Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built to Yahweh three times per year, burning incense with them, on the altar that was before Yahweh. So he finished the house.
Parallel Translations
-
Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built to Yahweh three times per year, burning incense with them, on the altar that was before Yahweh. So he finished the house.
-
And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house.
-
And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, offering thereby, upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to 1 Kings 9:25 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 23:14-17 “You shall observe a feast to me three times a year. You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it you came out of Egypt), and no one shall appear before me empty. And the feast of harvest, the first fruits of your labors, which you sow in the field; and the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather in your labors out of the field. Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord Yahweh.
- Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times in a year all of your males shall appear before Yahweh your God in the place which he chooses: in the feast of unleavened bread, in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths. They shall not appear before Yahweh empty.
- 2 Chronicles 8:12-13 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on Yahweh’s altar, which he had built before the porch, even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times per year, during the feast of unleavened bread, during the feast of weeks, and during the feast of booths.
- 2 Chronicles 8:16 Now all the work of Solomon was prepared from the day of the foundation of Yahweh’s house until it was finished. So Yahweh’s house was completed.
- Exodus 30:7 Aaron shall burn incense of sweet spices on it every morning. When he tends the lamps, he shall burn it.
- Exodus 34:23 Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord Yahweh, the God of Israel.
- 1 Kings 6:38 In the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts, and according to all its specifications. So he spent seven years building it.
- 1 Chronicles 23:13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons, forever, to burn incense before Yahweh, to minister to him, and to bless in his name, forever.
- 2 Chronicles 26:16-21 But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up, so that he did corruptly, and he trespassed against Yahweh his God; for he went into Yahweh’s temple to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him eighty priests of Yahweh, who were valiant men. They resisted Uzziah the king, and said to him, “It isn’t for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but for the priests the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed. It will not be for your honor from Yahweh God.” Then Uzziah was angry. He had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and while he was angry with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in Yahweh’s house, beside the altar of incense. Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out quickly from there. Yes, he himself also hurried to go out, because Yahweh had struck him. Uzziah the king was a leper to the day of his death, and lived in a separate house, being a leper; for he was cut off from Yahweh’s house. Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.
- 2 Chronicles 29:11 My sons, don’t be negligent now; for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before him, to minister to him, and that you should be his ministers, and burn incense.”
- 2 Chronicles 34:25 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath is poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched.’ ” ’
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Ki 9:25 And three times in a year did…
1Ki 9:25 And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that [was] before the LORD. So he finished the house.
Ver. 25. And three times in a year.] At the three great feasts: {see Deu 16:16} besides other times. {2Ch 8:13}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Three times in a year, i.e. at the three…
Three times in a year, i.e. at the three solemn feasts, which is not said exclusively, as is evident both from 2Ch 8:13, and from the express and oft-repeated commands of God to offer at other times, which it is absurd to think that Solomon, not yet fallen into sin, should so wickedly and scandalously neglect; but because then he did it more solemnly, and more costlily, and more publicly; whereby it might be presumed that he did so at all other appointed times.
So he finished the house, or, so he perfected the house, to wit, by applying it to the use for which it was made, in which the perfection of such things consists. Or the house may be put metonymically for the work or service of the house, as it is elsewhere commonly used for the things or persons in the house. Or the words may be and are rendered thus, After that (for so the Hebrew vau oft signifies, as Isa 37:9,36; Ho 1:11; Zec 12:2) he finished the house, i.e. from the time of the finishing of the house, until this time, he continued to do so.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Hiram sent in his navy his servants,.... And,…
And Hiram sent in his navy his servants,.... And, according to Ch2 8:18, ships also but how he could send them from Tyre, which lay in the Mediterranean sea, to the above ports in the Red sea, without going a great way round, is not easy to conceive. Perhaps, as Gussetins conjectures (c), Hiram had a port in the Red sea for building and sending out ships, for the sake of his eastern navigation, and from thence he sent them to Solomon's ports in the same sea; but if what R. Japhet (d) observes is true, that the Red sea is mixed with the sea of Joppa by means of the river Rhinocurura, as is remarked by a learned man (e) and who approves of the observation, and thinks it does not deserve the censure Dr. Lightfoot (f) passes on it. If this, I say, can be supported, the difficulty is removed: so Abarbinel asserts (g), that a branch of the Nile flows into the Red sea: and another, passing through Alexandria, runs into the Mediterranean sea. This is the first navy of ships we read of; in the construction of which, as well as in the art of navigation, the Tyrians no doubt were greatly assisting to Solomon's servants, and which appears by what follows; and they are said (h) to be the first that made use of ships; and the invention of ships of burden, or merchant ships, such as these were, is by Pliny (i) ascribed to Hippus the Tyrian: and the Tyrians were famous for merchandise, which they could not carry on with foreign nations without shipping; see Isa 23:8, the servants Hiram sent in Solomon's navy were
shipmen that had knowledge of the sea; of sea coasts and ports, of the manner of guiding and managing ships at sea, and of the whole art of navigation, so far as then known, for which the Tyrians were famous; see Eze 27:3,
Read full note →
with the servants of Solomon; to instruct and assist them in naval affairs, they not having been used thereunto.
