2 Chronicles 7
Solomon dedicates Temple to God
God comes to the Temple dedication
1 Kings 8:62-66 1 When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed from the sky, struck the altar, and burned up the sacrificial offerings. The crowd watched as the LORD’s glorified presence filled the Temple. [1] 2Priests couldn’t go inside the Temple sanctuary because God was there, and his glory filled the room.
3When the people of Israel saw the flash of fire and the LORD’s glory hovering above the Temple, [2] they dropped face to the ground and worshipped him. They sang:
God is good.
His love will never let us go
Because God is good forever. [3]
4Solomon and the people sacrificed animals at the altar. 5Solomon sacrificed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. He and the people did this in dedication of the Temple.
6As the ceremony began, priests took their positions. Musicians from Levi’s tribe played instruments that King David, years earlier, had reserved for the future Temple. Other Levite musicians sang, “His love will never let us go.” Across the Temple courtyard from these musicians, a line of priests played along with ram’s horn trumpets. The crowd was on its feet.
7Solomon also dedicated the courtyard in front of the Temple building. That’s where he offered the sacrifices, because the location of the bronze altar just in front of the Temple was too small for everything he brought to sacrifice. He brought burnt offerings, [4] grain, and fat [5] from the peace offerings.
8King Solomon hosted this festival, a weeklong celebration for everyone in Israel who came. People came from as far away as Lebo-hamath [6] in the north, and from the normally dry riverbed called the Wadi of Egypt, in the south.
9Solomon ended the dedication ceremony on the eighth day, after one final gathering. They spent a week dedicating the Temple and its altar. Then they spent another week observing the annual Festival of Temporary Shelters. [7] 10So in autumn, on the twenty-third day of the month of Ethanim, [8] Solomon sent the people home. They left glad to the bone—happy to have seen the LORD show so much kindness to David’s family—and to the people of Israel. God talks to Solomon
1 Kings 9:1-9 11So, Solomon built the Temple, his palace, and every other thing he wanted to build. 12When he was done, the LORD appeared to him at night. [9] The LORD said, “I heard your prayer. I agree to accept this Temple. From now on, this is where people can bring their sacrifices.
13When the nation sins, I may punish them by stopping the rain or by sending locusts to eat the plants. 14If my people—called by my name—humbly pray and stop doing what they know is wrong, I will hear a prayer like this in heaven. And I will forgive them and heal their land.
15I’ll keep my eyes and ears alert to what happens here. 16That’s because I have chosen this place. It’s holy now. My name will forever be linked to it. I’ll never take my eyes off this Temple. My heart is here.
17Now about you. Your father David was a good man of integrity. He did what I told him. He followed the directions I gave him. He kept the law. You need to follow that example. 18If you do, future rulers of Israel will all come from your family. That’s the promise I made to David. It’s the promise I make to you: ‘You will never be without a successor to the throne.’ When Israel becomes a punchline
19But if you or your children break the law, ignore the instructions I gave to you, and take the devotion you have for me and give it to other gods, you’ll be headed to trouble. 20I’ll take back the land I gave you. I’ll treat the Temple like just another ruin in a ghost town. The name of Israel will become the punchline for a thousand jokes in a hundred languages. [10]
21This Temple, celebrated today, will collapse into ruins. It’s a sight that will shock anyone passing by. They’ll say, ‘Why on earth would the LORD do this to the Temple and to his own people?’ 22Then they’ll answer their own question: ‘They quit on God. He led them out of slavery in Egypt. But when they were free to make their own decisions, they decided to worship other gods. So, the LORD served them a cold dish of disaster.’” 
Footnotes
17:1The phrase is more literally “the glory of the LORD filled the Temple.” But when that phrase appears elsewhere in the Bible, the writers often report that the people can see evidence of the LORD’s glorious presence. God’s glory has appeared as a cloud filling the Temple (5:13) or as fire leaping from the tent worship center and onto the altar (Leviticus 9:24), or as the face of Moses glowing after he spent time with God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:29).
27:3Perhaps in the form of a cloud of smoke.
37:3This is the song musicians apparently introduced to the worshippers in 2 Chronicles 5:13.
47:7A burnt offering was the most common animal sacrifice. Worshipers burned the entire animal. See Leviticus 1.
