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. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house.
2 Chronicles 7:1-2
There had never been a worship service like this before in the life of the people of Israel. Nothing quite like it has happened since. Solomon began the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem with a blessing on the people who were blessed by being God’s chosen nation. He then went on to pray to the Lord, thanking Him for His faithfulness to His people and remembering the covenant made with Israel and with his father David. He proclaims the greatness of God, realizing no temple can contain God in His glory. And Solomon acknowledges that God can hold all who come to this temple responsible for sin, (the vast portion of the prayer is a reminder of all the ways the law can punish sin)... and this is exactly why the temple, the priests, and the sacrifices were necessary in the first place.
Solomon’s prayer ends asking for God to come to the temple and keep His covenant. And that is what happens. In a big way! Fire from heaven consumes the sacrifices. The glory of God envelopes the temple in so much splendor that the priests cannot even enter the temple for a period of time. Spontaneous worship flows through all those gathered at the the dedication when this happened.
God in His glory is much bigger than we can handle. We are humbled and His people are in awe to be in the presence of His glory. His glory dominates our wills and humbles us with godly fear. Just reading this on a summer morning makes my soul tremble because God’s glory is an overwhelming thing.
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