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2 CHR ONICL ES 7
their whole heart and soul in the land of
their captivity and pray toward the land you
gave to their ancestors—toward this city
you have chosen, and toward this Temple
I have built to honor your name—39 then
hear their prayers and their petitions from
heaven where you live, and uphold their
cause. Forgive your people who have sinned
against you.
40 “O my God, may your eyes be open and
your ears attentive to all the prayers made to
you in this place.
8 For the next seven days Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters.* A large
congregation had gathered from as far away
as Lebo-hamath in the north and the Brook of
Egypt in the south. 9 On the eighth day they had
a closing ceremony, for they had celebrated the
dedication of the altar for seven days and the
Festival of Shelters for seven days. 10 Then at
the end of the celebration,* Solomon sent the
people home. They were all joyful and glad because the Lord had been so good to David and
to Solomon and to his people Israel.
“And now arise, O Lord God, and enter
your resting place,
along with the Ark, the symbol of your
power.
May your priests, O Lord God, be clothed
with salvation;
may your loyal servants rejoice in your
goodness.
O Lord God, do not reject the king you
have anointed.
Remember your unfailing love for your
servant David.”
The LORD’s Response to Solomon
11 So Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord,
as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do in the construction
of the Temple and the palace. 12 Then one night
the Lord appeared to Solomon and said,
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42
The Dedication of the Temple
When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed
down from heaven and burned up the burnt
offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple. 2 The priests
could not enter the Temple of the Lord because
the glorious presence of the Lord filled it. 3 When
all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down
and the glorious presence of the Lord filling the
Temple, they fell face down on the ground and
worshiped and praised the Lord, saying,
7
“He is good!
His faithful love endures forever!”
4 Then the king and all the people offered
sacrifices to the Lord. 5 King Solomon offered
a sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep
and goats. And so the king and all the people
dedicated the Temple of God. 6 The priests took
their assigned positions, and so did the Levites
who were singing, “His faithful love endures
forever!” They accompanied the singing with
music from the instruments King David had
made for praising the Lord. Across from the Levites, the priests blew the trumpets, while all
Israel stood.
7 Solomon then consecrated the central area
of the courtyard in front of the Lord’s Temple.
He offered burnt offerings and the fat of peace
offerings there, because the bronze altar he
had built could not hold all the burnt offerings,
grain offerings, and sacrificial fat.
7:8 Hebrew the festival (also in 7:9); see note on 5:3.
7:10 Hebrew Then on the twenty-third day of the seventh
month. This day of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar
occurred in October or early November.
“I have heard your prayer and have
chosen this Temple as the place for making
sacrifices. 13 At times I might shut up the
heavens so that no rain falls, or command
grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send
plagues among you. 14 Then if my people
who are called by my name will humble
themselves and pray and seek my face and
turn from their wicked ways, I will hear
from heaven and will forgive their sins
and restore their land. 15 My eyes will be
open and my ears attentive to every prayer
made in this place. 16 For I have chosen this
Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place
where my name will be honored forever.
I will always watch over it, for it is dear to
my heart.
• Forgiveness
2 C HR ON I C LES 7:14
The situation referred to here is what
we call a two-way street. We move in
humility and repentance toward God,
against whom we have sinned. In turn,
God moves toward us with forgiveness
and restoration. When we obey God, he
will send blessing. And when we disobey
God, we have the option of humble
repentance. Blessings can flow again if
our repentance is genuine and not merely
a ploy to “get back on God’s good side.”
This two-way principle is also at work
in all our human relationships. When sin
has damaged a relationship, we can be
restored through honest repentance, met
with forgiveness. Sometimes, both parties
must repent and forgive, because the
fault is shared.