57:7Sweet, juicy fat was considered a delicacy—one of the best parts of a meal with meat on the table. “Here’s what you need to give the priest to burn in this peace offering to the LORD. Give him the animal’s fat. That includes all the fat on a thick tail, which you need to cut off at the backbone” (Leviticus 3:9).
67:8Lebo-hamath is a town in Lebanon, near where the Orontes River begins at the foot of Mount Hermon and Mount Lebanon. Or it could mean “entrance into Hamath” since lebo means “entrance.” Hamath was the name of a gateway into a mountain pass near Mount Hermon and Mount Lebanon.
77:9It’s often called the Festival of Shelters or Festival of Booths. In Exodus, it was the last harvest festival of the year. That’s when farmers harvested late-season crops such as grapes, figs, and olives (Exodus 23:16). This was in the late summer and early autumn. The Hebrew word describing the festival here is sukka. It can mean tent, canopy, or temporary shelter. Moses said God wanted the Israelites to observe this festival by building temporary shelters and living in them for seven days “so you and your descendants will remember that the people of Israel I led out of Egyptian slavery once lived in shelters like this” (Leviticus 23:43).
87:10Ethanim falls somewhere between late September and early November. Jews followed the lunar calendar. Then and now, observant Jews celebrate the Festival of Temporary Shelters on the 15th of Ethanim. The festival is often called the Festival of Shelters or Festival of Booths—or Sukkot, among Jewish people today.
97:12This was the second time God appeared to Solomon, both times in the town of Gibeon (1 Kings 9:2). God may have come to him in a dream. Dreams were sometimes known more literally as “visions of the night” (Zechariah 1:8; Job 33:4). But in daylight, they were often described as a trance (Acts 10:10).
107:20Another way to say it: “People everywhere will ridicule Israel and write demeaning proverbs about it.” What God describes here as a possibility, Babylonians invaders made a reality. They destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, leveled the Temple, and took the Israelite survivors captive, exiled from their homeland. Israel, as a nation on a map, no longer existed.
Discussion Questions
- Sorry, there are currently no questions for this chapter.
Maps/Guides
Solomon's Jerusalem & Temple Mount
Solomon's Temple
Balage Balogh / ArchaeologyIllustrated.com
Licensed to Casual English Bible
Sketch of Solomon's Temple and Palace 
Model Solomon's TempleModel Entrance to Solomon's Temple
Solomon's JerusalemSolomon's kingdom growsVideos
3When the people of Israel saw the flash of fire and the LORD’s glory hovering above the Temple, [2] they dropped face to the ground and worshipped him. They sang:
God is good.
His love will never let us go
Because God is good forever. [3]
6As the ceremony began, priests took their positions. Musicians from Levi’s tribe played instruments that King David, years earlier, had reserved for the future Temple. Other Levite musicians sang, “His love will never let us go.” Across the Temple courtyard from these musicians, a line of priests played along with ram’s horn trumpets. The crowd was on its feet.
7Solomon also dedicated the courtyard in front of the Temple building. That’s where he offered the sacrifices, because the location of the bronze altar just in front of the Temple was too small for everything he brought to sacrifice. He brought burnt offerings, [4] grain, and fat [5] from the peace offerings.
8King Solomon hosted this festival, a weeklong celebration for everyone in Israel who came. People came from as far away as Lebo-hamath [6] in the north, and from the normally dry riverbed called the Wadi of Egypt, in the south.
9Solomon ended the dedication ceremony on the eighth day, after one final gathering. They spent a week dedicating the Temple and its altar. Then they spent another week observing the annual Festival of Temporary Shelters. [7] 10So in autumn, on the twenty-third day of the month of Ethanim, [8] Solomon sent the people home. They left glad to the bone—happy to have seen the LORD show so much kindness to David’s family—and to the people of Israel.
God talks to Solomon
1 Kings 9:1-9 11So, Solomon built the Temple, his palace, and every other thing he wanted to build. 12When he was done, the LORD appeared to him at night. [9] The LORD said, “I heard your prayer. I agree to accept this Temple. From now on, this is where people can bring their sacrifices.
13When the nation sins, I may punish them by stopping the rain or by sending locusts to eat the plants. 14If my people—called by my name—humbly pray and stop doing what they know is wrong, I will hear a prayer like this in heaven. And I will forgive them and heal their land.
