Call to a Solemn Assembly

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2 Chronicles 7:4-10

 

May 30, 2023

 

The Dedication of the Temple

Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. 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.  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; opposite them, the priests sounded trumpets, and all Israel stood.

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.

 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.  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.  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 that the Lord had granted to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people.

What is a solemn assembly in the Bible?

 

 

In the Bible, a solemn assembly is a gathering of the people of Israel for a sacred feast, festival, or holy occasion. A solemn assembly included a ritual of purification or observing a state of holiness in which all the people of the community were commanded to do no work. The solemn assembly is also called a “sacred assembly” and a “solemn meeting.”

One Hebrew word translated as “solemn assembly” means “a day of restraint”—primarily from work. Another Hebrew term rendered “solemn assembly” denotes a unique, appointed time set apart for the keeping of festivals. On these special worship occasions, the whole community gathered together for either a feast or a fast day.

 

Today, some Protestant churches periodically hold meetings they call "solemn assemblies"; their purpose is usually to pray and hear the Word during a time of corporate soul-searching and self-examination. Typically, the congregation comes together during a solemn assembly for repentance, confession of sin, and fasting.

 

Taken from Got Question (the above in green).

 

The closest Jan and I have been to what some churches call a solemn assembly was at Spring Baptist Church in Spring, Texas when the Life Actions Singer came we witnessed, corporate soul-searching and self-examination, and we witnessed repentance, and confession of sin, for about three weeks.  And we witness in our lives and the Church many who were free from guilt and sin.

 

The dictionary defines solemn as formal and dignified: a solemn procession. • not cheerful or smiling; serious: Tim looked very solemn. • characterized by deep sincerity: he swore a solemn oath to keep faith. formal and dignified: a solemn procession. • not cheerful or smiling; serious: Tim looked very solemn. • characterized by deep sincerity: he swore a solemn oath to keep faith.

 

That is a long way from having a feast and worshiping God, as the people of Israel did.

 

From the Back Porch, 

Bob Rice