Chapter 7 contains God’s response to Solomon’s prayer. It starts with God sending fire down from heaven that consumes the burnt offering and sacrifices. Then the glory of the Lord filled the temple, and the priests could not even go inside. What a sight it must have been! Then

The borders of the Promised Land stretched from the wilderness of Zin and Kadesh-barnea in the south to Lebo-hamath and Riblah in the north, and from the Mediterranean seacoast on the west to the Jordan River on the east. The land of Gilead was also included.

King Solomon and all of the people offered up 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep as a sacrifice. There had not been anything like it since David had the ark of the covenant brought to Jerusalem. So vast was the celebration that verses 7-8 says:

“Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.” At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt. And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they had kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days.

Then God answered Solomon’s prayer, and He did tell Him all of the ways that He would bless them as Solomon had prayed. But He also made this promise:

“But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it la proverb and a byword among all peoples.”

Of course, the post-exillic people that the chronicler was addressing here would know very well that the Lord meant to keep even these last promises. So9me of them had experienced it first-hand.

(This year’s reading plan for Luke, Acts, and 1 and 2 Chronicles averages just 15 verses per day – 5 days per week!)
Schedule for this week
Read or listen to audio of today’s selection from Luke here
Read or listen to audio of today’s selection from 2 Chronicles here

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.