2 Chronicles 7:1 says, 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. After Solomon completed his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices and God's glory filled the temple. I believe this would have been great evidence that God had heard Solomon and accepted the sacrifice. The sacrifice was consumed by fire, but the people were unharmed, and through our faith in Jesus Christ, our sins are consumed or washed away, but we are unharmed. We may not have any visual conformation that God answers our prayers, but we should be filled with His presence in our hearts if we are sincere in our prayers, and that is what is important. Verse two adds, And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house. The priests couldn't even go into the temple because it was so filled with the glory of the Lord. We can only enter into God's glory through putting our faith in Jesus Christ, and once we do, He should fill us completely with His Spirit. Verse three continues, 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. The people of Israel all bowed down with their faces to the ground and worshipped and praised God when they saw this. They then proclaimed that God was good and that His mercy lasted forever. People might have the same reaction today, but I believe many would still try to discount what had happened or run away in fear instead of worshipping God. We as followers of Christ have seen a greater miracle, Jesus Christ sacrificing Himself on the cross for our sins, and we need to bow down to God and worship Him every day. His mercy does last forever. Verse four states, Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. Solomon and all the people then offered sacrifices to God, and we as Christians need to sacrifice everything we have God for His use. He will never leave us in need if we do. Verse five adds, 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. Solomon offered a sacrifice of a great number of ox and even more of sheep. As stated before, we need to offer everything we have to God once we become one of His people, and we should never think that we are being asked to give too much. Verse six continues, 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. The priests began to celebrate with music, and the people all stood when they heard the trumpets sound. We still need to worship God with music and song, and do so because of His mercy to us, which will last forever. Verse seven says, 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. Solomon offered sacrifices in the middle court of the temple because the brazen altar couldn't contain all the sacrifice. It would be something wonderful if we had offerings to God so great that they overflowed even the needs of the church, or God's people. Verse eight adds, 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. Solomon and the great congregation of Israel kept the feast going for seven days. Sometimes today we have a hard time keeping worship services to God going on for over an hour. Verse nine continues, 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. On the eighth day, they made a solemn assembly since they had kept the dedication of the altar for seven days and the feast for seven days. This day would have been at the end of the second seven days and would be the day of atonement Matthew Henry points out. Every day should be a day of atonement for God's people, because our sins are continually washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ. Verse ten states, 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. Matthew Henry also points out that the fifteenth day started the feast of tabernacles, which lasted until this twenty-second day. The people had continued to worship God this whole time, with a merry heart for God's goodness to His people. We should always be thankful to God for His everlasting mercy to us as Christians. Of course, His mercy is offered to all, but not everyone benefits from it. Each individual must accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord in order to benefit from God's mercy. Verse eleven adds, 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. Solomon had completed the building of the temple and of his own house. Jesus Christ completed the sacrifice for the salvation of all people on the cross, and we simply need to accept His gift.
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