2 Chronicles 7:1-22 (September 23, 2025)

Fire from Heaven

7:1 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

The Dedication of the Temple

4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. 5 King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6 The priests stood at their posts; the Levites also, with the instruments for music to the Lord that King David had made for giving thanks to the Lord—for his steadfast love endures forever—whenever David offered praises by their ministry;[a] opposite them the priests sounded trumpets, and all Israel stood.

7 And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.

8 At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt. 9 And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they had kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the prosperity[b] that the Lord had granted to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people.

If My People Pray

11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king's house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. 12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 17 And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, 18 then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’

19 “But if you[c] turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will pluck you[d] up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 21 And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 22 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Footnotes

2 Chronicles 7:6 Hebrew by their hand

2 Chronicles 7:10 Or good

2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew for you is plural here

2 Chronicles 7:20 Hebrew them; twice in this verse

2 Chronicles 7:1–22

God’s Glory, Our Calling, and His Covenant Grace

Summary

When Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple (vv. 1–2). The priests could not enter because of God’s glory, and all Israel bowed with faces to the ground, worshiping and giving thanks:

The people then offered sacrifices. The numbers are overwhelming. 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. Their offering represents the dedication of King Solomon and all Israel (vv. 4–7). Then a great feast of seven days was observed, followed by a solemn assembly. And the people went home joyful because of the goodness the Lord had shown (vv. 8–10).

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said:

God tells Solomon that when He sends drought, locust, or pestilence, His people are to humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways. Then He will hear, forgive, and heal their land.

His eyes and heart would be toward the temple perpetually (v. 16).

But God also warned Solomon. If he or his descendants turn away to worship other gods, then He will uproot Israel from the land and cast the temple out of His sight. The house once exalted would become a byword of reproach.

Who is God?

The consuming fire represents the holiness of God. His presence is overwhelming. It is so glorious that priests cannot enter, and people can only fall down in worship. He is jealously righteous. He will not tolerate idolatry or breaking the covenant. At the Temple, His glory, love, and holiness meet here. He dwells with His people, but on His terms, never on theirs. Yet He is not just holy, but He is also the God of steadfast love, whose covenant mercies endure forever. He is attentive to prayer, willing to forgive, heal, and restore when His people repent.

What is our guilt?

We are prone to take God’s glory lightly and His covenant warnings casually. Israel rejoiced in God’s goodness, yet within generations, they turned to idols, and the very temple they exalted was destroyed. We too often seek the joy of God’s blessing without the humility of repentance. Our problem is that we want God to hear our prayers, but we do not want to turn from wicked ways. We treat God’s presence as something to be presumed upon rather than treasured. Like Israel, we risk becoming a byword if we honor Him with lips but abandon Him in our hearts.

How does grace shine?

God’s invitation shows Grace:

The temple sacrifices pointed to Christ, the true sacrifice consumed by the fire of God’s judgment for our sin. In Him, forgiveness is certain, and God’s presence is secure. Our salvation rests not in a building, but in the risen Christ who is our temple. Where Israel failed to remain faithful, Jesus fulfilled the covenant perfectly. In Him, the consuming fire becomes purifying grace. God’s glory no longer drives us away but welcomes us home. His steadfast love endures forever because it is anchored in Christ’s finished work.

Prayer

O Lord, you are holy, glorious, and full of steadfast love. We confess that we often take your presence lightly and ignore your warnings. Forgive us for presuming upon your grace while clinging to our sins. Thank you for Jesus Christ, the true temple and final sacrifice, who bore the fire of judgment so that we might dwell in your presence. Teach us to humble ourselves, to seek your face, and to walk in repentance. May your glory fill our lives and your steadfast love be our song forever. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.