among His redeemed people when the Lord Jesus sets up His millennial kingdom. It pictures how the people will value the memory of the one great sacrifice of the Lord Jesus at Calvary. Their praise will be virtually unceasing.
Generations later, a poor and weakened people dedicated a far smaller house. Set beside this verse, their offering looked like nothing.
You can see their own weakness, and the poverty of their circumstances, by contrasting this dedication with that of Solomon's temple. Then the king offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. If they had dwelt on this side of things, their joy might well have been mixed with grief and tears. Faith, however, has to do with unseen things. It could remind this weak remnant that the Lord was no less mighty and no less merciful for them than for Solomon.
- Dedication costs. Anything dedicated to God comes with sacrifice; the house was dedicated once these offerings were made.
- Fellowship. These were peace offerings — they speak of fellowship between God and His people through the sacrifice of Christ, and of God dwelling among them.
- Poured out. Then it meant pouring the earth's wealth at God's feet; now it means counting all we have as nothing for Christ.
- Small is not nothing. For a poorer people later, faith answered the comparison: the Lord was no less mighty and no less merciful for them than for Solomon.
- One, not thousands. Bulls and sheep could never take sin away; by one offering Christ perfected forever those who are sanctified. The coming kingdom answers that one offering with almost unceasing praise.
And the priests stood in their charges, and the Levites with Jehovah's instruments of music, which David the king had made to praise Jehovah, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, when David praised by their means; and the priests sounded the trumpets opposite to them, and all Israel stood.
The temple is being dedicated, and God's glory fills the house. Two things stand out as the praise begins: the instruments are called the Lord's, though David made them, and the praise is David's own, offered "by their ministry."
The verse does not call these harps and cymbals Israel's, but the Lord's. One writer traces where their raw materials came from, who played them, and what all that sound was for.
Israel was God's chosen people for earth. So that they might express their thanksgiving, praise and worship to God, minerals were quarried from the hills, wood was taken from the forests, and strings taken from animals that had been killed. These were made into cymbals, cornets, trumpets, psalteries and harps, as ordered by King David. The Levitical singers and the 120 priestly trumpeters used them to join "as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord." They were called the "musical instruments of God." … Israel found a fitting way to express their national and earthly praise to the Lord. But this cannot be stressed too earnestly — the music of praise was TO GOD, and not for the mere entertainment OF MEN.
Others played the instruments, yet the verse says David praised. One writer stops at that word and asks who this David is.
after
Here we find again the musical instruments of the Lord, which David had made to praise the Lord, "because his mercy endures for ever"; when David himself "praised by their ministry." Blessed thought! For who is this David? (compare Ps. 22:22). The people saw themselves blessed and happy in all the goodness of the Lord.
(The older wording "his mercy endures for ever" is the ESV's "for his steadfast love endures forever.")
Another writer applies the same pattern to Christian worship. Christ leads the praise of His people, and He adds something of His own to it.
Christ adds the fragrance of His own blessed person to our praise. Our praises are feeble and cold in themselves. But the High Priest has "much incense" to offer with them, and they go up to God with all the energy and in the perfect acceptance of Christ (Rev. 8:3-4). It is He Himself who says, "I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise" (Heb. 2:12). Here is the Priest together with the priestly family. He is not ashamed to call them brothers, and He leads their praises up to God. How this dignifies and lifts up all true worship. It is the praise of Christ, just as David was said to praise God through the company of Levites who offered up thanksgiving in the tabernacle (2 Chr. 7:6).
The priests and the Levites each kept their own place. Praise here was not spontaneous noise. It was arranged work, and the verse names the man who arranged it.
A certain order, a certain initiative as to the direction of the praise rested on the musicians. It is the same in the assembly: only a few are fitted for this service. It has its own importance, just like everything that relates to worship. Praise was offered with instruments made by David. David alone was the author of all that had to do with the future temple, even of the musical part of the worship. Nothing like it had been set up under the system of the tabernacle in the wilderness.
