15 And Solomon, awakening, saw that it was a dream; then he came to Jerusalem, where he went before the ark of the agreement of the Lord, offering burned offerings and peace-offerings; and he made a feast for all his servants.
And the seven thin heads made a meal of the good heads. And when Pharaoh was awake he saw it was a dream.
So Solomon and all Israel with him, a very great meeting, (for the people had come together from the way into Hamath to the river of Egypt,) kept the feast at that time before the Lord our God, for two weeks, even fourteen days.
Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, drinking wine before the thousand.
And the chance came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast to his lords, and the high captains, and the chief men of Galilee;
Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his servants; and he gave honour to the chief wine-servant and the chief bread-maker among the others.
And if his offering is given for a peace-offering; if he gives of the herd, male or female, let him give it without any mark on it, before the Lord. And he is to put his hand on the head of his offering and put it to death at the door of the Tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons, the priests, are to put some of the blood on and round the altar. And he is to give of the peace-offering, as an offering made by fire to the Lord; the fat covering the inside parts and all the fat on the inside parts, And the two kidneys, and the fat on them, which is by the top part of the legs, and the fat joining the liver and the kidneys, he is to take away; That it may be burned by Aaron's sons on the altar, on the burned offering which is on the wood on the fire: it is an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord. And if what he gives for a peace-offering to the Lord is of the flock, let him give a male or female, without any mark on it. If his offering is a lamb, then let it be placed before the Lord: And he is to put his hand on the head of his offering and put it to death before the Tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons are to put some of its blood on and round the altar. And of the peace-offering, let him give an offering made by fire to the Lord; the fat of it, all the fat tail, he is to take away near the backbone; and the fat covering the inside parts and all the fat on the inside parts, And the two kidneys, with the fat on them, which is by the top part of the legs, and the fat joining the liver and the kidneys, he is to take away; That it may be burned by the priest on the altar; it is the food of the offering made by fire to the Lord. And if his offering is a goat, then let it be placed before the Lord, And let him put his hand on the head of it and put it to death before the Tent of meeting; and the sons of Aaron are to put some of its blood on and round the altar. And of it let him make his offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord; the fat covering the inside parts and all the fat on the inside parts, And the two kidneys, with the fat on them, which is by the top part of the legs, and the fat joining the liver and the kidneys, let him take away; That it may be burned by the priest on the altar; it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet smell: all the fat is the Lord's. Let it be an order for ever, through all your generations, in all your houses, that you are not to take fat or blood for food.
And this is the law for the peace-offerings offered to the Lord. If any man gives his offering as a praise-offering, then let him give with the offering, unleavened cakes mixed with oil and thin unleavened cakes covered with oil and cakes of the best meal well mixed with oil. With his peace-offering let him give cakes of leavened bread, as a praise-offering. And let him give one out of every offering to be lifted up before the Lord; that it may be for the priest who puts the blood of the peace-offering on the altar. And the flesh of the praise-offering is to be taken as food on the day when it is offered; no part of it may be kept till the morning. But if his offering is made because of an oath or given freely, it may be taken as food on the day when it is offered; and the rest may be used up on the day after: But if any of the flesh of the offering is still unused on the third day, it is to be burned with fire. And if any of the flesh of the peace-offering is taken as food on the third day, it will not be pleasing to God and will not be put to the account of him who gives it; it will be unclean and a cause of sin to him who takes it as food. And flesh touched by any unclean thing may not be taken for food: it is to be burned with fire; and as for the flesh of the peace-offerings, everyone who is clean may take it as food:
And they took in the ark of the Lord, and put it in its place inside the tent which David had put up for it: and David made burned offerings and peace-offerings to the Lord. And after David had made the burned offerings and the peace-offerings, he gave the people a blessing in the name of the Lord of armies. And he gave to every man and woman among all the people, among all the masses of Israel, a cake of bread and a measure of wine and a cake of dry grapes. Then all the people went away, every man to his house.
And Solomon gave to the Lord for peace-offerings, twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel kept the feast of the opening of the Lord's house.
Then they took in the ark of God and put it inside the tent which David had put up for it; and they made offerings, burned offerings and peace-offerings before God. And when David had come to an end of making the burned offerings and peace-offerings, he gave the people a blessing in the name of the Lord.
King Solomon made an offering of twenty-two thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people kept the feast of the opening of the house of God.
Then Solomon made holy the middle of the open square in front of the house of the Lord, offering the burned offerings there, and the fat of the peace-offerings; for there was not room on the brass altar which Solomon had made for all the burned offerings and the meal offerings and the fat. So Solomon kept the feast at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great meeting, for the people had come together from the way into Hamath and from as far as the river of Egypt. And on the eighth day they had a holy meeting; the offerings for making the altar holy went on for seven days, and the feast for seven days. And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month, he sent the people away to their tents, full of joy and glad in their hearts, because of all the good which the Lord had done to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people.
