CHAPTER 7

(1004 B.C.)

GODS RESPONSE TO SOLOMONS PRAYER: THE GLORY OF THE LORD FILLS THE TEMPLE

¹Now 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. (This is additional to I Ki. 8:63-64, and shows the Divine acceptance by the Lord of the Sacrifices, until Christ should come to offer Himself as the one great eternal Sacrifice for all of humanity. The fire of God from Heaven has fallen several times on such occasions [Gen. 4:4; 15:17; Lev. 9:24; I Chron. 21:26; I Ki. 18:38].)

²And the Priests could not enter into the House of the LORD, because the Glory of the LORD had filled the LORDs House (the Glory of the Lord can only come through Calvary).

³And 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 endures for ever. (On the Day of Pentecost, approximately a thousand years later, the fire fell from Heaven in a way that it had never fallen previously. In Old Testament times, it fell upon the Sacrifice. Now that The Sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ, has been offered, this same fire can now accompany the Holy Spirit into the heart and life of the Believer, but not with judgment, for the judgment has been expended on Christ. But yet, this Pentecostal Fire will definitely correct the Believer [Mat. 3:11-12; Acts 2:3].)

THE SACRIFICES AND REJOICING

⁴Then the king and all the people offered Sacrifices before the LORD.

⁵And 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 (all of this showed Israel that her great blessing was built on the foundation of the shed Blood of Christ; even though the number of Sacrifices offered was staggering, still, it could not begin to portray Calvary; the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin [Heb. 10:4]; nevertheless, those sacrifices did point to the Lamb of God, Who would take away all sin [Jn. 1:29]).

⁶And the Priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of music of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because His Mercy endures for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the Priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood (the worship, heavily anchored in the Sacrifices, portrays the fact that Spirit-led music and singing accompany the Cross and, in fact, are made possible by the Cross).

⁷Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the Court that was before the House of the LORD: for there he offered Burnt Offerings (typified the perfection of Christ being given to the sinner), and the fat (typifying the very best that God has in the offering up of His Son) of the Peace Offerings (this Offering typified that Peace had been restored, as a result of the Burnt Offering), because the Brasen Altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the Burnt Offerings, and the Meat Offerings (the Offering of Thanksgiving), and the fat (the middle Court, which was the Court of women, had to also be used, because the area around the Brazen Altar was too small, considering the great number of Sacrifices being offered).

⁸Also 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.

⁹And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the Altar seven days, and the Feast seven days (there was a Feast of Dedication of the Temple which was seven days long, and then Solomon also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, for an additional seven days, making altogether the fourteen days of feasting at this time).

¹⁰And 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 shown unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel His people (joy always follows proper worship, which is always anchored in the Cross, typified by the Sacrifices).

¹¹Thus Solomon finished the House of the LORD, and the kings house (the personal dwelling place of Solomon): and all that came into Solomons heart to make in the House of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected (carried forth to completion).

THE LORD APPEARS TO SOLOMON; HIS COVENANT WITH SOLOMON

¹²And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place to Myself for an House of Sacrifice. (The Lord not only answered Solomons prayer by a manifestation of the fire falling from Heaven, but, as well, He portrayed what He will do, as it regards Solomons petition, and in no uncertain terms.

As well, we find here that the Lord referred to the Temple as a House of Sacrifice. We should take note that the modern Church should fall into the same category, inasmuch as our Message should be, Jesus Christ and Him Crucified [I Cor. 1:23]. The Cross must be the primary Message [Rom. 6:3-14; I Cor. 2:2].)

¹³If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I sent pestilence among My people (if the Lord does such a thing, it will be because of sin, always because of sin);

¹⁴If My People, who are called by My Name (Believers), shall humble themselves (humility), and pray, and seek My Face (the prayer of Repentance), and turn from their wicked ways (which proclaims the manner of true Repentance); then will I hear from Heaven (but not otherwise), and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (Gods Prescription for spiritual sickness).

¹⁵Now My Eyes shall be open, and My Ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. (As well, prayer from a distance being made toward this place would be answered.

Due to what Christ did at the Cross, the Lord no longer resides in a building, but rather in the hearts and lives of Believers [I Cor. 3:16]. Now we pray to the Father up in Heaven, and do so in the Name of Jesus [Jn. 16:23].)

¹⁶For now have I chosen and sanctified this House, that My Name may be there forever: and My Eyes and My Heart shall be there perpetually (literally, until the Cross; in general, forever, because the Lord now lives in our hearts and lives [I Cor. 3:16]).

¹⁷And as for you, if you will walk before Me, as David your father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and shall observe My Statutes and My Judgments (the conditions);

¹⁸Then will I stablish the throne of your kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David your father, saying, There shall not fail you a man to be ruler in Israel (is unconditional, for it contemplates Christ).

¹⁹But if you 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;

²⁰Then 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 (which is exactly what happened!).

²¹And this House, which is high, shall be an astonishment to everyone who passes by it; so that he shall say, Why has the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this House?

²²And 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 has He brought all this evil upon them. (Verses 19-22 portray the Solomonic Covenant, which is conditional. In other words, if Solomon or his sons forsake the Lord, the Lord will forsake them.

These two Covenants basically proclaim the correct scriptural teaching on predestination. It is predestined that God would have a nation called Israel [the Davidic Covenant]. This is, and mans acceptance, rejection, failure, or otherwise does not alter the fact. However, who will actually be a part of the Israel which is saved [the Solomonic Covenant] will depend on obedience. Actually, Paul said only a remnant would actually be saved [Rom. 9:27].)