(c) Ebr. Comment p. 628. (d) In Aben Ezra in Jon. ii. 5. (e) Texelii Phoenix, l. 3. c. 6. p. 243, 244. (f) Miscellanies, c. 18. vol. 1. p. 1002, 1003. (g) Apud Manasseh, Spes Israelis, sect. 2. p. 20. (h) "Prima ratem ventis credere docta Tyros", Catullus. (i) Nat. Hist. l. 7. c. 56.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Three times - That is, at the three solemn…
Three times - That is, at the three solemn feasts: and undoubtedly at all other appointed times.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 25. Three times in a year did Solomon…
Verse 25. Three times in a year did Solomon offer] These three times were:
1. The passover.
Read full note →
2. The feast of pentecost.
3. The feast of tabernacles.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Ki 9:25. Three times in a year did Solomon…
1Ki 9:25. Three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings — That is, at least three times, namely, at the three solemn feasts which God had commanded to be observed by till the people. Then he offered sacrifices suitable to those great mercies which were at these seasons commemorated, and to the great blessings which God had bestowed on his family. But undoubtedly he also offered at all other appointed times. And he burned incense upon the altar — In the holy place, before the ark. The meaning is not that he burned it himself, but only that he gave it to the priests at his own charge, to be offered with a particular respect to him. This he probably did every morning and evening. So he finished the house — This, though said before, is now repeated, because, after he had kept the three great festivals there, the temple was not only consecrated, but all divine offices had been performed in it, and nothing more was to be added.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Three times - i. e., (see the marginal reference)…
Three times - i. e., (see the marginal reference) the three solemn Feasts - the Feast of unleavened bread, the Feast of weeks, and the Feast of tabernacles.
Did Solomon offer ... and he burnt incense - Not with his own hand, but by his priests 1Ki 8:6; 2Ch 5:7-14. In sacred, as in ordinary, history, men are said to do that which they cause to be done.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Year, at the three great festivals, with peculiar solemnity,…
Year, at the three great festivals, with peculiar solemnity, (Calmet) as well as holocausts every day, and on the sabbaths and new moons, 2 Paralipomenon viii. 13. See 2 Paralipomenon xxxi. 3. (Calmet) --- He established funds for all these victims. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 25. Three times in a year — At the…
25. Three times in a year — At the three great feasts required by the law of Moses. Exo_23:14-16. The feast of unleavened bread, or the passover; the feast of harvest, or of weeks, (Exo_34:22;) and the feast of ingathering, or of tabernacles. Deu_16:13. Compare 2Ch_8:13.
So he finished the house — This statement seems to have no necessary connexion with the immediate context, and appears out of place. But such is often the manner with the Hebrew writers; and yet in all such cases there was in the mind of the writer a connecting line of thought. Thus these last two verses (24 and 25) have reference to 1Ki_3:1-4, and show, as Keil observes, “how Solomon, after the completion of his buildings, remedied the defects which existed in the beginning of his reign. These verses thus form the full and suitable close to the section treating of Solomon’s buildings.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 25. three times in a year did Solomon offer]…
25. three times in a year did Solomon offer] Most likely this means at the three great feasts, the Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. This may be understood in the sense ‘qui facit per alium, facit per se’. But some have contended that Solomon himself performed these priestly acts and that consequently the privileges of the Levitical caste were of later origin.
and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the Lord] The marginal note of A.V. ‘upon it’ for ‘upon the altar’ shews where the difficulty in this verse is. The R.V. prefers, instead of ‘upon it’ to render ‘with it,’ i.e. therewith, and this is supported by the Hebrew punctuation. The translation then becomes ‘And he burnt incense therewith, upon the altar that was before the Lord,’ the italics being added to complete the sense. But the text can hardly be correct to need such an addition.
