What happened at the dedication of Solomon's temple?

A fuller manifestation of Jehovah's favor and presence followed the great prayer of the king. First the cloud had appeared and now the fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. This is complementary to 1 Kings 8:63-64. Nothing is mentioned of this answer by fire upon the sacrifices in the book of Kings. And now all the children of Israel saw the fire and the glory of the Lord; and they bowed themselves and worshipped, praising the Lord and saying, as the Levites had said before, "He is good, for His mercy endureth forever." So all Israel will see in a future day the glory of the Lord and the coming Lord in glory and worship Him (Zech. 12:10). The house was dedicated by the King and all the people. (The Hebrew word used for dedicate is the word "channuka." The Jews keep a feast called by that name.) The feast which followed was the feast of tabernacles. Its prophetic significance is mentioned in previous annotations.

King David had during his reign brought up the ark from Kirjath-jearim to Mount Zion; but I suppose that you all know that God would not allow David to build the temple. But his son Solomon was allowed to build it. And when everything was finished and in readiness, King Solomon gathered all the people of Israel together, that they all might take part in the bringing up of the ark, and be present at the dedication of the temple. With gladness they assembled, and when all was ready, the Levites came forward, and reverently took up the ark, to bear it upon their shoulders from Mount Zion into the temple. Then Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, sacrificed before the ark, so many sheep and oxen, that they could not be told nor numbered for multitude. Oh it was a day of gladness! “The singers went before the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.” Then “little Benjamin, with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their counsel, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali”—yea, then all the people rejoiced before the Lord their God. Then godly men with full hearts, called upon one another—upon all nations—yea, upon everything that has breath to praise the Lord. Upon that day, thousands of thousands of people, entered “into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise.” And when the ark of God was borne into the temple, the reverent prayer arose, “Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; Thou, and the ark of thy strength.”

Then again, within the temple, we read that the sacrifices were so very many, that the great altar could not hold them all; and a great heap was made of the sheep and oxen which a willing people had offered in sacrifice to their God. And as the singers and the trumpeters were as one, in raising one harmonious song of praise, the cloud filled the temple. And after Solomon had prayed, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed all the sacrifices, “and the glory of the Lord filled the house.” Then all the people “bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endures for ever.” And with great joy and gladness they kept the feast for fourteen days (2 Chr. 7:1-10).

The temple and all the wealth was given back to God. The glory of the Lord filled the house, and fire came down from heaven and consumed the vast offerings which were offered to God. The people bowed themselves to the ground and worshipped the Lord. The king and all the people bowed their hearts before God and worshipped the Lord. The king and all the people offered sacrifices. Solomon offered twenty-two thousand oxen and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep! The priests waited on their offices, and the Levites praised the Lord with their instruments of music. They sounded their trumpets, and all Israel stood before the Lord when the house and its riches were dedicated, continual offerings to their Lord and God were to be offered up as a sweet savour to Him there.

God wonderfully demonstrated His approval of the temple and of Solomon's prayer by sending fire from heaven to consume the burnt offering and the sacrifices (spoken of in ch. 5: 6), and filled the temple with His glory (vv. 1-2). When the children of Israel saw this, they were prostrated in lowly worship, praising the Lord, and particularly emphasizing "For He is good, for His mercy endures forever" (v. 3). This was a wonderful beginning of a new era in Israel's history, though it is sorrowful that the freshness of joy in the Lord very soon wore off, so that both Solomon and Israel departed far from their early condition.

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from the heavens and consumed the sacrifices. The cloud of Jehovah's glory filled the house of God so that the priests could not stand to do their service. When the people saw all this they too "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 forever" (2 Chr. 7:3). A tremendous volume of sacrifices was then offered: 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep!

But in the next chapter (7), after he makes an end of praying, the fire comes down. For we read: "Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of Jehovah filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of Jehovah, because the glory of Jehovah had filled Jehovah's house." And so there is nothing but worship according to their measure. "And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of Jehovah upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised Jehovah, [saying], For [He is] good; for His mercy [endures] for ever. Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before Jehovah. And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen" — the nation was so very great that a thousand would not do now — "and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God."

The connection between the tabernacle and the temple, as being both alike God's dwelling-place, may be seen in two ways. When Solomon had completed the house, he assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel; and we read that "all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king, in the feast which was in the seventh month" (i.e. the feast of the blowing of trumpets, a figure of the restoration of Israel in the last days — Num. 29:1). "And all the elders came; and the Levites took up the ark and they brought up the ark and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up." And then, after they had sacrificed sheep and oxen without number, "the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim." (2 Chr. 5:1-7.) It was the ark that gave its character to the house; for it was God's throne in the midst of Israel, from whence He governed His people on the basis of His holy law, as is noted here by the statement that "there was nothing in the ark, save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt." (v. 10.)

And now, secondly, the Lord endorsed the work of His servants by taking possession of the new house, even as He had formerly done with the tabernacle. "And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: also the Levites, which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) it came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God." (2 Chr. 5: 11-14.) Following upon this description, we find Solomon reciting the circumstances by which he had become the divinely-appointed instrument in building "an house of habitation" and "a place of dwelling" for the Lord "for ever;" and then he knelt down on a brazen scaffold (which he had prepared) before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven, and prayed with respect to the house which he had built, and he concluded his intercessions with words cited from Ps. 132: "Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting-place; thou, and the ark of thy strength. Let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. O Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David, thy servant." And thereon we read, "Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt-offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house." (2 Chr. 6:41-42; 2 Chr. 7:1, 2.)

