number of ponce offerings (cf. eh. iii. 15). people away [i.e., on the eighth day of the 1,.11 the flesh that could be, must be co.ten second feast, the "three e.ncl twentieth day (Levit. xi.x. 5, 6)], and all Israel wlth hlm, of the month" (ib., ver. 10). The first im, a great congregation [see note on vcr. 64. pression is that the eighth clay of the period " All Israel " would hardly be o.n exaggera- of fourteen days is meant, but the context, tion J, from the entering 1n of Ba.math [the to say nothing of the Chron., contrn.dict3 northern boundary of Palestine (Num. this. The feast of dedication began on the xxxiv. 8; cf. xiii. 31; Josh. xiii. 6; Jndg. iii. eighth dn.y of the month Ethan.i.m (ver. 2), 3 • Ezek. ::tlvii. 16; Stanley, S. and P. p. and lasted until the fourteenth. The feast 407; Diet. Bib. i. p. 644; Porter, pp. 620, of tabernacles began on the fifteenth and 621] unto the rtver [Heb. ~IJJ, i.e., torrent lasted till the twenty-first. On the even- ing of the twenty-second, the " day of re- bed, watercourse, wady (river is 10~). See straint" (Levit. xxiii. 36 marg.), he dismissed Stanley, S. and P. pp. 14,505, 506] of Egypt the people, who would depart to their homes [i.e., the southern limit of the Holy Land. next morning] : and they blessed [i.e., See Num. uxiv. 5; Josh. xv. 4, 47; 2 Kings felicitated, saluted (on taking leave). Cf. uiv. 7; Gen. xv. 18, where the word is i~~ Prov. xxvii. 14 ; 2 Kings iv. 29 ; 1 Sam. refers to the Nile. The Wady el Arlsh must xxv. 6, 14. Marg. thanked. See note on be intended (Diet. Bib. vol. iii. p.1046, 1047, ver. 14] the king, and went unto their and Gesen., Thesaurus, vol. ii. p. 872, Porter, tents [i.e., homes-an e.rchaic expression, p. 267)], before the Lord our God, seven dating from the times of the desert wander- days and seven days, even fourteen days ings. Josh. xxii. 4; Jndg. vii. 8; 2 Sam. xx. (The two periods are thus distinguished, 1; 1 Kings xii. 16] Joyful and glad of heart because they were properly distinct, the first for all the goodness that the Lord had done being the feast of dedication, the second for David his servant [the real founder of the feast of tabernacles. Thie is more the temple. Solomon had but carried out clee.rly e.i:ple.ined in 2 Chron. vii. 9, 10.J his ideas and had entered into his labours], Ver. 66.-0n the eighth day he sent the and for Israel his people.
HOMILETICS. Vere. 8-11.-The Dedication of the Temple and its Teaching. The eighth day of the seventh month of the year 1004 B.c., or, according to some, n.c. 1000, was one of the brightest days of Jewish history- " a day in golden letters to be set Among the high tides of the calendar ; " for on tho.t day the holy and beautiful house, which had been seven and a. ho.II yeo.rs in building, for which preparations had been made for a. much longer period (1 Chron. xx.ii. 6), and on which a force of some one hundred and sixty thousand workmen had been in different ways employed ; on tho.t do.y of do.ys this house of houses was solemnly dedicated to the service of Almighty God. Let us carry our thoughts back to that day; let us join the procession ; let us try to reo.lize the scene, for we may leam a lesson thence, first, as to the consecration of our churches, and secondly, as to the dedication of our souls and bodies to God. It is an enormous concourse that is gathered in and about the holy city. From "the entering in of Hamath to the river of Egypt" (ver. 66) every town and hamlet had sent up its tale of men. No Israelite who could be present-and in the seventh month: the labours of the field were well-nigh over-would be absent. We must not thmk of the heads of the tribes alone ; it is a nation keeps festivo.l to-day. And s~ch a ~ation, with such a history I And its glory culminates to-day in the dedica- tion of its temple. What child of Israel, then, but would be there ? With early morning all Jerusalem, and its neighbouring hills and valleys (Ps11. oxxv.·2), was instinct with life. The Ea.sterns always rise early, and that day was e. high day. It is still early when the great procession is marshalled. At its head is" Solomon in all his glory." The dignitaries of the State, of the Church (eh. iv. 1-19); e.11 are there. Their rendezvous is the Mount Zion; their object to escort the ark of God, with all the honour they can render it, on its last journey, to its last resting-place. And so the white-robed priests (2 Chron. v. 12) take up the 1 KINGS, M 162 THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS [co. vm. 1--66.
consecrated structure and bettr it tandErly, yet proudly, to its home. To-day tho Le,;tes may not carry it._ As at the Jordan (.Josh. iv. 10), as at Jericho (Josh. vi. 4), as in Mount Ebal (Josh. viii. 33), so on its last journey it must be borne on the sLoulders of priests. The procession-we cannot follow its course, for it is probable that, for the sake of effect, it would mnke n considernblo detour, perlmps a. circuit of the city; nor can we speak of its psahns-aud we may be sure if psalms (Pss. xv., xxiv; 1 Chron. xvii. 7-36) were chanted nt the removnl of the ark, they would not be wanting at tho dedication of the temple-or its sacrifices (ver. 5)-the pro- cession (cf. 1 Rings i. 38) at last reaches the temple precinct; it passes through the gate; here the crowd is checked, but the priests and princes pnss on ; they reach the inner court; here the princes stop, but the priests pass on. The whole temple platform is now choked with worshippers, whilo thousnnds who cannot gain admittance witness the august ceremoninl from without, mnny, no doubt, having found a coign of vantage on the Motmt of Olives. The priests, with their precious burden, pass through the porch, pass through the holy place, pass through the veil into the thick darkness of the oracle. Thero they lay down the ark, the outward and visible sign of the covenn.nt, under the overshadowing wings of the colossal cherubim. They lea,e it wrapped in darkness; they leave it to begin at once their roinistri.tions before the new shrine. At this point of the ceremonial it had been arranged that priests and Levites, singers, trumpeters, and harpists should burst into a song of praise (2 Chrou. v. 12, 13). But ere they can fully accomplish their purpose, the dedication has become a true consecration, for the awful cloud, the token of the Divine presence, the cloud which veiled " the glory of the Loru" has filled the house, and the priests cannot stand to minister. As at the dedication of the tabernacle (Exod. xl. 34) so now, the incommunicable· Godhead has "come in e. thick eland'' (Exod. xix. 3), and has diiven them, as it drove Moses, from the sanctuary. The king, who sees the portent from without, recognizes at once that his and his father's hope is realized ; that his and bis people's offering is accepted ; that his and their projects and labours are now crowned; and, overcome with joy, he cries," I have surely built thee a house to dwell in, a settled place," &o.