Another writer contrasts those lifeless instruments with what belongs to believers now:
Unlike the lifeless instruments connected with the old order, a new creation in Christ has provided living instruments with the vital melodies of redemption rising up in the heart. It is true they have been quarried from the hills of a world of sin, taken from the forests of darkness and unbelief, and brought out of death into life.
Kings tells of the same dedication but leaves this scene out. One writer sees a picture of worship still to come in what Chronicles keeps.
Next in 2 Chronicles 7 we find in verses 1-3 and 6-7 a passage which is lacking in the book of Kings… God sets His seal and His approval on the inauguration of this reign of peace; His glory fills the house which has been prepared for Him; all the people bow themselves with their faces to the ground, and extol the Lord with worship and praise. This passage fits beautifully with the character of the millennial worship, as presented in Chronicles!
- Provided. David ordered and made the instruments long before this day. The king equipped the praise; the singers did not invent it.
- Directed. Only a few were fitted for this service. Nothing like it existed under the tabernacle, and order in praise is part of worship itself.
- Voiced. Others played, yet the verse credits the praise to David. One writer asks who this David is; another answers that the praise is Christ's.
- Accepted. Our feeble praises go up carried by "much incense." Christ leads them, and He is not ashamed to call us brothers.
- Anticipated. Kings omits this scene. Chronicles keeps it, and one writer reads it as worship in the coming reign of peace.
And Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah; for there he offered the burnt-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt-offerings and the oblations and the fat.
On the day the temple was dedicated, the bronze altar was too small for all the offerings. So Solomon set apart the court itself, which raises a question: why so many sacrifices, and what did they mean?
The reason is practical. Solomon's altar was large, but this day's offerings overwhelmed it.
The copper altar was not large enough to hold all the offerings. So Solomon consecrated the middle of the court in front of the temple, and offered the burnt offerings there.
The numbers were huge: 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. Another writer sets that overflow beside the fixed measure of the sin offering:
So in the burnt offering there was no limit to the number offered. One young goat was enough for a sin offering. But in the time of the kings the burnt offerings ran into thousands, until the whole temple court became an altar — worship has no limit.
The verse singles out one part of the peace offerings — the fat, which went up in fire to God. One writer warns against two popular readings of that burning:
Some call this burning of the fat "the offering up of our good affections to God in all our prayers and praises." Worse still, some call it "the putting to death of our corrupt affections and lusts." Both readings are far from the truth of Christ. … No; it was neither our good offered up nor our bad put to death. It was the inward energy of Christ Himself, the perfect and lasting ground of communion for God and His family.
Another writer draws a lesson from who received the first share:
Notice here that the LORD had His part first. That part was the inward worth and excellence of the victim. He alone knew, or could measure, the real worth and inward energy and affection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is an important point. We may be sure that those who walk in fellowship with the Father seek His glory and His things first.
The verse also names the peace offerings, and they fit the occasion. Solomon was handing God a house to live in.
These were peace offerings. They speak of the fellowship between God and the people that the sacrifice of Christ brought about. That fellowship makes the way clear for God to dwell with mankind, as the temple illustrates. Once they had offered these, the house was dedicated.
The mood of the day matches the offerings. One writer sums up the scene of the parallel account in Kings:
On this day countless sacrifices, burnt offerings, meal offerings, and peace offerings are presented. Joy and fellowship prevail throughout.
Thousands of animals died that day, and still sins remained. One writer sets the scene beside a line from Hebrews:
Hebrews 10:4 says, "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Oh, the value of the one offering of the Lord Jesus. On a single day, by offering up Himself, He settled the whole dreadful question of our sins once and for all.
Writers set this day beside the dedication of the later temple:
At that dedication they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and for a sin offering twelve male goats. At the dedication of the first temple Solomon offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. And the greatest contrast with Solomon's temple was the glory cloud. That visible sign of Jehovah's presence had filled Solomon's house, but here it was missing.
- Overflow. The bronze altar was huge, but it could not take the day's offerings. So Solomon set apart the court itself.
