Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to all the leaders in all Israel, the heads of fathers' houses.
Solomon's reign does not begin with a private decision. It begins with a summons. Before he asks God for anything, the new king gathers the leaders of the whole nation and takes them with him to worship. Why does he start there, and why does Chronicles name every rank of officer who came?
At the king's word
God had strengthened Solomon and lifted him high. His first act with that strength was to call Israel's leaders to worship. One writer names the place they went, and says why worship there was right at that moment:
Leslie M. GrantSolomon began his reign strengthened by God and given great exaltation (v. 1). At Solomon's word all the chief men of Israel went up to the high place at Gibeon, where the tabernacle was at the time. Scripture makes no objection to this high place at the time. It speaks instead of the high position given to the tabernacle. However, when Solomon had built the temple there was no more reason for the tabernacle... After this, worship in the high places was disobedience to God, yet Solomon built high places for foreign gods. But 2 Chronicles passes over the failures of Solomon, since the focus of the book is on God's sovereign grace sustaining the king who was a picture of Christ.
Why Gibeon and not Jerusalem
They did not go to the ark in Jerusalem. They went to an older site. Its history explains why — and it also shows how long worship there could last:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinAfter Saul destroyed Nob, the tabernacle was moved to Gibeon. It stayed there until Solomon built the house of the LORD... but the tabernacle and the bronze altar, that Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made remained at Gibeon. The high place at Gibeon means the elevation upon which the tabernacle and the altar stood. Earlier, that same spot had been a Canaanite place for idol worship. God chose the temple as the central place for worship. Until it stood, worshipping Jehovah at the Gibeon high place was not sinful.
One altar, one people
Solomon calls commanders, judges and family heads to one altar. Yet worship in Israel was also spread across other high places. One writer weighs the cost:
Henri L. RossierAt any rate, this practice served to disperse worship in Israel. And so the unity of worship was lost. The altar, among its other features, was the expression of that unity, just as the Lord's Table is today for Christians.
At Gibeon the altar was where the whole nation could come near to God:
William KellyDavid had brought the ark up to the place he prepared for it. In the same way, Solomon went up to the bronze altar before Jehovah at the tent of meeting, and he offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. There all the congregation met God. It was the place of approach to God — not the place where God revealed Himself, but the place where man approached as near as he could to God. Still, God acknowledges this, for it was good, though it was not the best.
Good, but not the best
Commentators differ on how to read this gathering. Some see no fault in it. Others compare what Solomon gathered the nation to see with what his father David valued most:
William KellyThe ark characterizes David; the bronze altar, Solomon... The ark was what no human eye saw, but it was nearest to God. The bronze altar was a great sight... But still, the one was before the people; the other was before God. This makes a great difference. You will find the same difference today between two Christians, one spiritual and the other unspiritual... the unspiritual man loves the Lord because of what He is to him; the spiritual man appreciates what He is to God.
Chronicles without the shadow
In 1 Kings a word of blame hangs over Israel's worship at the high places. Chronicles leaves it out, and that changes the whole scene:
Henri L. RossierIn verses 2 to 6, we have the scene at Gibeon, but without the imperfections which spoil its beauty in 1 Kings 3:1-4. In our passage the "only" which denotes a fault has disappeared... Here the scene is legitimate, if I may put it that way, and Gibeon is no longer "the great high place"... Solomon sacrifices on the altar, the token of atonement, where the people could meet their God... in Chronicles Solomon comes to Gibeon with his people to open the reign of peace, which God could bring in on the basis of sacrifice.
Summary
- Strengthened — God strengthened Solomon first. He used that strength to call the nation, not to act alone.
- Summoned — Solomon calls commanders, judges and family heads. The altar was the expression of Israel's unity.
- Sited — Gibeon held the tabernacle and the bronze altar Bezalel made. Worship there was not sinful until the temple stood.
- Short of the best — at the altar people approached God. The ark, which marked David's reign, was nearest to God. Good, but not the best.
- Sacrifice first — Chronicles leaves out the flaws. The reign of peace begins on the ground of sacrifice.