II Chronicles 7
7
Solomon Dedicates the Temple
1When #1 Kin. 8:54Solomon had finished praying, #Lev. 9:24; Judg. 6:21; 1 Kin. 18:38; 1 Chr. 21:26fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and #1 Kin. 8:10, 11the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2#2 Chr. 5:14And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. 3When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying:
#2 Chr. 5:13; Ps. 106:1; 136:1“For He is good,
#1 Chr. 16:41; 2 Chr. 20:21For His mercy endures forever.”
4#1 Kin. 8:62, 63Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. 5King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6#1 Chr. 15:16And the priests attended to their services; the Levites also with instruments of the music of the Lord, which King David had made to praise the Lord, saying, “For His mercy endures forever,” whenever David offered praise by their ministry. #2 Chr. 5:12The priests sounded trumpets opposite them, while all Israel stood.
7Furthermore #1 Kin. 8:64–66; 9:3Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord; for there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat.
8#1 Kin. 8:65At that time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly #1 Kin. 4:21, 24; 2 Kin. 14:25from the entrance of Hamath to #Josh. 13:3the Brook of Egypt. 9And on the eighth day they held a #Lev. 23:36sacred assembly, for they observed the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. 10#1 Kin. 8:66On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the good that the Lord had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel. 11Thus #1 Kin. 9:1Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house; and Solomon successfully accomplished all that came into his heart to make in the house of the Lord and in his own house.
God’s Second Appearance to Solomon
12Then the Lord #1 Kin. 3:5; 11:9appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, #Deut. 12:5, 11and have chosen this #2 Chr. 6:20place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13#Deut. 28:23, 24; 1 Kin. 17:1; 2 Chr. 6:26–28When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14if My people who are #Deut. 28:10; (Is. 43:7)called by My name will #2 Chr. 12:6, 7; (James 4:10)humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, #2 Chr. 6:27, 30then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15Now #2 Chr. 6:20, 40My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. 16For now #1 Kin. 9:3; 2 Chr. 6:6I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 17#1 Kin. 9:4As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 18then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, #2 Sam. 7:12–16; 1 Kin. 2:4; 2 Chr. 6:16‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’
19#Lev. 26:14, 33; (Deut. 28:15, 36)“But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, 20#Deut. 28:63–68; 2 Kin. 25:1–7then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a #Ps. 44:14byword among all peoples.
21“And as for #2 Kin. 25:9this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be #2 Chr. 29:8astonished and say, #(Deut. 29:24, 25; Jer. 22:8, 9)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?’ 22Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”
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II Chronicles 7: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
2 Chronicles 7
7
The Dedication of the Temple
1When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple. 2The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it. 3When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the Lord filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying,
“He is good!
His faithful love endures forever!”
4Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord. 5King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people dedicated the Temple of God. 6The priests took their assigned positions, and so did the Levites who were singing, “His faithful love endures forever!” They accompanied the singing with music from the instruments King David had made for praising the Lord. Across from the Levites, the priests blew the trumpets, while all Israel stood.
7Solomon then consecrated the central area of the courtyard in front of the Lord’s Temple. He offered burnt offerings and the fat of peace offerings there, because the bronze altar he had built could not hold all the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrificial fat.
8For the next seven days Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters.#7:8 Hebrew the festival (also in 7:9); see note on 5:3. A large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north and the Brook of Egypt in the south. 9On the eighth day they had a closing ceremony, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the Festival of Shelters for seven days. 10Then at the end of the celebration,#7:10 Hebrew Then on the twenty-third day of the seventh month. This day of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in October or early November. Solomon sent the people home. They were all joyful and glad because the Lord had been so good to David and to Solomon and to his people Israel.
The Lord’s Response to Solomon
11So Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do in the construction of the Temple and the palace. 12Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon and said,
“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. 13At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 14Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 15My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. 16For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.
17“As for you, if you faithfully follow me as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, 18then I will establish the throne of your dynasty. For I made this covenant with your father, David, when I said, ‘One of your descendants will always rule over Israel.’
19“But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, 20then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. 21And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’
22“And the answer will be, ‘Because his people abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why he has brought all these disasters on them.’”
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