Read full note →
So he finished the house] It is clear from the language of this verse that the account was not brought into its present form on the completion of the work, but at some later time, when Solomon’s offerings at the great feasts had grown into a custom. The 1Ki_9:15-25 are omitted by the LXX (Vat.).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (25) And three times in a year.—This verse seems…
(25) And three times in a year.—This verse seems by the last words to be a kind of note or postscript to the description of the completion and consecration of the Temple. To the record of the great inaugural sacrifice it adds a notice of the solemn renewal of the royal offering, both of victims and of incense, three times in a year—no doubt at the three great feasts, the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. As has been already said (see Note on 1Ki_8:63), there is no reason to suppose that on these occasions, or on any others, Solomon personally usurped the priess office.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And three times in a year i.e., no doubt…
And three times in a year i.e., no doubt at the three feasts, the times of greatest solemnity, and when there was the largest concourse of people. (See 2Ch_8:12) The design of this verse may be to show that there was no longer any offering on high places. It would thus refer to 1Ki_3:2, as ver. 24 to 1Ki_3:1 did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the Lord the chronicler adds, "before the porch", and he burnt incense. It has been supposed by some that Solomon sacrificed and burnt incense propria manu. According to Dean Stanley ("Jewish Ch." 2. pp. 220, 221), "he solemnly entered, not only the temple courts with sacrifices, but penetrated into the Holy Place itself, where in later years none but the priests were allowed to enter, and offered incense on the altar of incense." But this positive statement is absolutely destitute of all basis. For, in the first place, there is nothing in the text to support it. If Solomon ordered, or defrayed the cost of, the sacrifices, etc., as no doubt he did, the historian would properly and naturally describe him as offering burnt offerings. Qui facit per alium facit per se, and priests are expressly mentioned as present at these sacrifices (1Ki_8:6; 2Ch_5:7-14 2Ch_7:2, 2Ch_7:5) We have just as much reason, and no more, for believing that the king built Mille (ver. 24) with his own hands, and with his own hands "made a navy of ships" (ver. 26), as that he sacrificed, etc., in propria persona. And, secondly, it is simply inconceivable, if he had so acted, that it should have attracted no more notice, and that our historian should have passed it over thus lightly. We know what is recorded by our author as having happened when, less than two centuries afterwards, King Uzziah presumed to intrude on the functions of the priests; (2Ch_26:17-20 cf., 1Ki_13:1) and we know what had happened some five centuries before, Num_16:35) when men who were not of the seed of Aaron came near to offer incense before the Lord. It is impossible that Solomon could have disregarded that solemn warning without some protest, or without a syllable of blame on the part of our author. And the true account of these sacrifices is that they were offered by the king as the builder of the temple, and probably throughout his life, by the hands of the ministering priests. (2Ch_8:14) Thrice in the year he showed his piety by a great function, at which he offered liberally upon the altar Heb. upon that, sc. altar wOTa. See Gesen. Lex., p. 94; Ewald, Syntax, 332a (3) that was before the Lord. The altar of incense stood before the entrance to the oracle, the place of the Divine presence. (See on 1Ki 6:22-3) So he finished the house. Same word, but in the Kal form in 1Ki_7:51. The Piel form, used here, may convey the deeper meaning, "he perfected," i.e., by devoting it to its proper use. It was to be "a house of sacrifice". (2Ch_7:12)
Ver. 25.
Read full note →
The Two Altars of Judaism.
This text is somewhat remarkable as brining before us at the same moment the two altars of the Jewish Church the great brazen altar of sacrifice and the golden altar of incense. The present is therefore, perhaps, a fitting place to study their use and significance.
For it is with good reason that they are here joined together. Though the ritual of the first was quite distinct from that of the second, yet each was an essential part of the same religious system; each was a centre of Hebrew worship. Moreover the second was the complement of the first. Incense was the appropriate adjunct of sacrifice. And the two together formed practically the sum of the ordinary ceremonial of the children of the old covenant.
