After Solomon prayed, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. All the Israelites experienced this and fell on their faces before the Lord, worshiping and praising Him:
“For He is good,
for his faithful love endures forever”
(2 Chr 7:3)
- Then the sacrifices began. Literally 22,000 cattle were offered in sacrifice to the LORD and 120,000 sheep. Wow! Of course they were offered to the LORD and also helped feed the masses present.
- The Levites played their musical instruments in celebration
- The priests blew their 120 trumpets
And “a very great assembly” (2 Chr 7:8) rejoiced for seven days with happy hearts for the goodness the LORD had done (2 Chr 7:10). It was a magnificant, joy-filled and lavish celebration of God.
But God wasn’t done. He had a word that night for Solomon. He told Solomon the following:
- The LORD had heard his prayer and would answer (v. 12)
- If there was judgment on the people in the form of natural disaster, if they called upon Him in repentance, He would hear, answer and forgive (v. 13-14)
- He would place his name on the temple forever (v. 16).
- As long as they obeyed, David’s line would always have a son on its throne (fulfilled in Jesus–Matt 1:1)
- But if the people of Israel turned and served foreign gods, the LORD would uproot them and send them into captivity. He would remove His glory from the temple. The temple would come to ruins and all who passed by would be appalled (v. 19-22).
God was going to bless the people mightily. And it wasn’t that he was threatening them with punishment, but rather it was a holy covenant of love. In this marriage he would not allow other lovers. But if they stayed faithful in this covenant, the LORD’s blessing would prevail for Israel throughout the generations.
