Solomon and all Israel with him were offering sacrifices in the Lord’s presence. Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: 22,000 cattle, 120,000 sheep. In this manner, the king and all the Israelites dedicated the Lord’s temple. Solomon and all Israel with him – a great assembly from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt – observed the festival at that time in the presence of the Lord our God, seven days, and seven more days – 14 days. On the fifteenth day, he sent the people away. So they blessed the king and went home to their tents rejoicing with joyful hearts for all the goodness the Lord had done for His servant David and for His people Israel. 1 Kings 8:62-63, 65-66
My words…
Lord, You have accepted centuries of praise from Your people. Festivals, feasts, and special services when multitudes of worshipers emptied their hearts before Your throne in adoration and gratitude. I know you don’t rank them, but the dedication service for Solomon’s temple must have been one special worship service. The people remembered Your goodness; they were filled with pride to be called Your chosen. And they showed it by an act of unprecedented worship – 120,000 sheep sacrificed on the altar. That’s a lot of sheep. Two weeks of uninterrupted festival worship. That’s a lot of worship. But it wasn’t a hardship. It was a privilege. It was an honor to show You – in the most excellent way they could – how much Your loving kindness meant to them. I am not required to worship You this way. The cross did away with burnt offerings, “counting sheep,” if You will. I don’t have to get blood on my hands because Jesus got blood on His. And for that I am thankful beyond words. But then I ponder the scope of my worship and find it to be woefully inadequate. You have lead me across my Red Sea. You have leveled my wall of Jericho. You have been my armor when I battle my Philistines. Yet I do not worship You according to what You deserve. Not even close. You deserve 120,000 sheep worth of worship from me. You deserve two weeks of non-stop exultation. Month after month. Year after year. Then I hear You say, “Don’t you know that Your heart is worth more to Me than a million sacrificed sheep and a lifetime of festivals?” So I offer my heart to You as an act of worship. I lay it on Your altar. The fact that You accept my imperfect, impure heart with gladness is the reason I keep it there.