The altars themselves, however, will require but little notice, for they both alike derived their interest and importance from the purposes they served. The altar of sacrifice is not even mentioned by our historian in his account of the temple arrangements; while the chronicler dismisses it in a single verse. And neither the Kings nor the Chronicles describe the size, structure, etc., of the altar of incense. It is true the altar "sanctified the gift" (Mat_23:19; Exo_29:37, Exo_29:44) perhaps sanctified the incense also, (but see Exo_30:35-37) but all the same, the sacrifice and the incense, not the brazen or the golden altars, are the important and significant things. The two altars, that is to say, really bring before us the two questions of Sacrifice and Incense.
I THE ALTAR OF SACRIFICE. But before we turn our thoughts to the sacrifices smoking on the altar, let us glance for a moment at the altar itself. Observe
1. Its position. Outside the temple, the "house of sacrifice" (2Ch_7:12; Mat_23:35) but in the court of the priests, and, therefore, exclusively for the service of the priests.
2. Its dimensions. It was fifteen feet high, and its top was a square of thirty. (2Ch_4:1) It was designedly high the altar of the tabernacle was but four and a half feet high. It was high, despite the inconveniences resulting therefrom. The height required that a ledge or platform should be constructed round it; that a long slope or flight of steps should be ascended in order to reach it; and that the layers and sea should be high in proportion. (1Ki_7:23, 1Ki_7:25, 1Ki_7:27, 1Ki_7:38) Its great size and capacity it presented a superficies of 900 square feet was because of the great number of victims which were occasionally offered upon it at one time.
3. Its horns. These were no freak of the architect, but were of the essence of the structure, and of Divine obligation. (Exo_27:2) The blood was put upon them (Exo_29:12; Lev_4:7, Lev_4:18, Lev_4:30, 34 8:15 9:9, etc.) the sacrifice, at least in early times, was bound to them; (Psa_118:27) the suppliant for life clung to them (1Ki_1:50 1Ki_2:28, etc.) The altar was designed, that is to say, for sacrifice; but it also served at the same time for sanctuary.
And now let us look at the sacrifice, at "the gift upon the altar." Observe
1. It is an offering. Whatever the character of the sacrifice, burnt offering, sin offering, peace offering, meat offering, it was an offering, a gift. Whether whole bullocks were consumed, or only the fat, kidneys, etc., it had been first consecrated, devoted, given, to God. This is, perhaps, the primary idea of sacrifice. The victim must be presented before it could be immolated.
2. It was ordinarily an offering made by fire. (1Sa_2:28) The holy fire kindled by God, (Lev_9:24) and which for long centuries was never suffered to go out, (Lev_6:13) the element which at that time, and ever since, has been regarded in the East as an image of the Godhead, if not a sign of His presence, this consumed everything. The tongues of flame not only carried the smoke and smell of the sacrifice hecatomb, holocaust, whatever it was up into the blue sky and to the throne of God, but they, so to speak, devoured the victim; they feasted on the sacrifice.
3. It was an offering of life. Not only was this a matter of fact that the victim was first slain, then offered on the altar, but this idea was expressed in the ritual of the sacrifice. The blood was poured out at the foot of the altar, or sprinkled on its horns, or borne into the most holy place. But the blood is the life of the flesh, (Lev_17:11) and hence the sprinkling of the blood was the core and centre of all sacrifice. (See Bahr, Symbolik, 2 pp. 199 sqq.) The very separation of the elements again the blood poured in one place, the flesh or fat burnt at another pictured death; for when the blood is withdrawn from the body death ensues. The consuming fire, too, spoke of death. So that in sacrifice men offered to God the most mysterious and precious of man"s possessions and of God"s gifts, the life, the yuch, which came from God and went back to God. It was an old and reasonable belief that the gods would have our nearest and dearest see Tennyson"s beautiful poem, "The Victim hence the gift to the altar was the life.
4. It was an offering for life. The full significance of sacrifice, we may readily believe, the Jew did not know. It is doubtful whether even the high priest comprehended the blessed meaning of those solemn rites in which he bore a part. But this they did know, that the life offered at the altar was an atonement for their life. The lex talionis, "an eye for an eye," etc., (Exo_21:24) had taught them this. So had much of their expressive ceremonial, e.g., the laying of the hands on the head of the victim, etc. (Lev_3:2 Lev_4:4, etc.) So above all had the express words of Scripture, "The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar for an atonement for your souls (Heb. lives, same word as above), for it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul" (Heb. through the life, sc. of the blood) Lev_17:11. They understood, that is, that sacrifice was not only eucharistic, but that it was also deprecatory and in some way expiatory. They hoped that it would somehow reconcile them and restore them to communion with God, the Life, the Anima animantium.
