2 Chronicles 7:4-10--The Dedication of the Temple

2 Chronicles 7:4-10
English Standard Version

The Dedication of the Temple
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the LORD. 5 King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6 The priests stood at their posts; the Levites also, with the instruments for music to the LORD that King David had made for giving thanks to the LORD—for his steadfast love endures forever—whenever David offered praises by their ministry; opposite them the priests sounded trumpets, and all Israel stood.

7 And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD, for there he offered the burnt offering and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.

8 At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt. 9 And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they had kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the prosperity that the LORD had granted to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people.

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The Temple was dedicated to the LORD and in so doing the people were also dedicated to the LORD.  King Solomon offered a great many sheep and oxen for the dedication.  All the priests were there with some offering sacrifices and others playing music as prescribed by King David and others singing and giving thanks to the LORD (singing "His steadfast love endures forever"), and all of Israel was there together encouraged to join in the praise and worship.

Because there were so many sacrifices to be made, the middle of the courtyard was consecrated (made holy) so that the sacrifices could be heaped up there, as they were not going to make it through all the sacrifices if they had to burn all of them on the Bronze Altar.

The people had a feast to celebrate the dedication of the Temple for seven days.  Everyone from the furthest reaches of the nation of Israel came to be a part of this feast and celebration.  Then, on the eighth day, they had a day of solemn assembly where they gathered together, probably to hear the Law of the LORD taught to them.  Then, they all went home to their respective houses on the twenty-third day of the seventh month.  The people enjoyed peace and prosperity the entire time that Solomon was king, for the LORD did this for the sake of the covenant that He had made with King David (we'll see that Solomon did not deserve God's peace and blessing as he would quickly lead the people into idolatry and introduce them to all other kinds of worldly wisdom and philosophies in his search for knowledge, pleasure, riches, and power.  He would say that all this was as vain and empty as trying to chase after and grasp the wind.)