In this manner and under such circumstances did the Lord take up His abode in the temple — the whole scene, the white-robed priests, and their glorifying God with one mind and one mouth, being no dim foreshadowing of the glory of a later day, when the true Solomon shall come to His temple and surround Himself with a righteous and willing-hearted people. But the one point to be observed is, that we find once again God dwelling in His house in the midst of the people whom He had chosen. The difference between the temple and the tabernacle, as before remarked, is shown by the contrast between the wilderness and the land; by the pilgrim character of Israel's passage through the former, as distinguished from their settled abode in the latter. But in both alike God had His habitation, His house. God dwelt in the midst of the whole of Israel, and, as seen again from the fact that the fire came down in response to Solomon's prayer and consumed the burnt-offering and sacrifices, did so on the ground of redemption — on the ground of redemption through the value of all that Christ was in His sacrificial work. It had not been possible on any other ground; but because it was on the foundation of all the sweet savour of Christ in His death, He could, spite of what the people were practically, dwell in their midst, and all the people, on their part, could come with the appointed sacrifices, in the appointed way, and at the appointed times.

The connection between the tabernacle and the temple, as being both alike God's dwelling-place, may be seen in two ways. When Solomon had completed the house, he assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel; and we read that "all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king, in the feast which was in the seventh month" (i.e. the feast of the blowing of trumpets, a figure of the restoration of Israel in the last days — Num. 29:1). "And all the elders came; and the Levites took up the ark and they brought up the ark and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up." And then, after they had sacrificed sheep and oxen without number, "the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim." (2 Chr. 5:1-7.) It was the ark that gave its character to the house; for it was God's throne in the midst of Israel, from whence He governed His people on the basis of His holy law, as is noted here by the statement that "there was nothing in the ark, save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt." (v. 10.)

And now, secondly, the Lord endorsed the work of His servants by taking possession of the new house, even as He had formerly done with the tabernacle. "And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: also the Levites, which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) it came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God." (2 Chr. 5:11-14.) Following upon this description, we find Solomon reciting the circumstances by which he had become the divinely-appointed instrument in building "an house of habitation" and "a place of dwelling" for the Lord "for ever;" and then he knelt down on a brazen scaffold (which he had prepared) before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven, and prayed with respect to the house which he had built, and he concluded his intercessions with words cited from Ps. 132: "Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting-place; thou, and the ark of thy strength. Let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. O Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David, thy servant." And thereon we read, "Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt-offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house." (2 Chr. 6:41-42; 2 Chr. 7:1-2.)

There are seemingly 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, when the trumpeters, singers, and all join with one voice saying, or singing "For He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever," that then the house was filled with a cloud, the cloud appears as an answer to their shout of praise. Jehovah steps down from the heaven of heavens, His dwelling place, to His earthly throne, to receive the praise of His people and reveals His presence by a cloud. On the second occasion (2 Chron. 7:3) after Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. Two facts are recorded, the same as on the former occasion. The priests could not enter the temple by reason of the glory, and the people worship and repeat the same words, "For He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever." But when there were two occasions, the Holy Ghost is repeating the joyous record, returning to it after having given Solomon's prayer which gives more cause for grief than for joy, occupied with Israel's sin, and captivity in the end; this scene is the climax of their blessedness, the essence of their glory. Henceforth the glory declines, the fine gold becomes dim. Not many years after that glorious display, the dark shades of night spread a funeral pall over the guilty city and captive people, which will not be removed, till the nation's moral resurrection, when "many of them that sleep in the dust shall awake" (see Dan. 12).

At this point — Solomon's prayer — there is a transition from the setting forth of the kingly glories and power of the Only-Begotten, in spite of man's failure and errors, to the committal of what was used by God as a vehicle to declare these glories, to the care and responsibilities of man; to a man who was made a king, and endowed with wisdom and honour beyond any other king, before or after, but who was not able to sustain the weight of it. The throne and the temple were entrusted to king Solomon's keeping, and the glory of each dependent upon one man. Solomon knows his position, and prays. He blesses the Lord God, blesses the congregation, then takes the attitude of supplication, and spreads forth his hands towards heaven. As David before the ark, so Solomon before the altar; but what a difference between David's psalm and Solomon's prayer! Though the ark be only in a tent, and the altar be in the gorgeous temple, yet David's view of the coming glory is not hidden by the intervening failure of Israel which limits the outlook of Solomon.

The passage from verse 11 to 14 of our chapter is missing in the book of Kings: "And it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place (for all the priests that were present were hallowed without observing the courses; and the Levites the singers, all they of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, clad in byssus, with cymbals and lutes and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets),-it came to pass when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one voice to be heard in praising and thanking Jehovah; and when they lifted up their voice with trumpets, and cymbals, and instruments of music, and praised Jehovah: For He is good, for His loving-kindness endureth forever; that then the house, the house of Jehovah, was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not stand to do their service because of the cloud; for the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of God." This is the appropriate picture of millennial worship when the "song of triumph and praise" shall be sounded (cf. 2 Chron. 20: 22). There the Lord is praised "for He is good, for His loving-kindness endureth forever." (As to this song, see also: 1 Chron. 16: 41; 2 Chron. 7: 3, 6; Ps. 106: 1; Ps. 107: 1; Ps. 118; Ps. 136; Jer. 33: 11). All the instruments of music resound, just as in Psalm 150 which describes the same scene. Here we have properly the dedication of the altar (2 Chron. 7: 9) preceding the feast of tabernacles, but only Chronicles shows us the glory of the Lord filling the house twice. In fact, there were two feasts, one of seven days, the dedication of the altar, and one of eight days, the dedication of the house or the feast of tabernacles (2 Chron. 7: 9). Both are found here, with the same hymn and the same presence of God's glory in His temple, a subject most appropriate to this book which speaks of worship and of the fulfillment of God's counsels concerning His reign.