The Dedication of the Temple
(1 Kings 8.62-66)1 When King Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and burned up the sacrifices that had been offered, and the dazzling light of the Lord's presence filled the Temple. 2 Because the Temple was full of the dazzling light, the priests could not enter it. 3 When the people of Israel saw the fire fall from heaven and the light fill the Temple, they fell face downward on the pavement, worshiping God and praising him for his goodness and his eternal love. 4 Then Solomon and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord. 5 He sacrificed 22,000 head of cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings. And so he and all the people dedicated the Temple. 6 The priests stood in the places that were assigned to them, and facing them stood the Levites, praising the Lord with the musical instruments that King David had provided and singing the hymn, “His Love Is Eternal!” as they had been commissioned by David. The priests blew trumpets while all the people stood.
7 Solomon consecrated the central part of the courtyard, the area in front of the Temple, and then offered there the sacrifices burned whole, the grain offerings, and the fat from the fellowship offerings. He did this because the bronze altar which he had made was too small for all these offerings.
8 Solomon and all the people of Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters for seven days. There was a huge crowd of people from as far away as Hamath Pass in the north and the Egyptian border in the south. 9 They had spent seven days for the dedication of the altar and then seven more days for the festival. On the last day they had a closing celebration, 10 and on the following day, the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon sent the people home. They were happy about all the blessings that the Lord had given to his people Israel, to David, and to Solomon.
God Appears to Solomon Again
(1 Kings 9.1-9)11 After King Solomon had finished the Temple and the palace, successfully completing all his plans for them, 12 the Lord appeared to him at night. He said to him, “I have heard your prayer, and I accept this Temple as the place where sacrifices are to be offered to me. 13 Whenever I hold back the rain or send locusts to eat up the crops or send an epidemic on my people, 14 if they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again. 15 I will watch over this Temple and be ready to hear all the prayers that are offered here, 16 because I have chosen it and consecrated it as the place where I will be worshiped forever. I will watch over it and protect it for all time. 17 If you serve me faithfully as your father David did, obeying my laws and doing everything I have commanded you, 18 I will keep the promise I made to your father David when I told him that Israel would always be ruled by his descendants. 19 But if you and your people ever disobey the laws and commands I have given you and worship other gods, 20 then I will remove you from the land that I gave you, and I will abandon this Temple that I have consecrated as the place where I am to be worshiped. People everywhere will ridicule it and treat it with contempt.
21 “The Temple is now greatly honored, but then everyone who passes by it will be amazed and will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this land and this Temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt. They gave their allegiance to other gods and worshiped them. That is why the Lord has brought this disaster on them.’”
Tempļa iesvētīšanai pienestie upuri
(1Ķēn 8:62–66)1 Kad Sālamans beidza lūgt, no debesīm krita uguns un aprija sadedzināmo upuri. Tad Kunga godība piepildīja namu, 2 un priesteri nespēja ieiet Kunga namā, jo to piepildīja Kunga godība! 3 Visi Israēla dēli redzēja krītošo uguni un Kunga godību, kas apņēma namu, un viņi noliecās ar seju pie zemes uz akmens grīdas, un tie slavēja Kungu un viņam pateicās: “Viņš ir labs, viņa žēlastība ir mūžīga!” 4 Gan ķēniņš, gan visi ļaudis Kunga priekšā upurēja kaujamos upurus.
5 Ķēniņš Sālamans upurēja divdesmit divus tūkstošus liellopu un simts divdesmit tūkstošus sīklopu. Ķēniņš un visi ļaudis iesvētīja Dieva namu. 6 Savās vietās stāvēja priesteri un levīti ar mūzikas instrumentiem, ko bija darinājis ķēniņš Dāvids, lai pateiktos Kungam ar Dāvida slavas vārdiem: viņa žēlastība ir mūžīga! Priesteri ar taurēm stāvēja iepretī – tur stāvēja viss Israēls.
7 Sālamans iesvētīja iekšējo pagalmu, kas Kunga nama priekšā, – viņš tur pienesa sadedzināmo upuri un miera upura taukus, jo Sālamana darinātais vara altāris bija par mazu sadedzināmajam upurim, labības dāvanai un upura taukiem. 8 Toreiz Sālamans rīkoja svētkus septiņas dienas, un viss Israēls no Hamātas līdz Ēģiptes upei bija kopā ar viņu, varen liela sapulce! 9 Astotajā dienā viņiem bija sapulce. Septiņas dienas viņi iesvētīja altāri, un septiņas dienas bija svētki. 10 Septītā mēneša divdesmit trešajā dienā viņš ļaudis atlaida mājās – tie bija līksmi un priecīgi par visu labo, ko Kungs darījis Dāvidam, Sālamanam un savai Israēla tautai!
Dievs otrreiz parādās Sālamanam
(1Ķēn 9:1–9)11 Sālamans pabeidza celt Kunga namu un ķēniņa namu – viņš sekmīgi pabeidza visu, kas Sālamanam bija jādara Kunga namā un savā namā.
12 Tad naktī Kungs parādījās Sālamanam un sacīja: “Es dzirdēju tavu lūgšanu un izvēlējos šo vietu par upura namu! 13 Kad es aizvēršu debesis un nebūs lietus vai pavēlēšu siseņiem aprīt to, kas uz zemes, vai uzsūtīšu ļaudīm mēri 14 un mana tauta, kas saukta manā vārdā, zemosies un lūgs – meklēs mani un atgriezīsies no sava ļaunā ceļa –, tad es no debesīm uzklausīšu tos, piedošu viņu grēkus un dziedēšu viņu zemi! 15 Tātad pār šo vietu manas acis būs nomodā un manas ausis pievērstas lūgšanām. 16 Es esmu izvēlējies šo namu, lai mans vārds tur mājotu mūžīgi, – manas acis un sirds būs tur vienmēr! 17 Bet tu, ja tu rīkosies tāpat kā tavs tēvs Dāvids un darīsi visu, kā es tev pavēlēju, un turēsi manus likumus un tiesas, 18 tad es nostiprināšu tavu ķēniņa troni, kā apsolīju tavam tēvam Dāvidam, sacīdams: tev netrūks, kas valda Israēlā!
19 Bet, ja jūs novērsīsieties un atmetīsiet manus likumus un baušļus, kurus es jums devu, sekosiet un kalposiet citiem dieviem, tiem zemodamies, 20 tad es tos izraušu no savas zemes, kuru tiem devu, un atmetīšu šo namu, kuru svētīju savam vārdam, un tas kļūs par parunu un izsmieklu visām tautām! 21 Par šo augsto namu visi garāmgājēji šausmināsies un sacīs: kāpēc Kungs tā darīja šai zemei un šim namam? 22 Tad tiem atbildēs: tāpēc, ka tie atmetuši Kungu, savu Dievu, kurš viņus izveda no Ēģiptes zemes, un stipri pieķērušies citiem dieviem, zemojušies un kalpojuši tiem, – tāpēc viņš lika, lai pār tiem nāk viss šis ļaunums!”
