Commentari biblici

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.