- Limit. Sin offerings had a set measure. Burnt offerings did not. When the whole court becomes an altar, the lesson is that worship has no limit.
- Portion. The fat was God's share, given first. It stands for the inward energy of Christ — not our good offered up, and not our bad put to death.
- Fellowship. Peace offerings mark the dedication. They speak of fellowship between God and His people, and clear the way for God to dwell among them.
- Fulfilment. Thousands of animals in one day could not take away sins. One offering, once, did what the whole overflowing court could not.
And at that time Solomon held the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entrance of Hamath unto the torrent of Egypt.
The temple is finished and dedicated, and Solomon answers with a feast that draws all Israel, north to south. Which feast was this, and why measure the crowd by the whole land?
Solomon kept the last of Israel's appointed feasts — the one that came after the harvest.
The dedication of the temple takes place during the great days of the Feast of Tabernacles. This feast closes the series of Jewish feasts (Lev. 23). It is indeed "the feast" above all feasts. The feast itself lasted seven days, followed by an eighth day, "the great day of the feast" (John 7:37). It came after the harvest and the grape gathering, which are pictures of judgment. It was the symbol pointing forward to the wonderful reign of Christ. Then the people will live in joy and safety in their tents, remembering the wilderness testing that is past forever. It speaks of millennial joy after the forty years of discipline that the people's rebellion brought on them.
The verse gives seven days, and the next verse adds seven more. Commentators read the doubled week, and the size of the crowd, as pointing past Solomon's own reign.
Solomon's feast, with all Israel gathered to him, is the picture of the great gathering of the last days. Then the Lord Jesus, as the true Son of David, will more than fulfil everything given here. He kept it seven days and seven days, so that by the mouth of these two witnesses every word should be fulfilled — the double witness of perfection.
The week Solomon announced turned into two, and Israel never stood higher than it stood that month.
After the dedication Solomon held a feast for the blessing of Israel. He seems to have announced it for seven days, but it ran to fourteen. So their joy at this time lasted in a remarkable way. When Solomon sent the people away, they blessed the king and went home with joyful hearts, thankful for the goodness of the Lord to Israel. This was the high point of Israel's splendour and glory. That glory soon faded, and it will never return until the Lord Jesus takes His place as King of Israel. Then the latter glory of this house will be greater than the former (Hag. 2:9).
The verse measures the crowd by two places, the north and south ends of the land. Set beside Israel's later gatherings, this one stands alone.
The gathering for Passover in Jerusalem in Josiah's day was a small affair compared with the gathering in the days of Solomon to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. But Solomon's day was the time of Israel's glory. The nation was undivided. It was fitting that the Feast of Tabernacles should stand out, for it speaks in picture of millennial glory and blessing. In Josiah's day the nation was broken, and foreign powers had taken large numbers of the people out of the land.
Solomon's reach also went past the borders God first gave the tribes. Writers treat that stretch as a preview.
Numbers 34:9-11 also gives the northern border. Some of the places can no longer be traced. Even so, it is clear that this border did not reach as far as the land Solomon held. For the moment, Solomon anticipated the possession that Israel will yet inherit under Christ.
Solomon could feast because there was nothing left to fight. That rest changed the sound of Israel's worship.
Solomon's was the time of rest. No enemy remained for him to conquer. He had no preparations of trouble and toil left to make. He sits down full of honours and peace. His was the time of joy too. Then, for the first time, songs broke out from the congregation of Israel. Moses long before had appointed sacrifices, but no songs had sounded in the tabernacle. David had appointed the singers, given them their charge, and settled them in their turns of service. Yet all this joy was kept for Solomon.
The week ended, the people went home, and the brightness faded. Commentators take the shortness of it as part of the lesson.
This feast therefore (the Feast of Tabernacles) pictured the coming glory of the millennial blessing of Israel, though the joy at that time, great as it was, did not last long compared to the joy of the Lord's reign in the millennium.
- Cause. The feast crowns the dedication of the temple. It is Israel's last appointed feast, kept after the harvest.
