II Chronicles 6:12-7:22; Acts 23:12-35

Thought from Today’s Old Testament Passage: Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God [2 Chron. 7:4–5]. These verses have caused a great deal of criticism by the skeptics of the Bible…. They say there was no necessity for all this slaughter of animals.… Now why was there all of this expenditure? Well, it was necessary in order for each area to have its own sacrifice. It was as when the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt and a lamb was slain for each home. There must have been literally thousands of lambs that were slain that night. It was not a needless waste for two reasons. The primary meaning of it is that it symbolizes the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. And, my friend, it was Simon Peter who said that His blood was precious. “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18–19). This is not a great expenditure because it is pointing to Christ. The second reason that it was not a “needless waste” was that the meat was used for food afterward. Although the “burnt offerings” were totally consumed by fire, other offerings, such as the peace offering, were eaten. This dedication of the temple was a time of great feasting and great celebrating. J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, © 1981 by J. Vernon McGee