"When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the Lord, he rose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying: 'Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel just as He promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises He gave through His servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as He was with our ancestors; may He never leave us nor forsake us. May He turn our hearts to Him, to walk in obedience to Him and keep the commands, decrees and laws He gave our ancestors. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that He may uphold the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel according to each day's need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by His decrees and obey His commands, as at this time." (1 Kings 8:54-61) This is a beautiful way to conclude his speaking portion of the ceremony.
You'll recall that the dedication of the temple was scheduled to coincide with the Feast of Tabernacles when Jerusalem would be filled with people from all over Israel. In this combined celebration Solomon makes enough sacrifices to supply food for the feast for the people gathered there. (We will learn later that instead of the usual seven-day feast, this one continues for fourteen days.) These are not burnt offerings which are wholly given up to God. These are fellowship offerings; after the Lord's portion is dedicated to Him, the priests and the people share the remainder. "Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the Lord." (1 Kings 8:62-63, 2 Chronicles 7:4-5)
We might find the idea of this many animal sacrifices disturbing but one of the main reasons we may feel that way is because in our day we are somewhat removed from the sight and even the thought of how our food is processed. The animals Solomon sacrificed were raised for the purpose of consumption and he offers them as a way of supplying a meal for everyone who has come to attend the dedication ceremony and the Feast of Tabernacles. The slaughtering of animals raised for consumption is happening every day on a large scale to supply our supermarkets and restaurants, only we aren't witnessing it firsthand. Those of us who aren't vegetarians are picking up our meat products after they've been processed, packaged, and priced. That's why our sensibilities can be offended when we read of the enormous amount of animals sacrificed at the dedication ceremony but, when we stop to think about it, I don't know that we have any right to feel offended by it---not if we are meat-eaters ourselves. If man had been able to keep himself from sin, there would never have been any need for animal sacrifices. Man would likely never have craved the taste of meat either. But man fell from grace and the created world suffered as a result of that fall. But, thanks be to our Creator, the created world will be redeemed along with the children of God and will share in our eternal joy: "The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God." (Romans 8:21)
"On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings." (1 Kings 8:64, 2 Chronicles 7:7) The courtyard is temporarily consecrated for the purpose of offering so many sacrifices at one time.
At some point during the temple dedication proceedings, fire comes down from heaven and consumes what is on the altar. We were formerly told that the cloud of the glory of the Lord filled the temple when the ark had been put in place, so much so that the priests had to withdraw and could not perform any of their services at that time. But I believe the temple is filled with the glory of the Lord a second time on this day, for the author of 2 Chronicles tells us that after Solomon finishes praying, fire falls from heaven and the glory of the Lord appears. "When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, 'He is good; His love endures forever.'" (2 Chronicles 7:1-3) I could be off base in thinking the glory of the Lord makes two appearances at the dedication of the temple but I did some research on it and it appears that many Bible scholars believe there were two of these incidents on the same day. Others are not certain whether the Bible is speaking of one appearance or two, but the order in which the text of 2 Chronicles is written indicates two separate instances on the same day.
When the glory of the Lord appeared after the ark was put in place, I believe it signified the Lord's satisfaction with the work that had been done. Though no work of man can be perfect, the Lord accepted the people's work in the spirit in which they intended it: they intended to honor and worship Him with it. After the sacrifices have been made, the glory of the Lord appears again to signify His acceptance of their acknowledgment of their human weaknesses, their need for redemption, and their faith that submitting these substitutionary sacrifices will serve as atonement for their sins until a new, perfect, and eternal sacrifice is made on their behalf.
"So Solomon observed the festival at that time, and all Israel with him---a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. They celebrated it before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the Lord had done for His servant David and His people Israel." (1 Kings 8:65-66, 2 Chronicles 7:8-10) The Feast of Tabernacles was to last for seven days. But since this celebration is for both the Feast of Tabernacles and for the dedication of the temple, it goes for twice as long.
Join us tomorrow as the Lord has a private moment with Solomon to speak to him about everything he has asked for on this day.
No comments:
Post a Comment