Calling of Solemn Assemblies
There were many occasions in which solemn assemblies were called in the Old Testament where God revealed himself in power and great glory. Many had to do with the feasts associated with Judaism, but many were for dedication of the temple:
Dedication
Temples of antiquity were officially dedicated in prayer. When the tabernacle was completed, the Lord showed His acceptance of it:
"And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night." (Numbers 9:15-16)
See the account of events that transpired during the week the tabernacle was dedicated: Numbers 7-8.
Miraculous events also accompanied the dedication of the temple of Solomon:
"And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord." (1 Kings 8:10-11)
See the dedicatory prayer for the temple of Solomon, offered by king Solomon: 1 Kings 8:13-54.
The Lord Promises to Come to His Temple
The Lord gives as part of His instruction to build a temple His promise that He will honor it and come to it.
Concerning the tabernacle of the congregation, the Lord told Moses:
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 25:21)
When the first sacrifice was made at the dedication of the tabernacle, the Lord sent fire from heaven to consume and accept the offering:
"And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces." (Leviticus 9:22-24)
During the construction of the temple of Solomon, the "word of the Lord came to [him], saying":
"Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father: And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel." (1 Kings 6:11-13)
Habakkuk decried idolatry and reminded the people of the glory and the miracles that had been wrought when the Lord accepted His temple:
Re-Dedicated
Whenever the temple has been desecrated by the enemies of Israel, or when it needed maintenance, the house of the Lord was re-dedicated. When king Hezekiah began to reign in Israel, he called upon the people to repent. He also showed the Lord great respect by having the temple repaired, cleaned and re-"sanctified" by those who were in authority to do so:
"He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street. And [he] said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord..." (2 Chronicles 29:1-6)
Over a period of eight days, they cleaned the temple, and then offered burnt offerings and sacrifices per the law of Moses. Musicians performed what they called the "song of the Lord", also referred to as the "song of Moses". (2 Chronicles 29:7-36, for history of the "song of Moses" see Deuteronomy 31:15-22, Exodus 15)
LDS Hymns #267 - How Wondrous and Great - based on the words to the song of Moses
The song of Moses was connected with temple worship from the time of Moses up through the time of John the Revelator. (Revelation 15:3)
Following the exile to Babylon, king Cyrus of Persia was inspired of the Lord to see the temple rebuilt:
"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up." (2 Chronicles 36:22-23)
Haggai gave this instruction from the Lord:
"Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord." (Haggai 1:8)
Cyrus sent the original vessels from the temple, along with silver and gold and other materials:
"And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered. Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord" (Ezra 1:6-7)
They laid the foundation of the temple, sang the song of Moses, and there was great rejoicing. (see Ezra 3:10-13)
The Israelites rebuilt the altar of the temple:
"Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God." (Ezra 3:2)
The temple was re-dedicated, and the sacrifices and feasts began again:
"And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses. And the children of the captivity kept the passover..." (Ezra 6:15-19)
There were many occasions in which solemn assemblies were called in the Old Testament where God revealed himself in power and great glory. Many had to do with the feasts associated with Judaism, but many were for dedication of the temple:
- "Restoration" of the Jewish temple following exile in Babylon - "Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord, Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand..." (Joel 1:14-15)
- Completion of the Temple of Solomon - "And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days... Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord... 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." (2 Chronicles 7:9-12)
Dedication
Temples of antiquity were officially dedicated in prayer. When the tabernacle was completed, the Lord showed His acceptance of it:
"And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night." (Numbers 9:15-16)
Miraculous events also accompanied the dedication of the temple of Solomon:
"And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord." (1 Kings 8:10-11)
See the dedicatory prayer for the temple of Solomon, offered by king Solomon: 1 Kings 8:13-54.
The Lord Promises to Come to His Temple
The Lord gives as part of His instruction to build a temple His promise that He will honor it and come to it.
Concerning the tabernacle of the congregation, the Lord told Moses:
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 25:21)
When the first sacrifice was made at the dedication of the tabernacle, the Lord sent fire from heaven to consume and accept the offering:
"And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces." (Leviticus 9:22-24)
During the construction of the temple of Solomon, the "word of the Lord came to [him], saying":
"Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father: And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel." (1 Kings 6:11-13)
Habakkuk decried idolatry and reminded the people of the glory and the miracles that had been wrought when the Lord accepted His temple:
"What
profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the
molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth
therein, to make dumb idols? Woe
unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it
shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is
no breath at all in the midst of it. But the Lord is in his holy temple:
let all the earth keep silence before him." (Habakkuk 2:18-20)
Re-Dedicated
Whenever the temple has been desecrated by the enemies of Israel, or when it needed maintenance, the house of the Lord was re-dedicated. When king Hezekiah began to reign in Israel, he called upon the people to repent. He also showed the Lord great respect by having the temple repaired, cleaned and re-"sanctified" by those who were in authority to do so:
"He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street. And [he] said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord..." (2 Chronicles 29:1-6)
Over a period of eight days, they cleaned the temple, and then offered burnt offerings and sacrifices per the law of Moses. Musicians performed what they called the "song of the Lord", also referred to as the "song of Moses". (2 Chronicles 29:7-36, for history of the "song of Moses" see Deuteronomy 31:15-22, Exodus 15)
LDS Hymns #267 - How Wondrous and Great - based on the words to the song of Moses
The song of Moses was connected with temple worship from the time of Moses up through the time of John the Revelator. (Revelation 15:3)
Following the exile to Babylon, king Cyrus of Persia was inspired of the Lord to see the temple rebuilt:
"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up." (2 Chronicles 36:22-23)
Haggai gave this instruction from the Lord:
"Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord." (Haggai 1:8)
Cyrus sent the original vessels from the temple, along with silver and gold and other materials:
"And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered. Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord" (Ezra 1:6-7)
They laid the foundation of the temple, sang the song of Moses, and there was great rejoicing. (see Ezra 3:10-13)
The Israelites rebuilt the altar of the temple:
"Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God." (Ezra 3:2)
The temple was re-dedicated, and the sacrifices and feasts began again:
"And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses. And the children of the captivity kept the passover..." (Ezra 6:15-19)
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