GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
2 CHRONICLES 5:1-3
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5:1 Then all the work that Solomon did for the house of the LORD was finished. Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, and put the silver, the gold, and all the vessels in the treasuries of the house of God. 2 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, bringing them into Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. 3 And all the men of Israel gathered before the king at the feast that is in the seventh month.
Chapters 5-7 describe the bringing of the ark and the dedication of the new temple. What transpired is often described in a three part outline: The ark is brought to its proper place, followed by Solomon’s prayer of dedication, and this is followed by the rest of the dedication service. But I think that our author has something more in mind, since this will be followed in chapter 7 by the LORD’s response to Solomon’s prayer. And so just as we see sometimes in the prophets, there is a “not just three, but four” item pattern here, with the fourth (in this case) being the Lord’s spoken blessing (see Amos 1:3; 2:1, as well as Proverbs 30;15,18,21 and 29).
This must have taken place in the twelfth year of Solomon’s reign, or 958 BC. The temple was actually completed in the 8th month of his eleventh year (959 BC), after seven years of building (1 Kings 6:38). Since only a few other things can be dated with certainty in Solomon’s reign, we may as well list them here:
971 BC … Solomon’ son Rehoboam is born (1 Kings 14:21)
970 BC … Death of David; Solomon becomes king (1 Kings 2:11-12)
966 BC … The Temple is begun (his fourth year, 1 Kings 6:1)
959 BC … Temple completed after seven years (8th month, 1 Kings 6:38)
958 BC … Temple dedicated in the seventh month (2 Chr. 5:3)
c. 950 … Solomon rebuilds cities in the north (2 Chr. 8:1-2)
930 BC … Death of Solomon (2 Chronicles 9:30)
Just as with worship in the tabernacle in the days of Moses and Aaron, no worship took place at Solomon’s temple before it was completed. This is why we can say with confidence that the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Day of Atonement did not take place in the month before the Temple was completed, but eleven month later, after the building was completed.
First, all of the furnishings were brought in and placed where they needed to be, but nothing was used until the temple was dedicated (this point will be repeated in verse 5). The treasuries were filled even before the dedication (verse 2); this included silver, gold, and many precious and valuable things. Remember that the temple was built more than three hundred years before King Croesus of Lydia (Asia Minor) started minting coins of standardized value. Solomon did not go into debt building the temple! When the last door was set in its hinges, the coffers were full and the treasury was overflowing.
When the time came for the dedication, Solomon invited or commanded the heads of all the tribes and the leaders of the houses of Israel’s families to come and witness the event, to worship with him, and to take the news back to their tribes and families. Since the Feast of Tabernacles was supposed to be celebrated by all the men of Israel, these leaders would not have had to be invited if this dedication had taken place later in the month, and therefore the dedication must have taken place just before the Day of Atonement, on the tenth day of the seventh month.
The ark of the covenant had been carried away by the Philistines after a battle near Aphek (1 Samuel 4:11). It’s possible that the celebration involving Samson and the pillars of the temple of Dagon might have also been a victory celebration for the Battle of Aphek and the capture of the Ark. This happened in about 1055 BC, and so it is reasonable to say that the ark of the covenant was separated from the Most Holy Place for just about one hundred years, since before the reigns of either Saul or David (both men reigned about 40 years).
The seventh month arrived. The dignitaries, leaders of tribes and families, were all present, and the Festival was approaching. On the tenth day of the month (close to the middle of October), it was time for the Great Day of Atonement. Just a few days later, on the fifteenth, the Feast of Tabernacles would begin and continue for a week. Without going into great detail about these things, consider our own order of worship in a single Sunday service. We begin with music, which in a sense is there to get our hearts and minds all turned in the same direction and to clear out our singin’ pipes. But then? Before anything else happens, we confess our sins and receive forgiveness in the absolution. After this, after being assured of our place in God’s kingdom as his dear and forgiven children, do we join together to pray, to listen to the Scriptures, to sing again, and so on.
Oh, to sit in the company of the saints and be assured that I am forgiven! This is the form of worship in which we hold out our hands and receive, receive, receive from our heavenly Father! What a pity that there are those who “sit through it,” never appreciating what is going on, subject to sad and selfish thoughts about the sinners all around, about how long or short the service lasts (because nothing ever seems to be right), and to walk away with nothing in the heart but the choking fumes of doubt. Such a person sits at a banquet and eats nothing, drinks nothing, never unfolds a napkin, never picks up a fork or a spoon. Will the Master come on the Last Day and command, “Tie her hand and foot!” Or, “Throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!” (Matthew 22:13).
Come and receive the forgiveness of sins. This is what the temple of Solomon could only point to. “Day after day,” the Holy Spirit teaches, “every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this one priest– who is Christ– had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:11-12). This is the God who forgives. This is the God who gives. This is our risen Savior, who lives. This is our Jesus.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – 2 Chronicles 5:1-3 All the work that Solomon did