2 Chronicles 7:1–16

The Dedication of the Temple

7^*When King Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and burnt up the sacrifices that had been offered, and the dazzling light of the Lord’s presence filled the Temple. ²Because the Temple was full of the dazzling light, the priests could not enter it. ^3*When the people of Israel saw the fire fall from heaven and the light fill the Temple, they fell face downwards on the pavement, worshipping God and praising him for his goodness and his eternal love. ⁴Then Solomon and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord. ⁵He sacrificed 22,000 head of cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings. And so he and all the people dedicated the Temple. ⁶The priests stood in the places that were assigned to them, and facing them stood the Levites, praising the Lord with the musical instruments that King David had provided and singing the hymn, “His Love is Eternal!” as they had been commissioned by David. The priests blew trumpets while all the people stood. ⁷Solomon consecrated the central part of the courtyard, the area in front of the Temple, and then offered there the sacrifices burnt whole, the grain offerings, and the fat from the fellowship offerings. He did this because the bronze altar which he had made was too small for all these offerings.

⁸Solomon and all the people of Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters for seven days. There was a huge crowd of people from as far away as Hamath Pass in the north and the Egyptian border in the south. ⁹They had spent seven days for the dedication of the altar and then seven more days for the festival. On the last day they had a closing celebration, ¹⁰and on the following day, the 23rd day of the seventh month, Solomon sent the people home. They were happy about all the blessings that the Lord had given to his people Israel, to David, and to Solomon.

God Appears to Solomon Again

¹¹After King Solomon had finished the Temple and the palace, successfully completing all his plans for them, ¹²the Lord appeared to him at night. He said to him, “I have heard your prayer, and I accept this Temple as the place where sacrifices are to be offered to me. ¹³Whenever I hold back the rain or send locusts to eat up the crops or send an epidemic on my people, ¹⁴if they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again. ¹⁵I will watch over this Temple and be ready to hear all the prayers that are offered here, ¹⁶because I have chosen it and consecrated it as the place where I will be worshipped for ever. I will watch over it and protect it for all time.