Temple and Its Dedication
25
hear Thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and
maintain their cause.
“If they sin against Thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,)
and Thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their
enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried
captive, and turn and pray unto Thee in the land of their captivity,
saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;
if they return to Thee with all their heart and with all their soul in
the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives,
and pray toward their land, which Thou gavest unto their fathers, and
toward the city which Thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I
have built for Thy name: then hear Thou from the heavens, even from
Thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain
their cause, and forgive Thy people which have sinned against Thee.
“Now, my God, let, I beseech Thee, Thine eyes be open, and let
Thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. Now
therefore arise, O Lord God, into Thy resting place, Thou, and the
ark of Thy strength: let Thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with
salvation, and let Thy saints rejoice in goodness. O Lord God, turn not
away the face of Thine anointed: remember the mercies of David Thy
servant.”
Verses 14-42
.
[43]
[44]
[45]
As Solomon ended his prayer, “fire came down from heaven, and
consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices.” The priests could not
enter the temple because “the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s
house.” “When all the children of Israel saw ... the glory of the Lord
upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground
upon the pavement, and worshiped, and praised the Lord, saying, For
He is good; for His mercy endureth forever.”
Then king and people offered sacrifices before the Lord. “So the
king and all the people dedicated the house of God.”
2 Chronicles
7:1-5
. For seven days the multitudes from every part of the kingdom,
from the borders “of Hamath unto the river of Egypt,” “a very great
congregation,” kept a joyous feast. The week following was spent by
the happy throng in observing the Feast of Tabernacles. At the close
of the season of reconsecration and rejoicing the people returned to
their homes, “glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the Lord