Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.
Solomon has finished his prayer. Now the new temple must pass into God's hands, and blood marks the handover — on a scale Israel had never seen. So why does dedicating a house to God need sacrifice at all? And why these offerings?
Dedication Costs Something
Dedication was not just a ceremony. It cost blood. One writer states the rule, then points past it to a greater sacrifice:
Leslie M. GrantThe dedication of the temple required sacrifice. Anything dedicated to the Lord must come with sacrifice. This was true even of the Lord Jesus, when He was consecrated to God soon after His birth (Luke 2:22-24). The sacrifice then spoke of His own sacrifice, which is infinitely more valuable than 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep.
Why Peace Offerings
The peace offering was the one sacrifice everyone shared. That sharing is its meaning:
William KellyBut apart from His claim, the peace offering was for communion in joy, not at all for making atonement. It was thanksgiving. It was not for Aaron and his sons, like the grain offering. It was for the united joy of all who took part: the LORD, the priest, the offerer and his guests.
So the house opened with a shared meal, not with atonement. Another writer says what these offerings pointed to:
Leslie M. GrantThese were peace offerings. They speak of the fellowship between God and the people, brought about by the sacrifice of Christ. That sacrifice made the way clear for God to dwell with mankind, as the temple illustrates.
Numbers Beyond the Altar
The numbers grew too big for the altar itself:
H. L. RossierOn this day come countless sacrifices: burnt offerings, grain offerings, and peace offerings (v. 64). Joy and fellowship fill the whole scene. As peace offerings alone Solomon offers 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. The bronze altar was too small for all these offerings, so he sets apart the middle of the court for the sacrifices.
One Day's Slaughter, One Better Offering
One writer sets that day's count beside what animal blood could never do:
W. W. FeredayThe sacrifices of that day almost stagger the imagination — 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. The altar was very large, but there were too many sacrifices for it... 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 the offering up of Himself, He settled the whole dreadful question of our sins once and for ever. "For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). We are now God's worshippers, cleansed once and for all (Hebrews 10:2).
King and People Together
The verse does not say Solomon dedicated the house. It says the king and all the people did. The size of the offering matched the size of the nation:
William Kelly"King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen" — the nation was so very great that a thousand would not do now — "and 120,000 sheep."
A Rehearsal of a Coming Age
The timing matters. The dedication fell during the last of Israel's festivals, and one writer reads that setting as a picture of a future rest:
H. L. RossierFinal indeed, for the dedication of the temple takes place during the great days of the Feast of Tabernacles. That feast closes the series of Jewish feasts (Leviticus 23)... It was the symbol pointing ahead to the marvellous reign of Christ. Then the people will live in joy and safety in their tents, remembering the testings in the wilderness, which are past forever. It speaks of the joy of that coming reign, after the forty years of discipline the people brought on themselves by rebellion.
Yet the peak did not hold:
Leslie M. GrantThis was the high point of Israel's splendour and glory. That glory soon faded, and Israel will never win it back until the Lord Jesus takes His place as King of Israel. Then the latter glory of this house will be greater than the former (Haggai 2:9).
Summary
- Cost. Dedicating anything to God takes sacrifice — the temple, and the Lord Jesus Himself, consecrated to God soon after His birth.
- Communion. The peace offering was the sacrifice all shared. The LORD, the priest, the offerer and his guests had joy in one victim.
- Overflow. The offerings outgrew the altar, so Solomon set apart the middle of the court — abundance that no altar could hold.
- Contrast. 142,000 animals in one day could not take away sins; one offering of Christ settled the question once and for all.
- Shared. King and people dedicated the house together — a picture of the coming reign when the people's joy and their King's glory meet.