And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.
The Lord appeared to Solomon by night - (see the notes at 1 Kings 9:1-9.) The dedication of the temple must have been an occasion of intense national interest to Solomon and his subjects. Nor was the interest merely temporary or local. The record of it is read and thought of with an interest that is undiminished by the lapse of time. The fact that this was the only temple of all nations in which the true God was worshipped, imparts a moral grandeur to the scene, and prepares the mind for the sublime prayer that was offered at the dedication. The pure theism of that prayer-its acknowledgment of the unity of God, as well as of His moral perfections providence and grace-came from the same divine source as the miraculous fire. They indicated sentiments and feelings of exalted and spiritual devotion, which sprang not from the unaided mind of man, but from the fountain of revelation. The reality of the divine presence was attested by the miracle, and that miracle stamped the seal of truth upon the theology of the temple worship.