More than this, however, the Jewish worshipper did not see in the sacrifice. But for us who turn our gaze to Mount Moriah from the hill of Calvary, it has an additional significance. We may see in it
5. A picture of the offering of Jesus Christ. An imperfect picture, no doubt a shadow, a type, a parable, but still the outline is clear and distinct. Wesee here the priest, the victim, the altar, the mactation, the blood pouring, the elevation, the death. As a picture, indeed, all sacrifice "showed the Lord"s death" (1Co_11:26) much more vividly and touchingly than the Holy Communion does.
6. A pleading of the death of Christ. This is the crown and blossom of sacrifice. It was an ajnamnhsiv, a silent but eloquent memorial before God. Only thus can we adequately explain the elaborate sacrificial system of Moses. From any other point of view sacrifices are, as Coleridge confessed, an enigma. But see in them tokens, memorials, pleadings of the one vicarious death, and all is clear. Then we can comprehend why they should have offered thousands of victims "year by year continually." Every bullock, every sheep, was, though the worshippers knew it not, a mute reminder of the one sacrifice for sin. Each was a foreshadowing of the death; the death of Him who is "the life"; (Joh_14:6) each spoke to the heart of God of the precious blood of Christ. Let us trace the parallel a little more in detail.
1. The Altar prefigured the Cross.
(1) In its position. The true altar of incense is in heaven. The altar of sacrifice was altogether of this world; it was in the truest sense "an altar of earth." But while outside the temple of heaven, the cross was yet in the court of the priests for "Immanuel"s land" was a sort of precinct or forecourt of the eternal sanctuary, and it was the home of a nation of priests. (Exo_19:6) Hence we may learn
(1) that sacrifice is only offered where there is sin, and
(2) that the cross goes together with the kingdom; (Rev_1:5, Rev_1:6) it is the altar of the Holy Catholic Church.
(2) In its elevation. Probably the altar was made high to give it due honour and prominence, or there may have been the thought of elevating the sacrifice towards heaven. But, whatever the reason, it struck the eye; everyone saw that it was the centre and ornament and distinguishing mark of the court of the priests. Now the cross itself was probably raised but two or three feet above the ground pictures generally represent it incorrectly but it was planted on a hill. Conder ("Tent-work," pp. 196, 198) identifies Calvary with a rounded knoll, above a cliff or precipice some thirty feet high, near the Damascus gate), and it still and this is the important thing above the wreck of time." It is still the glory and badge and attraction of Christ"s people of priests. It was fitting, too, that He should be raised above earth who was from above; (Joh_3:8) that He should be suspended between earth and heaven who should reconcile earth to heaven.
(3) The cross had no horns, but it had arms arms to which the victim was bound, arms which were stained with His blood, arms which offer shelter and sanctuary to the world.
Lord, on the cross Thine arms were stretched, To draw Thy people nigh," etc.
2. The Sacrifice prefigured the Crucifixion. It is hardly needful or possible here to point out in what manifold ways the various sacrifices of the Law foreshadowed the oblation of Calvary. It must suffice to say here that this too was a voluntary offering, (Heb_9:14) a whole offering (lylik; Heb_10:10, etc.) the grateful savour of which ascended (the idea of the word hlO to heaven (Gen_8:21; Eph_5:2) that the life was given (Mat_20:28) and blood poured; (1Pe_1:2) that the blood was poured for the remission of sins (Matthew, Heb_9:22) and the life given for the life of the world. (Joh_6:51) It is for us to lay our hands on the head of the sacrifice, and the analogy is complete. We must bring no offering of our own merits, but must take refuge under the arms of the Cross
Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to thy Cross I cling.
