1 Kings 9:25 tells us about Solomon’s regular sacrifices of burnt offerings and peace offerings, which were made three times a year. This would seem to be a reference to the three great festivals that Israel celebrated, namely, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths (Deuteronomy 16:16). A question comes to mind at this point. Were the sacrifices that were given by Solomon to the Lord limited in most years to these three occasions? What of the sin offerings, the trespass offerings, and the guilt offerings? Was Solomon’s religion becoming a formal one rather than one based upon his understanding of the need for forgiveness of daily sins?
It is faintly reminiscent of people in our day who only attend church on the great Christian festivals,
such as Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter. A religion that is dedicated only to special occasions is the mark of deadly formalism. Along with the ritual that is involved in formalism is the concept that religion only involves a certain area of a person’s life, and the rest of life belongs to him or her.
25 Three times a year Solomon used to offer up burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built to the LORD, making offerings with it before the LORD. So he finished the house.