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2 Chronicles 7:4-10 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

4 Then the king H4428 and all the people H5971 offered H2076 sacrifices H2077 before H6440 the LORD. H3068

5 And king H4428 Solomon H8010 offered H2076 a sacrifice H2077 of twenty H6242 and two H8147 thousand H505 oxen, H1241 and an hundred H3967 and twenty H6242 thousand H505 sheep: H6629 so the king H4428 and all the people H5971 dedicated H2596 the house H1004 of God. H430

6 And the priests H3548 waited H5975 on their offices: H4931 the Levites H3881 also with instruments H3627 of musick H7892 of the LORD, H3068 which David H1732 the king H4428 had made H6213 to praise H3034 the LORD, H3068 because his mercy H2617 endureth for ever, H5769 when David H1732 praised H1984 by their ministry; H3027 and the priests H3548 sounded trumpets H2690 H2690 before them, and all Israel H3478 stood. H5975

7 Moreover Solomon H8010 hallowed H6942 the middle H8432 of the court H2691 that was before H6440 the house H1004 of the LORD: H3068 for there he offered H6213 burnt offerings, H5930 and the fat H2459 of the peace offerings, H8002 because the brasen H5178 altar H4196 which Solomon H8010 had made H6213 was not able H3201 to receive H3557 the burnt offerings, H5930 and the meat offerings, H4503 and the fat. H2459

8 Also at the same time H6256 Solomon H8010 kept H6213 the feast H2282 seven H7651 days, H3117 and all Israel H3478 with him, a very H3966 great H1419 congregation, H6951 from the entering in H935 of Hamath H2574 unto the river H5158 of Egypt. H4714

9 And in the eighth H8066 day H3117 they made H6213 a solemn assembly: H6116 for they kept H6213 the dedication H2598 of the altar H4196 seven H7651 days, H3117 and the feast H2282 seven H7651 days. H3117

10 And on the three H7969 and twentieth H6242 day H3117 of the seventh H7637 month H2320 he sent H7971 the people H5971 away H7971 into their tents, H168 glad H8056 and merry H2896 in heart H3820 for the goodness H2896 that the LORD H3068 had shewed H6213 unto David, H1732 and to Solomon, H8010 and to Israel H3478 his people. H5971

Commentary on 2 Chronicles 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 7

2Ch 7:1-3. God Gives Testimony to Solomon's Prayer; the People Worship.

1. the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering—Every act of worship was accompanied by a sacrifice. The preternatural stream of fire kindled the mass of flesh, and was a token of the divine acceptance of Solomon's prayer (see on Le 9:24; 1Ki 18:38).

the glory of the Lord filled the house—The cloud, which was the symbol of God's presence and majesty, filled the interior of the temple (Ex 40:35).

2. the priests could not enter—Both from awe of the miraculous fire that was burning on the altar and from the dense cloud that enveloped the sanctuary, they were unable for some time to perform their usual functions (see on 1Ki 8:10). But afterwards, their courage and confidence being revived, they approached the altar and busied themselves in the offering of an immense number of sacrifices.

3. all the children of Israel … bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement—This form of prostration (that of lying on one's knees with the forehead touching the earth), is the manner in which the Hebrews, and Orientals in general, express the most profound sentiments of reverence and humility. The courts of the temple were densely crowded on the occasion, and the immense multitude threw themselves on the ground. What led the Israelites suddenly to assume that prostrate attitude on the occasion referred to, was the spectacle of the symbolical cloud slowly and majestically descending upon the temple, and then entering it.

2Ch 7:4-11. Solomon's Sacrifices.

4. Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices—Whether the individual worshippers slaughtered their own cattle, or a certain portion of the vast number of the Levitical order in attendance performed that work, as they sometimes did, in either case the offerings were made through the priests, who presented the blood and the fat upon the altar (see on 1Ki 8:62).

5, 6. so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God—The ceremonial of dedication consisted principally in the introduction of the ark into the temple, and in the sacrificial offerings that were made on a scale of magnitude suitable to the extraordinary occasion. All present, the king, the people, and the priests, took part according to their respective stations in the performance of the solemn service. The duty, of course, devolved chiefly on the priests, and hence in proceeding to describe their several departments of work, the historian says, generally, "the priests waited on their offices." While great numbers would be occupied with the preparation and offering of the victims, others sounded with their trumpets, and the different bands of the Levites praised the Lord with vocal and instrumental music, by the hundred thirty-sixth Psalm, the oft-recurring chorus of which is, "for His mercy endureth for ever."

7. Solomon hallowed the middle of the court—On this extraordinary occasion, when a larger number of animals were offered than one altar and the usual place of rings to which the animals were bound would admit, the whole space was taken in that was between the place of rings and the west end of the court to be used as a temporary place for additional altars. On that part of the spacious court holocausts were burning all round.

8. Solomon kept the feast seven days—The time chosen for the dedication of the temple was immediately previous to the feast of tabernacles (see on 1Ki 8:1-12). That season, which came after the harvest, corresponding to our September and October, lasted seven days, and during so prolonged a festival there was time afforded for the offering of the immense sacrifices enumerated. A large proportion of these were peace offerings, which afforded to the people the means of festive enjoyment.

all Israel … from the entering in of Hamath—that is, the defile at Lebanon.

unto the river of Egypt—that is, Rhinocorura, now El-Arish, the south boundary of Palestine.

10. on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month—This was the last day of the feast of tabernacles.

2Ch 7:12-22. God Appears to Him.

12. the Lord appeared to Solomon by night—(See on 1Ki 9:1-9). The dedication of the temple must have been an occasion of intense national interest to Solomon and his subjects. Nor was the interest merely temporary or local. The record of it is read and thought of with an interest that is undiminished by the lapse of time. The fact that this was the only temple of all nations in which the true God was worshipped imparts a moral grandeur to the scene and prepares the mind for the sublime prayer that was offered at the dedication. The pure theism of that prayer—its acknowledgment of the unity of God as well as of His moral perfections in providence and grace, came from the same divine source as the miraculous fire. They indicated sentiments and feelings of exalted and spiritual devotion, which sprang not from the unaided mind of man, but from the fountain of revelation. The reality of the divine presence was attested by the miracle, and that miracle stamped the seal of truth upon the theology of the temple-worship.