It must not be supposed, however, that because sacrifices, properly so called, have ceased, because they have found their blessed fulfilment in "the one offering," "once for all", (Heb_10:10, Heb_10:14) therefore the pictures and pleadings of that offering have ceased also. On the contrary, the death of Calvary, which cannot be repeated, is forever pleaded (Rev_5:6) in the heavenly temple. In this sense it is a con tinual offering. (Exo_29:42) And it is also pleaded by the Church on earth. For the holy sacrament, like the sacrifice, tells of death, and of the same vicarious and victorious death. The sacrifice pleaded the merits of Him who should come; the sacrament the merits of One who has come. The first was, the second is, an ajnamnhsiv of the death which won our life. (See Homiletics on ch. 6. pp. 114, 115.)
II THE ALTAR OF INCENSE. It is often forgotten that Judaism had two altars. But who shall say that the altar of incense was less important or less gracious than that of sacrifice.
A few simple questions will perhaps best bring this subject of incense before us. Let us therefore ask
1. What was the incense! It was (see Exo_30:34 sqq.)
(1) a confection of sweet spices; a compound of the most fragrant and grateful products of the earth, which when burned emitted a pleasing odour.
(2) A perfume ordained of God. Its constituents and their proportions were alike prescribed (ib. vers. 34, 35). These were to be "tempered (Heb. salted) together." Hence the scrupulous care with which it was prepared and preserved in the "house of Abtines." And hence the probability that the story of thirteen ingredients (Joshua., B. J. 5:5. 5) of the addition of cassia, cinnamon, etc., to the elements mentioned in the Law, is a Rabbinical fable. Such a confection would have been "strange incense.
(3) It was a perfume reserved for God. (Exo_30:37, Exo_30:38) None might be made for private use under pain of death (ib. ver. 38). Hence it was called "most holy" (Heb. holy of holies ).
1. Where was it offered? In two places. Occasionally in the most holy place; usually on the golden altar which stood before that place. Hence this altar is spoken of as "before the Lord," and is called "the altar that belongeth to the oracle". (1Ki_6:22) It was clearly, therefore, and peculiarly an offering to God, whose throne was in the sanctuary, and whose palace was the temple. It was burnt before the Presence, whose seat was between the cherubim. Indeed, it is not improbable that it was only burnt outside the oracle, because the priests must not enter the most holy place. (The golden altar, as we have just seen, really "belonged to the oracle.") When the high priest did enter, on the day of atonement, the incense was burnt within the veil. And the Sadducees were accounted heretical because they contended that the incense might be kindled outside and then carried inside the holy of holies.
2. When was it burned? It was burned
(1) morning and evening. When the lamps were trimmed at the break of day; when the lamps were lighted at the approach of night. Thus every little life for our days are "lives in miniature was rounded off with incense. There was not a day for many hundred years but began and ended with this sweet service.
(2) With the morning and evening sacrifice. It was bound up with the offerings of the great altar. "Mane, inter sanguinem et membra suffiebat, vesperi, inter membra et libamina" (Talmud, quoted by Lightfoot). "When the incense and prayers were finished, the parts of the victim were laid on the altar." So that the incense and the sacrifice were really parts of the same service. The two altars of Judaism presented their offerings to heaven at the same time.
(3) It was a perpetual incense", (Exo_30:8) just as the sacrifice is called a continual burnt offering. (Exo_29:42) The sweet perfume, we may remember here, never died out in the holy place. There was an everlasting fragrance, year in, year out, in the earthly abode of the heavenly King.
(4) It was offered together with prayer. See Luk_1:10; Rev_5:8 Rev_8:1-4; and Lightfoot, "Hebrews and Talm. Exerc. on Luk_1:10.
4. By whom was it offered?
(1) By the priests. Originally, it is believed, by the high priest exclusively, but subsequently a priest was chosen by lot (Luk_1:9) to perform this office each morning and each evening. And we are told that as this was esteemed the most honourable of all the functions of the priests, and as a blessing was thought to be attached to its performance, the lot was cast among those who were "new to the incense," i.e., among those who had not offered it already.
(2) By the priests alone. No function was more jealously guarded than this. On two memorable occasions (Num_16:35-40; 2Ch_26:16 sqq.) a terrible dispensation proclaimed that "no stranger, who was not of the seed of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord.
