1 Kings 8:66, commentary and pictures

It closes the dedication of Solomon's temple in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles, when Solomon led the proceedings and on the eighth day sent the people away after blessing them in response to the goodness God had shown to David and Israel. Their blessing of the king was their farewell as they departed to their tents. The service God requires is not grievous or burdensome but joyful, for after abundant peace offerings, burnt offerings and meal offerings, the dedication of the house and fourteen days of feasting, the people returned home joyful and glad of heart. Those fourteen days were the most imposing religious service ever performed, with Solomon's offering of twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep with meat, drink and burnt offerings, clouds of incense, music and singing, Solomon's prayer, the glory of the new temple, the vast concourse, and above all the shekinah filling the house so the priests could not stand to minister. The dedication centers on the longest prayer recorded in Scripture, which pleased God and was answered by fire, and the temple was a typical sanctuary toward which all Israel turned, as eyes and voices should now turn toward the house not made with hands where the Mediator performs the closing priestly acts.

Setting and Wording

The verse belongs to the reign of Solomon and the undivided kingdom covered in 1 Kings 1-11, coming in chronological order in parallel with 2 Chronicles 1-9, a time of national prosperity and worship. It stands in the portion noted especially for the building and furniture of the temple, with the dedication prayer and sacrifices and the divine answer to Solomon's prayer. Within that history it belongs to the opening account of Solomon's call to the throne, his glory and wisdom, and his preparation for building. It marks the period when he had subdued his enemies and organized his kingdom and when God greatly blessed his single-hearted devotion, covering David's preparation for the house of God, Solomon's building of it, and God's blessing upon it.

More immediately it closes the dedication of Solomon's temple, the house of God, held in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles in the eleventh year of Solomon's reign. There Solomon led the proceedings and blessed the people, and on the eighth day sent the people away after the dedication in response to the goodness God had shown to David and Israel. Their blessing the king was bidding farewell as they departed to their tents. At this dedication the ark and the tabernacle were brought together in the temple, which replaced the tabernacle as Israel's sanctuary.

Worship and Significance

The service God requires is not grievous or burdensome but joyful, for after abundant sacrifices of peace offerings, burnt offerings and meal offerings were offered, the house of the Lord was dedicated, and the feast was held fourteen days, the people went to their tents blessing the king and joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness the Lord had done for David and for Israel. The verse closes fourteen days in which the king and all Israel kept a feast to the Lord, after which the people returned to their homes blessing the king and glad of heart for all the goodness of the Lord.

Their gladness came from the thousands of offerings consuming upon the altars, including the peace offering of twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep besides meat offerings, burnt offerings, drink offerings and the offerings of the assembled multitudes. It came also from the clouds of incense rising above the temple, the instruments of music and the voice of the singers, the prayer of Solomon, the glory of the new temple, and the vast concourse of people. Above all it came from the crowning visitation of the shekinah as God took possession of His dwelling when the cloud filled the house so that the priests could not stand to minister, making it the most imposing religious service ever performed in this world either before or since that time.

The dedication is a delightful portion of inspired history centered on the longest prayer recorded in the Scriptures, with which God was pleased and which He answered by fire. The temple was a typical sanctuary toward which the eyes of all Israel turned instantly, whether at home or in foreign lands. Just as earnestly eyes and voices should now turn toward the house not made with hands, the true tabernacle where the closing priestly acts are being performed by the Mediator, whose beheld glory calls forth the exclamation that the half has never been told.