15I’ll keep my eyes and ears alert to what happens here. 16That’s because I have chosen this place. It’s holy now. My name will forever be linked to it. I’ll never take my eyes off this Temple. My heart is here.
17Now about you. Your father David was a good man of integrity. He did what I told him. He followed the directions I gave him. He kept the law. You need to follow that example. 18If you do, future rulers of Israel will all come from your family. That’s the promise I made to David. It’s the promise I make to you: ‘You will never be without a successor to the throne.’ When Israel becomes a punchline
19But if you or your children break the law, ignore the instructions I gave to you, and take the devotion you have for me and give it to other gods, you’ll be headed to trouble. 20I’ll take back the land I gave you. I’ll treat the Temple like just another ruin in a ghost town. The name of Israel will become the punchline for a thousand jokes in a hundred languages. [10]
21This Temple, celebrated today, will collapse into ruins. It’s a sight that will shock anyone passing by. They’ll say, ‘Why on earth would the LORD do this to the Temple and to his own people?’ 22Then they’ll answer their own question: ‘They quit on God. He led them out of slavery in Egypt. But when they were free to make their own decisions, they decided to worship other gods. So, the LORD served them a cold dish of disaster.’” Footnotes
17:1The phrase is more literally “the glory of the LORD filled the Temple.” But when that phrase appears elsewhere in the Bible, the writers often report that the people can see evidence of the LORD’s glorious presence. God’s glory has appeared as a cloud filling the Temple (5:13) or as fire leaping from the tent worship center and onto the altar (Leviticus 9:24), or as the face of Moses glowing after he spent time with God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:29).
27:3Perhaps in the form of a cloud of smoke.
37:3This is the song musicians apparently introduced to the worshippers in 2 Chronicles 5:13.
47:7A burnt offering was the most common animal sacrifice. Worshipers burned the entire animal. See Leviticus 1.
57:7Sweet, juicy fat was considered a delicacy—one of the best parts of a meal with meat on the table. “Here’s what you need to give the priest to burn in this peace offering to the LORD. Give him the animal’s fat. That includes all the fat on a thick tail, which you need to cut off at the backbone” (Leviticus 3:9).
67:8Lebo-hamath is a town in Lebanon, near where the Orontes River begins at the foot of Mount Hermon and Mount Lebanon. Or it could mean “entrance into Hamath” since lebo means “entrance.” Hamath was the name of a gateway into a mountain pass near Mount Hermon and Mount Lebanon.
77:9It’s often called the Festival of Shelters or Festival of Booths. In Exodus, it was the last harvest festival of the year. That’s when farmers harvested late-season crops such as grapes, figs, and olives (Exodus 23:16). This was in the late summer and early autumn. The Hebrew word describing the festival here is sukka. It can mean tent, canopy, or temporary shelter. Moses said God wanted the Israelites to observe this festival by building temporary shelters and living in them for seven days “so you and your descendants will remember that the people of Israel I led out of Egyptian slavery once lived in shelters like this” (Leviticus 23:43).
87:10Ethanim falls somewhere between late September and early November. Jews followed the lunar calendar. Then and now, observant Jews celebrate the Festival of Temporary Shelters on the 15th of Ethanim. The festival is often called the Festival of Shelters or Festival of Booths—or Sukkot, among Jewish people today.
97:12This was the second time God appeared to Solomon, both times in the town of Gibeon (1 Kings 9:2). God may have come to him in a dream. Dreams were sometimes known more literally as “visions of the night” (Zechariah 1:8; Job 33:4). But in daylight, they were often described as a trance (Acts 10:10).
107:20Another way to say it: “People everywhere will ridicule Israel and write demeaning proverbs about it.” What God describes here as a possibility, Babylonians invaders made a reality. They destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, leveled the Temple, and took the Israelite survivors captive, exiled from their homeland. Israel, as a nation on a map, no longer existed.
Discussion Questions
- Sorry, there are currently no questions for this chapter.
Maps/Guides
Solomon's Jerusalem & Temple MountSolomon's Temple
Balage Balogh / ArchaeologyIllustrated.com
Licensed to Casual English Bible
Sketch of Solomon's Temple and Palace Model Solomon's TempleModel Entrance to Solomon's TempleSolomon's JerusalemSolomon's kingdom growsVideos
13When the nation sins, I may punish them by stopping the rain or by sending locusts to eat the plants. 14If my people—called by my name—humbly pray and stop doing what they know is wrong, I will hear a prayer like this in heaven. And I will forgive them and heal their land.