5. Why was it offered? Maimonides held that it was merely, or principally, designed to counteract the stench which would arise from the victims slain for the morning and evening sacrifice. Others have beheld in it merely a recognition of the majesty and sovereignty of God, and have seen its counterpart in the perfumes which were offered before the monarchs of the East (cf. Mat_2:11) But a moment"s reflection will show that both these conceptions are miserably inadequate and unworthy. It is inconceivable that so prominent and essential a part of the Jewish system can have had no higher meaning or have no analogue in Christianity. It is universally admitted that the brazen altar and its sacrifices were fall of symbolism. How can we think that while these prefigured Christ"s death the golden altar and its incense foreshadowed nothing. No, they must have typified something, and something connected with the work of the eternal Son of God.
For observe, just as there is an altar raised on Calvary, just as there is a sacrificial altar of which we Christians eat, (Heb_13:10) so is there an altar in heaven. (Rev_8:3) Nor will this surprise us if we bear in mind that the Mosaic worship was fashioned after the mode of the heavenly, and that the tabernacle and its furniture were made according to the pattern showed in the Mount.
What, then, did incense symbolize? Was it prayer? It has been very. generally supposed (after Psa_141:2) to be an emblem of prayer. But this is a view which reflection hardly justifies. For
(1) prayer was offered at the time of incense; it was an invariable adjunct thereto, and we should hardly have the type and anti-type, the shadow and the substance, together. The type is only needed until the antitype takes its place.
(2) Incense is said to be offered with prayers, (Rev_5:8) where the "which" (ai) would seem to refer to the "vials" (fialav) rather than to The qumiamatwn. (1Ki_8:1-4) In the passage last cited, this is beyond doubt. The incense was to be added to (A.V "offered"), and was therefore distinct from, the prayers of all saints.
No, the incense offered day by day, and century after century, prefigured the gracious intercession of Christ, that intercession through which alone our prayers are presented, which alone ensures their acceptance, and without which sinful man cannot draw near to God. When the high priest entered the oracle, as the representative of the congregation, the cloud of incense must cover him lest he should die. We have but to notice how close is the correspondence between type and antitype to be convinced that this is its true meaning.
(1) His prayers are like the fragrant incense. In Him the Father is well pleased. And they are ordained of God. He is the "Anointed," the "Advocate with the Father," "the one Mediator." (There is a "strange incense," too the mediation of saints and angels.)
(2) He stands "before the throne," "at the right hand of God," "in heaven itself.
(3) He "ever liveth to make intercession for us." The incense never dies out of the heavenly courts. When we pray, morning and evening, our Intercessor prays also. When we offer our sacrifices, He offers the incense at the same time. And He is also
(4) our High Priest. When He passed through the heavens with His own blood to make atonement, the incense, to make intercession, was not forgotten. And if it be objected that in heaven the incense was offered by the elders, (Rom_5:8) or angels, (Rom_8:3) we may remember that the ministry at the golden altar, which strictly appertained to the high priest alone, was also shared by other ministers of the congregation, and the angels are "ministering spirits.
So that both the altars of Judaism speak to us of Christ: the one of His death, the other of His "endless life;" the first of the "one offering," the second of the ceaseless intercession. And between them they shadowed forth the fulness and completeness of our salvation. "We have an Advocate with the Father this is the gospel of the incense. "We have a great High Priest this is the evangel of incense and sacrifice alike.
HOMILIES BY A. ROWLAND. Ver. 25.
Solomon"s Worship.
Our text appears at first sight to be introduced into this chapter in a superfluous and arbitrary manner. It is not without good reason, however, that this record of Solomon"s religious worship stands between statements about his fortifications and his fleet. We have much to learn from the Old Testament method of blending the earthly with the spiritual, and of suffusing national enterprise with religion. The verse before us, read in connexion with the statement made in 1Ki_3:2, indicates that, after finishing the temple, Solomon swept away the abuses, and remedied the defects which had prevailed. He had built the temple, and now would be the leader of his people in using it. He did not consider that the erection of an altar excused him from sacrificing on it. He was not one of those who will encourage others to devotion, while they neglect their own personal responsibility. Apply this to any who contribute to a society, but withold all personal service; or aid in the celebration of worship, while their own hearts are never engaged in it. If we compare the text with, 2Ch_8:12, 2Ch_8:13, we see that it was not only on the national festivals (Passover Pentecost, and Feast of Tabernacles) but on all occasions appointed by Mosaic law, that Solomon, through the priests, presented offerings before the Lord. No allusion is made here to expiatory sacrifices (the sin offering and the trespass offering) but these, of necessity, preceded those mentioned here. All the more fitly does the text represent what we should offer when we draw near to God, through the merits of the expiation already made for us by Him who became, on our behalf, a sin offering. This verse will answer the question of conscience, What shall I render unto the Lord!
