So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days.
The dedication of the temple ends in a feast for the whole nation, from the far north of the land down to the border of Egypt. Two questions follow: why this feast at this moment, and why did Israel's high point fade so fast?
The Feast at Its Appointed Season
The dedication fell in the seventh month, during the last feast of Israel's year.
H. L. RossierThe dedication of the temple takes place during the great days of the Feast of Tabernacles which closes the series of Jewish feasts (Lev. 23). It really is "the feast" above all feasts, "the feast in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month." This feast properly ran seven days, followed by an eighth day, which was "the great day of the feast" (John 7:37). Israel kept it after the harvest and the grape gathering, which are pictures of judgment. It was the symbol that pointed forward to the wonderful reign of Christ. Then the people will live in joy and safety in their tents, remembering the testing in the wilderness that is gone forever.
Seven Days and Seven Days
Older translations end this verse with "seven days and seven days, fourteen days." Notice too who leads: the king, not the priest.
after_note: DELETE
William KellyIt is all connected with the king now. It is not the priest who makes things holy... "So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly" — this is the picture of the great gathering of the last days, when the Lord Jesus, as the true Son of David, will more than fulfil all that is given here. He did it seven days and seven days, so that by the mouth of these two witnesses every word would be confirmed — the double witness of perfection.
One writer notes that the feast was "apparently announced for seven days, but increased to fourteen days," so that "their joy at this time was remarkably sustained" (Leslie M. Grant).
From Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt
The verse names the land by its two far edges. Hamath lay well to the north.
Morrish Bible DictionaryA district and a well-known city in the north of Syria... The district lay north of the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ranges, but it may have reached further south, since Scripture speaks of Israel's northern border as 'the entering in of Hamath.' 1 Kings 8:65... It was more than a hundred miles further north than Dan.
The ESV calls that northern point "Lebo-hamath." The verse means the whole land, from one end to the other, with no one left out.
A Whole Nation Gathered
A later king, Josiah, also gathered the people for a feast. One writer sets the two side by side.
W. W. FeredayThe Passover gathering in Jerusalem in Josiah's day was a small affair compared with the gathering in Solomon's day to keep the feast of Tabernacles... But Solomon's day was the time of Israel's glory; the nation was undivided, and it was fitting that the feast of Tabernacles should stand out, for it is a picture of the glory and blessing of Christ's coming reign. In Josiah's day the nation was broken, and Gentile powers had taken large numbers of the people out of the land.
The Peak That Did Not Hold
The whole nation gave itself to those days. What came next is the sad part.
W. W. FeredayDays of religious festival followed the dedication of the Temple. From North to South of the land the people threw their whole heart into it... The days described in 1 Kings 8:62-66 were a bright foreshadowing of the glory, prosperity and joy that Israel (and not Israel only) will enjoy when the KING comes. As the people started, so they might have continued, if they had paid attention to the commandments of their God. Their whole course might have been prosperous and blessed to this day. Not many years after their joyful feasts, Egypt carried off the most precious things of the LORD's house as spoils of war (1 Kings 14:26).
Summary
- Joy timed. The feast fell in the seventh month, at Tabernacles. It closed Israel's year, came after the harvest, and pictured joy and safety under Christ's reign.
- Joy doubled. Older translations read "seven days and seven days." One writer calls that the double witness by which every word is confirmed; another sees joy that ran past its plan.
- Joy nationwide. Lebo-hamath in the north to the Brook of Egypt in the south covers the whole land. The nation was undivided, and it never gathered like that again.
- Joy led by the king. Solomon, not the priest, makes holy and gathers. One writer sees here a picture of the true Son of David gathering His people in a day still to come.
- Joy brief. Israel could have kept going as it began. Instead Egypt took the temple treasures within a generation, and the real fulfilment waits for the King who is coming.