Solomon Finishes Prayer

The King Offered Sacrifices to the Lord

DEDICATE, DEDICATION General term used to describe an act of setting apart or consecrating persons or things to God (or gods), persons, sacred work, or ends. The act is usually accompanied by an announcement of what is being done or intended and by prayer asking for divine approval and blessing. In the OT the people who were set apart included all Israel (Exod. 19:5, 6; Deut. 7:6; 14:2) and the priests (Exod. 29:1–37). The things that were set apart included the altar in the tabernacle (Num. 7:10–88), images of pagan deities (Dan. 3:2–3), silver and gold (2 Sam. 8:11), temple (1 Kings 8:63; Ezra 6:16–18), walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 12:27), and private dwellings (Deut. 20:5). The idea of dedication is embodied in the NT word “saints.” The whole church is set apart to God (Eph. 5:26). The individual believer is one of a dedicated, sanctified, consecrated, priestly people; set apart “to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5 HCSB).

‎The bronze altar of burnt offering in Solomon’s Temple was 30 feet square (9 m) and 15 feet high (4.5 m.) Even this large altar was far too small to accommodate the massive volume of sacrifices Solomon offered on it while dedicating the Temple he had built for God (1 Kgs 8:64).