In our text, Solomon had ended his prayer and fire came down from heaven to consume the sacrifices, "and the glory of the LORD filled the house”. Clearly, the fire from heaven was a signal of God's acceptance of the offering that was made. The glory of the Lord was the visible manifestation of His presence and splendour.

The Lord was pleased with Solomon's offering; the evidence was the fire that came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice. In dedicating the house of God, Solomon bountifully offered twenty two thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. What a way of giving back to God part of what He has blessed him with! The dedication ofthe temple afforded the king the opportunity to bring all the children of Israel together to have fellowship and to offer sacrifices before the Lord.

Today, while it is good to build magnificent places of worship for the people to worship the Lord, it is more important and acceptable to "present [our] bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is [our] reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). Our bodies must be preserved for God's use. We should also be willing to sacrifice all that He has blessed us with, including our very lives, on the altar of His service. This way, we will always experience the glory of God in our assemblies.