And Hezekiah said kind words to the Levites who were expert in the ordering of the worship of the Lord: so they kept the feast for seven days, offering peace-offerings and praising the Lord, the God of their fathers. And by the desire of all the people, the feast went on for another seven days, and they kept the seven days with joy. For Hezekiah, king of Judah, gave to the people for offerings, a thousand oxen and seven thousand sheep; and the rulers gave a thousand oxen and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests made themselves holy. And all the people of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and those who had come from Israel, and men from other lands who had come from Israel or who were living in Judah, were glad with great joy. So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for nothing like this had been seen in Jerusalem from the time of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Kings 3
Commentary on 1 Kings 3 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 3
1Ki 3:1. Solomon Marries Pharaoh's Daughter.
1. Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh—This was a royal title, equivalent to "sultan," and the personal name of this monarch is said to have been Vaphres. The formation, on equal terms, of this matrimonial alliance with the royal family of Egypt, shows the high consideration to which the Hebrew kingdom had now arisen. Rosellini has given, from the Egyptian monuments, what is supposed to be a portrait of this princess. She was received in the land of her adoption with great eclat; for the Song of Solomon and the forty-fifth Psalm are supposed to have been composed in honor of this occasion, although they may both have a higher typical reference to the introduction of the Gentiles into the church.
and brought her into the city of David—that is, Jerusalem. She was not admissible into the stronghold of Zion, the building where the ark was (De 23:7, 8). She seems to have been lodged at first in his mother's apartments (So 3:4; 8:2), as a suitable residence was not yet provided for her in the new palace (1Ki 7:8; 9:24; 2Ch 8:11).
building … the wall of Jerusalem round about—Although David had begun (Ps 51:18), it was, according to Josephus, reserved for Solomon to extend and complete the fortifications of the city. It has been questioned whether this marriage was in conformity with the law (see Ex 34:16; De 7:3; Ezr 10:1-10; Ne 13:26). But it is nowhere censured in Scripture, as are the connections Solomon formed with other foreigners (1Ki 11:1-3); whence it may be inferred that he had stipulated for her abandonment of idolatry, and conforming to the Jewish religion (Ps 45:10, 11).
1Ki 3:2-5. High Places Being in Use, He Sacrifices at Gibeon.
3. And Solomon loved the Lord—This declaration, illustrated by what follows, affords undoubted evidence of the young king's piety; nor is the word "only," which prefaces the statement, to be understood as introducing a qualifying circumstance that reflected any degree of censure upon him. The intention of the sacred historian is to describe the generally prevailing mode of worship before the temple was built. The
high places were altars erected on natural or artificial eminences, probably from the idea that men were brought nearer to the Deity. They had been used by the patriarchs, and had become so universal among the heathen that they were almost identified with idolatry. They were prohibited in the law (Le 17:3, 4; De 12:13, 14; Jer 7:31; Eze 6:3, 4; Ho 10:8). But, so long as the tabernacle was migratory and the means for the national worship were merely provisional, the worship on those high places was tolerated. Hence, as accounting for their continuance, it is expressly stated (1Ki 3:2) that God had not yet chosen a permanent and exclusive place for his worship.
4. the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there—The old tabernacle and the brazen altar which Moses had made in the wilderness were there (1Ch 16:39; 21:29; 2Ch 1:3-6). The royal progress was of public importance. It was a season of national devotion. The king was accompanied by his principal nobility (2Ch 1:2); and, as the occasion was most probably one of the great annual festivals which lasted seven days, the rank of the offerer and the succession of daily oblations may help in part to account for the immense magnitude of the sacrifices.
5. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream—It was probably at the close of this season, when his mind had been elevated into a high state of religious fervor by the protracted services. Solomon felt an intense desire, and he had offered an earnest petition, for the gift of wisdom. In sleep his thoughts ran upon the subject of his prayer, and he dreamed that God appeared to him and gave him the option of every thing in the world—that he asked wisdom, and that God granted his request (1Ki 3:9-12). His dream was but an imaginary repetition of his former desire, but God's grant of it was real.
1Ki 3:6-15. He Chooses Wisdom.
6. Solomon said—that is, had dreamed that he said.
7. I am but a little child—not in age, for he had reached manhood (1Ki 2:9) and must have been at least twenty years old; but he was raw and inexperienced in matters of government.
10. the speech pleased the Lord—It was Solomon's waking prayers that God heard and requited, but the acceptance was signified in this vision.
15. behold, it was a dream—The vivid impression, the indelible recollection he had of this dream, together with the new and increased energy communicated to his mind, and the flow of worldly prosperity that rushed upon him, gave him assurance that it came by divine inspiration and originated in the grace of God. The wisdom, however, that was asked and obtained was not so much of the heart as of the head—it was wisdom not for himself personally, but for his office, such as would qualify him for the administration of justice, the government of a kingdom, and for the attainment of general scientific knowledge.
1Ki 3:16-28. His Judgment between Two Harlots.
16. Then came there two women—Eastern monarchs, who generally administer justice in person, at least in all cases of difficulty, often appeal to the principles of human nature when they are at a loss otherwise to find a clue to the truth or see clearly their way through a mass of conflicting testimony. The modern history of the East abounds with anecdotes of judicial cases, in which the decision given was the result of an experiment similar to this of Solomon upon the natural feelings of the contending parties.