I THE DEDICATION OF SELF. Burnt offerings were representative and not vicarious. They represented the dedication of himself to God on the part of the worshipper. St. Paul shows us this, (Rom_12:1) "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice," etc. The appropriateness of the type can be easily shown by alluding to such points as these:
1. The sequence of the burnt offering on the expiatory sacrifice. No burnt offering was made until a previous sin offering had been presented. The worshipper must first be brought into covenant with God. Were the burnt offering presented first, the barrier of sin between man and God would be ignored, and the idea of an atonement would be denied. Our offering of ourselves is only acceptable through the previous sacrifice of Christ.
2. The completeness of the burnt offering. The sacrificer laid his hands on the victim, and then it was placed whole on the altar, its death signifying the completeness of the presentation of the man, body and soul, to the Lord. Show that God has the right to demand our whole selves; not a share in affection and thought simply.
3. The occasions for presenting the burnt offering.
(1) Daily (Exo_29:33-42) to show that at no time are we "our own.
(2) Doubly on the sabbath. (Num_28:9, Num_28:10) The seventh day a time for special consideration and self consecration.
(3) On great festivals. (Num_28:11 Num_29:39) Times of exceptional deliverance, enrichment, etc., are seasons for renewed self dedication. Press home the entreaty of Rom_12:1.
II THE GIVING OF THANKS. Peace offerings were of various kinds, but had the same meaning. They were a presentation to God of his best gifts, a sign of grateful homage, and at the same time afforded means for the support of God"s service and His servants. Flour, oil, and wine were offered with the daily burnt offering. The shew bread was renewed each sabbath day. Special offerings were made on the sabbath and other festivals. The first fruits were presented, and corn from the threshing floor at the annual feasts, etc.
(1) All these were of an Eucharistic nature, and teach us to render thanks and praise to God. (Heb_13:15)
(2) They betokened communion with God, for in part they were eaten by the people in His presence.
(3) They aided in the sustenance of public worship. The priests had the breast and shoulder. See the lesson Paul draws Php_4:18.
(4) They ministered to the necessities of the poor. Peace offerings constituted great national feasts. Give examples. Show Christ"s care for the poor. Allude to such verses as Heb_13:16. We express thankfulness to the Lord, and acknowledgment of His goodness, by distributing to others as they have need. "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
III THE OFFERING OF PRAYER. "He burnt incense upon the altar." Incense was offered morning and evening, (Exo_30:7, Exo_30:8) and on the great day of atonement. (Lev_16:12) The altar of incense stood before the holy of holies in the holy place, where only the priests could stand. Sacredness and sweetness were suggested by the incense, so carefully and secretly compounded, so exclusively used in the service of God. As a symbol it denoted prayer; taken in its broadest sense, as the outflowing of the soul in adoration, prayer, praise toward God. Refer to Psa_141:2, where prayer and incense are blended as reality and symbol; to the smoke in the temple; (Isa_6:3, Isa_6:4) to the people prayingwhile Zacharias was burning incense; (Luk_1:10) to the prayers of the saints before the throne. (Rev_5:8 Rev_8:8, Rev_8:4)
1. Prayer should be reverent. (The incense altar was close to the holy of holies, under the immediate eye of God.)
2. Prayer should be constant. (Incense was perpetual. "Pray without ceasing.")
3. Prayer should be the outcome of self dedication. (Incense was kindled by a live coal from the altar of burnt offering.)
4. Prayer is accepted through the merits of the atonement. (The horns of the altar of incense were sprinkled with blood.) A.R.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 altar that was before Yahweh
altar that was before Yahweh
See how you translated this phrase in 1 Kings 8:64.
Read full note →
So he completed the temple
Solomon is a metonym for the workers he hired to do the work. AT: "So his workers completed the temple" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
Solomon
burnt offering
peace offering
altar
Yahweh
incense
temple
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 9:25 Three times each year Solomon provided exemplary leadership…
9:25 Three times each year Solomon provided exemplary leadership for Israel as he presented . . . offerings at the national festivals of Unleavened Bread, Harvest (or Pentecost, or Weeks), and Shelters (Deut 16:16).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.