Almighty God, our Father in heaven, thou knowest that our life is one daily need; thou dost give unto us one day, but we need more the next. Thou art always giving, thou dost live to give; God so loved the world that he gave—gave his only-begotten Son—gave all he had. May we come to the fountain that our thirst may be quenched, and may we come to the tree of life that we may eat fruit thereof, and never die. Keep us near thyself; Holy Spirit, remain with us; do not be impatient with our dullness and selfishness, but grant unto us long sojourn, until thou dost fill us with thy light and bless us with all needful grace. Thou hast done great things for us, whereof we are glad: once we were blind, now we see; we not only see, we are put in possession of a light that the apostle, chiefest of us all, called marvelous light. Once we were slaves, now we are free men, or we are in bondage to Christ, and in that bondage we find our liberty; if the Son shall make us free, we shall be free indeed. Grant unto thy ministers everywhere a sense of thy presence, a realization of thy comfort, a preparedness to receive thine increasing gift of light; may they be true men and good, honorable and wise, faithful stewards, diligent servants, waiting for the coming of their Lord, knowing that he may come at any moment. This prayer we pray at the cross. There all prayer of the heart is answered. Amen.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Contents: Divine acceptance. Sacrifice and rejoicing. God appears to Solomon.
Characters: God, Solomon.
Conclusion: The surest evidence of God’s acceptance of our prayers is the descent of His holy fire upon us. The heart to which God manifests Himself is thereby owned as a living temple.
Key Word: Accepted, vv. 1, 12.
Strong Verses: 1, 14.
Striking Facts: v. 1. Christ, our sacrifice, was made sin and a curse for us and the sacrifice was consumed by the fire of God’s wrath against sin that we might escape, and inherit His perfect righteousness.
Brooks, K. (2009). Summarized Bible: Complete Summary of the Old Testament (p. 87). Logos Bible Software. (Public Domain)
Chapter 7
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Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire* came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’s house.
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying,
For he is good;
For his mercy endureth for ever.
Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep:* so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.
Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the brasen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat.
Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days,* and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in* of Hamath unto the river of Egypt. And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.* And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had shewed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.
Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king’s house: and all that came into Solomon’s heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected.
And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal* their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments; then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; then will I pluck them* up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house? And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.
* indicating God’s approval of Solomon’s prayer and sacrifices. Cp. Levit. 9:24; 1 Kings 18:38; 1 Chron. 21:26.
* as peace offerings (1 Kings 8:63). The numbers seem large, but, probably, 100,000 or 120,000 people offered, and would have eaten them.
* the Feast of Dedication, from the 8th to the 15th of Tisri.
* Cp. note, p. 40, l. 3.
* of Tabernacles, immediately after the Feast of Dedication.
* by sending rain. Cp. 6:27.
* fulfilled in the Babylonish captivity, and the present dispersion of the Jews.
Hughes-Games, A., ed. (1902). The First and Second Books of Chronicles (pp. 100–102). J. M. Dent & Company; J. B. Lippincott Company. (Public Domain)
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