15I’ll keep my eyes and ears alert to what happens here. 16That’s because I have chosen this place. It’s holy now. My name will forever be linked to it. I’ll never take my eyes off this Temple. My heart is here.
17Now about you. Your father David was a good man of integrity. He did what I told him. He followed the directions I gave him. He kept the law. You need to follow that example. 18If you do, future rulers of Israel will all come from your family. That’s the promise I made to David. It’s the promise I make to you: ‘You will never be without a successor to the throne.’
When Israel becomes a punchline
19But if you or your children break the law, ignore the instructions I gave to you, and take the devotion you have for me and give it to other gods, you’ll be headed to trouble. 20I’ll take back the land I gave you. I’ll treat the Temple like just another ruin in a ghost town. The name of Israel will become the punchline for a thousand jokes in a hundred languages. [10]21This Temple, celebrated today, will collapse into ruins. It’s a sight that will shock anyone passing by. They’ll say, ‘Why on earth would the LORD do this to the Temple and to his own people?’ 22Then they’ll answer their own question: ‘They quit on God. He led them out of slavery in Egypt. But when they were free to make their own decisions, they decided to worship other gods. So, the LORD served them a cold dish of disaster.’”
Footnotes
The phrase is more literally “the glory of the LORD filled the Temple.” But when that phrase appears elsewhere in the Bible, the writers often report that the people can see evidence of the LORD’s glorious presence. God’s glory has appeared as a cloud filling the Temple (5:13) or as fire leaping from the tent worship center and onto the altar (Leviticus 9:24), or as the face of Moses glowing after he spent time with God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:29).
Perhaps in the form of a cloud of smoke.
This is the song musicians apparently introduced to the worshippers in 2 Chronicles 5:13.
A burnt offering was the most common animal sacrifice. Worshipers burned the entire animal. See Leviticus 1.
Sweet, juicy fat was considered a delicacy—one of the best parts of a meal with meat on the table. “Here’s what you need to give the priest to burn in this peace offering to the LORD. Give him the animal’s fat. That includes all the fat on a thick tail, which you need to cut off at the backbone” (Leviticus 3:9).
Lebo-hamath is a town in Lebanon, near where the Orontes River begins at the foot of Mount Hermon and Mount Lebanon. Or it could mean “entrance into Hamath” since lebo means “entrance.” Hamath was the name of a gateway into a mountain pass near Mount Hermon and Mount Lebanon.
It’s often called the Festival of Shelters or Festival of Booths. In Exodus, it was the last harvest festival of the year. That’s when farmers harvested late-season crops such as grapes, figs, and olives (Exodus 23:16). This was in the late summer and early autumn. The Hebrew word describing the festival here is sukka. It can mean tent, canopy, or temporary shelter. Moses said God wanted the Israelites to observe this festival by building temporary shelters and living in them for seven days “so you and your descendants will remember that the people of Israel I led out of Egyptian slavery once lived in shelters like this” (Leviticus 23:43).
Ethanim falls somewhere between late September and early November. Jews followed the lunar calendar. Then and now, observant Jews celebrate the Festival of Temporary Shelters on the 15th of Ethanim. The festival is often called the Festival of Shelters or Festival of Booths—or Sukkot, among Jewish people today.
This was the second time God appeared to Solomon, both times in the town of Gibeon (1 Kings 9:2). God may have come to him in a dream. Dreams were sometimes known more literally as “visions of the night” (Zechariah 1:8; Job 33:4). But in daylight, they were often described as a trance (Acts 10:10).
Another way to say it: “People everywhere will ridicule Israel and write demeaning proverbs about it.” What God describes here as a possibility, Babylonians invaders made a reality. They destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, leveled the Temple, and took the Israelite survivors captive, exiled from their homeland. Israel, as a nation on a map, no longer existed.
Discussion Questions
- Sorry, there are currently no questions for this chapter.
Maps/Guides
Balage Balogh / ArchaeologyIllustrated.com
Licensed to Casual English Bible
Videos