- Gift. Rest came first: no enemy left to fight — and for the first time, Israel sang.
- Reach. From Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt: one undivided nation, holding more land than God first gave the tribes.
- Fullness. Seven days, then seven more. Writers read the doubled week as a double witness of perfection. The crowd pictures the greater gathering under the true Son of David.
- Result. The joy was real, but short. Israel's glory faded. It returns when Christ reigns, and then the glory of the house will be greater than before.
And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly; for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.
Solomon had finished the temple, and Israel stayed at Jerusalem for two full weeks — seven days for the altar, seven days for the feast. Then came one extra day, set apart from both, and commentators find the largest meaning of the whole scene in that single added day.
In Chronicles the altar comes first. Its dedication fills seven days before the feast begins. One writer compares this with the day of atonement in Leviticus, a day of affliction rather than joy.
In Chronicles the dedication of the altar takes the place of the great day of atonement (compare Lev. 23:26-36), while in Zechariah this day must precede the establishment of the messianic reign. Here it is not a question of afflicting their souls as on the day of atonement (Lev. 16:29), but of rejoicing. This is because through the altar, God's loving-kindness, which endures forever, has at last brought the people to Himself.
One writer counts the animals offered, then sets the total beside a line from Hebrews.
The sacrifices of that day almost stagger the imagination — 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. Although the altar was very large, it could not hold so many sacrifices... Yet we read in Hebrews 10:4, "It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Oh, the value of the one offering of the Lord Jesus. On a single day, by the offering up of Himself, He settled the whole dread question of our sins once and for ever.
Israel did not keep one week but two. One writer sees the second week as a confirmation of the first. He also reads the whole gathering as a picture of something still ahead.
"And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation." This is the picture of the great gathering of the last days. Then the Lord Jesus, as the true Son of David, will more than do all that is given here. He did so seven days and seven days, so that two witnesses would confirm every word — the double witness of perfectness.
The name given to this extra day sets its tone, and one writer draws the meaning out of the word itself.
This eighth day is called a "solemn assembly." We find that this word means — restraint. As they gather in holy assembly before God, His Majesty, Glory and Holiness will fill their souls with reverent homage. Restraint, in holy subjection of spirit, alone suits a place like this. They will simply bow their heads and worship.
The same feast appears in 1 Kings, told with one small difference. One writer treats that difference as the key to the passage.
In 1 Kings the feast is called "the dedication of the house"; but on the eighth day, the great day of the feast, the king sent the people away (1 Kings 8:65-66). The passage in Chronicles goes much further. It insists that "on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly" (2 Chron. 7:9). So it brings in the picture of the final, general rest that belongs to the day of resurrection, which the eighth day foreshadows. In this way the blessing is not limited to Israel alone. It belongs to all who have part in the day of resurrection.
Seven days complete a week. The eighth begins outside it — and the same writer calls that day an addition, not a continuation.
The eighth day is the great day, the new day, the day of resurrection and of the new creation. It is added to the feast because those who are raised will have a special part in this joy. It is the heavenly day added to the earthly days.
Commentators differ on what the eighth day pictures. Some read it as resurrection joy; others as eternity beyond the thousand-year reign. One writer traces that day forward to the days of Jesus.
"Seven days and seven days, even fourteen days," yet the whole feast ended "on the eighth day." As a picture, "the eighth day" is Eternity. The bliss and glory of the thousand-year reign is only the entrance into the kingdom which will know no end. This was the day when the rejected Messiah stood in Solomon's city and cried, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37). The ritual of the Feast of Tabernacles, all pointing to Himself, was in full swing, but HE was unwanted.
- Altar first. The week began at the altar. Where Leviticus had affliction, Chronicles has rejoicing — because the altar had brought the people to God.
- One offering. Thousands of animals could not fit on one altar. One offering of Christ settled the whole question in a single day.
- Seven and seven. The doubled week is the double witness of perfectness, and a picture of a greater gathering under the true Son of David.
- Then restraint. The added day is called a solemn assembly — a word meaning restraint, fitting for people who can only bow and worship.
