The Shekinah Glory

(A)Now when Solomon had finished praying, (B)fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. (C)And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lords house. All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the Lord upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the Lord, saying, “(D)Certainly He is good, certainly His faithfulness is everlasting.”

Sacrifices Offered

(E)Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. The priests stood at their posts, and (F)the Levites also, with the musical instruments for the Lord, which King David had made for giving praise to the Lord—“for His faithfulness is everlasting”—whenever David gave praise through their [a]ministry; (G)the priests on the other side blew trumpets and all Israel was standing.

(H)Then Solomon consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was before the house of the Lord, for he offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings there, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to contain the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat.

The Feast of Dedication

So (I)Solomon held the feast at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly that came from the entrance of Hamath to the (J)brook of Egypt. And on the eighth day they held (K)a solemn assembly, because they held the dedication of the altar for seven days, and the feast for seven days. 10 Then on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their tents, rejoicing and happy in heart because of the goodness that the Lord had shown to David, to Solomon, and to His people Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 7:6 Lit hand

1-2 As Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the sacrifices! And the glory of the Lord filled the Temple, so that the priests couldn’t enter! All the people had been watching, and now they fell flat on the pavement and worshiped and thanked the Lord.

“How good he is!” they exclaimed. “He is always so loving and kind.”

4-5 Then the king and all the people dedicated the Temple by sacrificing burnt offerings to the Lord. King Solomon’s contribution for this purpose was 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. The priests were standing at their posts of duty, and the Levites were playing their thanksgiving song, “His Loving-Kindness Is Forever,” using the musical instruments King David himself had made and had used to praise the Lord. Then, when the priests blew the trumpets, all the people stood again. Solomon consecrated the inner court of the Temple for use that day as a place of sacrifice because there were too many sacrifices for the bronze altar to accommodate.

For the next seven days they celebrated the Tabernacle Festival, with large crowds coming in from all over Israel; they arrived from as far away as Hamath at one end of the country to the brook of Egypt at the other. A final religious service was held on the eighth day. 10 Then on October 7 he sent the people home, joyful and happy because the Lord had been so good to David and Solomon and to his people Israel.

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