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7
Solomon dedicated the temple
1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from the sky and burned all the offerings and sacrifices that were on the altar, and the glorious radiance of Yahweh filled the temple. 2 The radiance was extremely bright, with the result that the priests could not enter the temple of Yahweh. 3 When all the Israeli people who were there saw the fire coming down and the glory of Yahweh above the temple, they prostrated themselves with their faces touching the ground. They worshiped and thanked Yahweh, singing,
“Yahweh is always good to us;
he faithfully loves us forever.”
4-5 Then the king and all the people who were there dedicated the temple to Yahweh by offering more sacrifices to him. King Solomon gave 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats to be sacrificed. 6 The priests stood in their positions, and the other descendants of Levi stood in their positions holding the musical instruments to praise Yahweh, instruments that King David had caused to be made for praising Yahweh and thanking him. They sang, “He faithfully loves us forever.” Facing the other descendants of Levi the priests stood, blowing their trumpets, while all the Israeli people were standing and listening.
7 Solomon dedicated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple. Then he gave offerings to be completely burned there along with the fat of the animals to be sacrificed to maintain fellowship with Yahweh. The priests burned them there in the courtyard because in addition to those things there were offerings of grain, with the result that there was not enough space on the bronze altar to burn all those sacrifices.
8 Solomon and the other people celebrated the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters for seven days. There was a huge group of people who celebrated with him. Some of them came from as far away as Lebo-Hamath in the far north and the border of Egypt in the far south. 9 On the eighth/next day they gathered again to worship Yahweh. They had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters for seven days. 10 Then on the next day Solomon sent them to their homes. They were very joyful because of all the good things that Yahweh had done for David and Solomon and for all his Israeli people.
Yahweh appeared to Solomon again
11 Solomon's workers finished building the temple and Solomon's palace. And Solomon finished doing everything else that he had planned to do. 12 Then Yahweh appeared to him one night in a dream and said to him,
“I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen this temple to be the place where my people will offer sacrifices to me.
13 When I prevent any rain from falling, or when I command locusts to eat all the crops, or when I send a plague among my people, 14 if the people who belong to me humble themselves and pray, and request me to help them, and if they turn away from their sinful behavior, then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive them for having sinned and I will cause them to prosper again. 15 I [SYN] will see them and I [SYN] will hear them when they pray to me in this place. 16 I have chosen and have ◄set apart/dedicated► this temple in order that people may worship [MTY] me there forever. I will always watch over [MTY] it and protect [IDI] it.
17 And as for you, if you obey me as David your father did, and if you do all that I command you to do, and obey all my laws and decrees, 18 I will make sure that your descendants will always be kings, which is what I promised to David your father, saying, ‘Ones from your descendants will always be the kings of Israel.’
19 But if you Israelis turn away from me and disobey the decrees and commands that I have given to you, and you start to worship other gods, 20 I will cause you to be expelled from this land that I have given to you, and I will reject this temple that I have set apart to be the place where people should worship me. I will cause it to be despised and ridiculed by people of all nations. 21 Although this temple is now greatly respected, when that happens, all the people who pass by will be appalled, and they will say, ‘Why has Yahweh done terrible things like this to this country and to this temple?’ 22 And others will reply, ‘It happened because they rejected Yahweh, the God to whom their ancestors belonged, the one who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they have been worshiping other gods and trying to please them. And that is why Yahweh has caused them to experience all these disasters.’ ”

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© 2008-2016 Ellis W. Deibler, Jr.