- Then beyond. 1 Kings ends the feast on the eighth day. Chronicles keeps it, and opens the blessing beyond Israel to all who share the day of resurrection.
And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that Jehovah had done to David and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.
The fourteen-day festival is over and the sacrifices are finished, so Solomon sends the crowd home. They leave glad, and the verse names the reason: God's goodness to David, to Solomon, and to Israel.
Scripture does not leave the people's happiness unexplained. It names a cause outside of themselves. (Where the ESV says "prosperity," older translations read "goodness" — the wording the writers quoted here use.)
We are also told that the people were "joyful and glad of heart" (v. 10). And why? Because of "the goodness that the Lord had shown to David, to Solomon, and to Israel His people." So I ask, in closing: do these lessons not teach us that our present happiness, devotedness, and worship all have their source in God, as He has revealed Himself in Christ? In His presence we learn what God thinks of Christ, and what He is to us and has done for us. Then we cannot help being ready in heart to join ourselves to Him in a world that still rejects Him.
Two things had happened before anyone went home. God had accepted the sacrifices at the altar, and Israel had kept the feast of tabernacles in full. Both stand behind the gladness.
Two things mark Israel's share in the blessing: the altar, and the feast of tabernacles. This is worship after their fall and ruin. It rests on the acceptance of the sacrifice, and on the promises now made good, with the people no longer in distress.
The huge crowd and the doubled week of feasting look ahead to something larger than one national celebration.
…a picture of the great gathering of the coming day, when the Lord Jesus, as the true Son of David, will more than fulfil all that is given here. Solomon kept the feast seven days and seven days, so that in the mouth of these two witnesses every word should be confirmed — the double witness of perfection.
Chronicles and Kings tell this ending differently. Kings goes straight to the dismissal. Chronicles first notes a solemn assembly on the eighth day.
Chronicles goes much further: it insists that "on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly" (2 Chron. 7:9). In this way it points to the final, general rest connected with the day of resurrection, which the eighth day pictures. So the blessing is not limited to Israel alone. It belongs to all who have a part in the day of resurrection.
Every earthly celebration has a last day. One writer ties this closing day to the day when Christ stood in Solomon's city and called the thirsty to Himself.
Everything on earth comes to an end. Even the thousand-year kingdom has a time limit, and on the eighth day Solomon sent the people away. The whole feast closed on that eighth day, and the eighth day pictures eternity. The joy and glory of the thousand-year age is only the entrance into the kingdom which will know no end. This was the day when the rejected Messiah stood in Solomon's city and cried, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink" (John 7:37). The ritual of the Feast of Tabernacles, all pointing to Himself, was in full swing, but He was unwanted. It was true then, and it is true still: hearts that religious ceremony cannot satisfy can find full satisfaction and rest in Christ.
One writer marks this feast as the summit of Israel's glory, and the start of its decline.
This was the high point of Israel's splendour and glory. That glory soon declined, and Israel will never regain it until the Lord Jesus takes His place as King of Israel. Then the latter glory of this house will be greater than the former (Hag. 2:9).
One writer described a gathering of believers by pointing back to this verse.
Brotherly love was without restraint, and very real and blessed, so that we had indeed something to bless God for. Those who came returned like the Israelites from the dedication (2 Chron. 7:10), though it was only a foretaste, and even in a poor and feeble assembly.
- Cause — Their gladness rests on God's goodness to David, Solomon and Israel. Our happiness, devotedness and worship have the same source: God as He has revealed Himself in Christ.
- Ground — Two things carried that goodness to them: an accepted sacrifice at the altar, and promises made good. It was worship after their fall and ruin.
- Reach — Chronicles alone stresses the eighth-day assembly. It points to a rest tied to resurrection, shared by all who have part in that day.
- Limit — The feast had a last day, and the glory soon faded. Only Christ's reign as King of Israel brings a greater glory than this.
- Result — The people went home glad of heart. Those who gather around God's goodness should carry that joy back into ordinary life.