And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
Solomon wakes from the night at Gibeon. God had told him to ask for anything, and had given him more than he asked for. His first move is not to his throne but to Jerusalem, to the ark. Where he goes, what he offers, and whom he invites show what wisdom looked like in practice.
The dream that exposed the heart
The verse names the night for what it was: a dream. One writer sees that setting as deliberate. Sleep strips away our power to manage how we look.
H. L. RossierIt was there that He appeared to him in a dream (v. 5). As others have pointed out, this matters. In a dream you cannot hide the true state of your heart. Neither your reason nor your will is holding back what is inside you. In a dream the soul lies open before the Lord.
From the high place to the ark
Gibeon had the great altar. Jerusalem had the ark, the chest that stood for God's presence. One writer reads Solomon's journey between the two as the first proof that God had given him the wisdom he asked for.
H. L. RossierHaving received these blessings, Solomon leaves Gibeon and comes to Jerusalem, where he "stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord." That is the act of a submissive heart which understands the mind of God. It is the first sign of the wisdom he has just received. He leaves the forms to take hold of the reality. He leaves the outward display of his religion to seek the presence of God, represented by the ark — a picture of Christ. The altar of Gibeon is no longer enough for him. He leaves that place behind, and it plays no further part in his religious life.
What moved him there was not duty but a full heart. Another writer adds the terms that came with God's answer.
J. N. DarbyThe sense of God's goodness, and the joy in his heart, bring him before the ark of the covenant of the God who had revealed Himself to him far beyond what he expected. God's answer at once places the king under the condition of obedience.
Two offerings, two meanings
The verse lists burnt offerings first, then peace offerings. The two were not the same.
H Forbes WitherbyThe burnt offerings were completely consumed. They were an atonement for man, yet they were burnt entirely to God — "the priest shall burn all on the altar." The peace offerings were different. The man who brought the offering ate part of it, because in them he had communion with God. In them man had his own portion to feed on. He ate of the victim that had been sacrificed.
That difference explains why the smaller day in Jerusalem outweighs the bigger day at Gibeon.
H. L. RossierThere is more joy before the ark than at Gibeon, even though the king had probably offered far more sacrifices at Gibeon (2 Chr. 1:6) than here. But before the ark we find peace offerings, the true sacrifices of communion, and with them a feast for all the king's servants.
Why the servants were fed
The feast is not an extra tacked on to the worship. It grows out of it.
H Forbes WitherbyWhere there is true fellowship with God, there will also be a real desire to share the joys of the feast with others. So guests were invited to the feast of the peace offering, and all were welcome as long as they came clean in the way the law required.
A beginning he did not keep
Commentators praise this visit to the ark, but with an eye on the rest of Solomon's life.
Leslie M. GrantThe proper place for offerings was before the ark, not in high places. So Solomon showed his thankfulness to God by giving Him honor and showing kindness to the people. If only Solomon had continued as he began, how much more refreshing would his history have been, and how much more honoring to God!
They differ on how strong the pull of the ark was in him. One writer compares him with his father and finds him wanting, since the ark was hidden and appealed only to faith, while the great altar was public and visible:
William KellyThat was what drew king David. Not so much king Solomon — not so characteristically. We are told this particularly in contrast with his father. This you observe in the chapter where the tendencies to departure first begin to be perceived.
Summary
- Heart. A dream leaves no room for pretending, so what God drew out of Solomon that night was the genuine state of his heart.
- Wisdom. The new wisdom showed itself first in where Solomon went. He left the outward display of religion for the reality.
- Nearness. He left the great altar at Gibeon for the hidden ark, and the smaller offering held the greater joy.
- Communion. Burnt offerings went up to God in full. Peace offerings gave the worshipper a portion to eat, so the day ended in a shared meal.
- Overflow. Real fellowship with God wants company, so the servants ate too. The sadness of Solomon's story is that he did not continue as he began.