The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 59

undertakings can this be affirmed I 2. The plac[ng in the temple of the dedicated treasures. 'l'hese were the gold, silver, and brass David had taken from the nations J,o conquered; tbo spclia opima he had piously consecrated to Jehovah, to be used for sacred purposes (2 Sam. viii. 7-12; 1 Chron. xviii. 7-11). So immen~e had been the quantity of precious metal prepared beforehand by David for the house of the Lord (1 Ohron. xxii. 14-16), that it had not been all used. What remained after the temple and its utensils had been constructed was brought into the sacred edifice and lodged among the treasures of the house of God;probably in one or more of the side chambers of the building. An act of filial piety on the part of Solomon thus to respect the will o.nd purpose of his deceased father, who had designated, not a part merely, but the whole of the just-mentioned wealth to the service of Jehovah, it was also an example of strict conscientiousness on the monarch'ij part to abstain from either appro- priating the surplus wealth to himself or employing it for civil purpose11. The money, given by David to Jehovah, was Jehovah's and not Solomon's. Having been meant for the service of Jehovah, it was not free to be diverted to other ends and uses. Hence it was solemnly laid up among the treasures of the house of God. 3. The selection of a date/or the ceremony. The time fixed was the Feast of Tabernacles, which commenced on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, called Ethanim in Hebrew, but in Aramaic Tisri. This was one of the three principal religious festivals of the Jews (Exod. xxiii. 14, 17). Intended to commemorate the birth-night of Israel as a nation (Lev. xxiii. 33-43), and the goodness of Jehovah to his people year by year in giving them rain from heaven and fruitful seasons (Deut. xvi. 13-15), it was a period of special and intense rejoicing. Commonly esteemed the greatest feast of the three, it was sometimes spoken of as "the feast" ( eh. vii. 8, 9), was usually attended by large num hers of the people, and " was kept by the Hebrews as a most holy and most eminent feast " (Josephus, 'Ant.,' viii. 4. 1). It was thus peculiarly appropriate for the dedication of the temple, in the successful erection of which God's goodness to the nation bad culminated. In this light, doubtless, it was regarded by Solomon, who observed it "splendidly and magnificently" (Josephus, 'Ant.,' viii. 4. 5), protracting it for twice seven days, instead of eight as the Law enjoined, and himself feasting together with his people before the temple. From a statement in 1 Kings ix. 1, 2, that Jehovah appeared to Solomon in answer to his prayer of dedication only after the erection of his palace, it has been inferred (Thenius, Keil) that the dedication did not take place till thirteen years after the temple was finished; but this, to say the least, is far from pro- bable. Another unlikely suggestion is that the Feast of Tabernacles referred to was that of the eleventh year, i.e. of the year in which the temple was finished (Ewald, llertheau); but as the building was not ended till the eighth month of that year (1 Kings vi. 38), the dedication must in this case have taken place before the strncture was completed. The best conjecture is that the date was the Feast of Tabernacles in the following year (Bahr), which would allow sufficient time for all necessary arrange- ments, in particular for the step to be next mentioned. 4. The assembling of the people's representatives in Jerusalem. As the transportation of the ark from the city of David to Mount Moriah and its permanent settlement in the temple was designed to be a national act, it was requisite that the people's official heads should be convened for that purpose. Accordingly, the king issued orders that on the day fixed for the momentous ceremonial, the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the following year, "the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel," should meet with him in the capital. In answer to the royal summons, "all the elders of Israel came," "from the entering in of Hamath," the northern boundary of Palestine, "unto the river of Egypt," its southern frontier. Few spectacles are more impressive or becoming than that of a monarch and his people co-operating in works that aim at the good of the commonwealth, and especially at the advancement of true religion in the land. II. THE STEPS IN THE CEREMONY. (Vera. 5-13.) 1. The fetching of the ark from tlie city of David to the temple. This was done by such of the Levites as were also priests (vers. 6, 7; cf. 1 Kings viii. 3), to whom on high occasions the duty belonged (Josh. iii. 6; vi. 6); though, while the Church was in the wilderness, the task of bearing about the sanctuary from station to station devolved upon the sons of Kobath, who at the Bame time were charged not to touch any holy thing lest they should die (Numb. iv. 15).  60 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. [ott. v.1-H.