1 Kings 8:62

THE FESTAL SACRIFICES

"And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifices before Jehovah. And Solomon offered for one sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he offered unto Jehovah, two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of Jehovah. The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah; for there he offered the burnt-offering, and the meal-offering, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar that was before Jehovah was too little to receive the burnt-offering, and the meal-offering, and the fat of the peace-offerings. So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt, before Jehovah our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days. On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that Jehovah had showed upon David his servant, and to Israel his people."

The vast number of sheep and oxen mentioned here as sacrificed seems to have included, not only the sacrifices paid for by the king, but also all of the sacrifices brought by the people from all over the kingdom in their observance of the Feast of Tabernacles. "There is no ground for suspecting either exaggeration or mistake in these great numbers of the sacrifices."[31]

"Seven days and seven days, even fourteen days" (1 Kings 8:65). La Sor understood these two seven-day feasts, that of the dedication, and that of Tabernacles, as running concurrently, or simultaneously,[32] an opinion which is supported by the declaration in 1 Kings 8:66 that the people were sent home on the eighth day.

It is strange indeed that the great bronze altar, until now passed over in the description of the furnishings of the Temple, is here singled out as being too small. Since Solomon is here said to have dedicated the "middle court" that is before the house of Jehovah, apparently using this great bronze altar, it would appear from this that Solomon had placed it differently from its placement in the Tabernacle, where it was placed in the outer court, not in the middle court.

This lengthy chapter recounts the Dedication of the Temple, the feature of which was Solomon's great prayer. There are in this prayer the very highest theological implications and prophetic intimations of many future events in Israel's checkered history, even including the captivity, and the worldwide calling of the Gentiles into the worship of Jehovah; and, in view of the consummate wickedness of Solomon himself, some have wondered how this prayer came about. It was not due to Solomon's character, but to his position as the first of the Davidic dynasty to succeed him. That dynasty, wicked as it was, was nevertheless a feeble type of the kingdom of God; and just as God used the wicked Caiaphas to prophesy Jesus' death "on behalf of the people," (John 11:49-51), solely because of Caiaphas' office as High Priest; so God used Solomon in this remarkable prayer solely on the basis of his relationship as a son of David, but not the Son of David.