TOO LITTLE FOR THE OFFERING

The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brazen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings" (1 Kings 8:64)

What a day that was–the day the Temple of the Lord was dedicated. Everything was in the extreme. Sacrifices were in abundance. In his sacrifice of a peace offering, Solomon offered 22,000 oxen, and 120,000 sheep! The sacrifice was so voluminous the brazen altar was "too little" to hold it. The brazen altar prepared by Solomon was fifteen feet high, thirty feet long and thirty feet wide (2 Chron 4:1) – but it was "too little to receive the burnt offerings." This did not discourage Solomon. He sanctified, or hallowed, "the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord," thereby providing for this singular offering.
Is it not an unusual circumstance to find what is being offered greater than the container provided for it? The same circumstance exists within the believer. The container for our sacrifice, whether it is our mouth or our mind, is too little for the sacrifice, like Solomon's altar was "too little." That is one of the reasons we sanctify our whole persons for God--heart, soul, mind, and strength. We are providing for a sacrifice that is too big for words. It is too large for a few good deeds, even performed with holy hands. No, we must sanctify the "middle court"– the part of us that does not appear formally religious! Let us, like Solomon, make a complete sacrifice, using everything that is before the house of the Lord.