וַיִּבֶן֩ שָׁ֨ם דָּוִ֤יד מִזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ לַיהוָ֔ה וַיַּ֥עַל עֹל֖וֹת וּשְׁלָמִ֑ים וַיִּקְרָא֙ אֶל־יְהוָ֔ה וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֤הוּ בָאֵשׁ֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם עַ֖ל מִזְבַּ֥ח הָעֹלָֽה׃ (פ)
I zbudował Dawid ołtarz Panu, ofiarował całopalenia i ofiary pokojowe, i wzywał Pana; i odpowiedział mu z nieba ogniem na ołtarzu całopalenia.
Rashi
Now Satan arose upon Israel Although this chapter is not complimentary to David, it was written here because it says at the end of the chapter that he built an altar and the Lord answered him from heaven. This is complimentary to David.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ותצא אש מלפני ה' ותאכל על המזבח את העולה, “Fire emanated from heaven and consumed the burnt-offering on the Altar, etc.” Now, on the eighth day of the Tabernacle being inaugurated with various animal sacrifices all of which had been offered in order to atone for the sin of the golden calf, heavenly fire descended to accept these offerings. This fire remained a constant phenomenon until the generation of Solomon when he built the Holy Temple. (Zevachim 61). In fact it did not cease until that Temple was destroyed. According to our tradition King Menashe had extinguished it personally (about 100 years prior to the destruction of the Temple). We find an allusion to this in Leviticus 6,6: “the fire on the Altar will remain constant, it shall not be extinguished.”
We find that during various times in our history there have been twelve recorded occasions when fire descended from heaven (to accomplish a specific task). Six of these occasions were for the sake of accepting sacrificial offerings; the other six occasions were demonstrations of Divine displeasure and anger.
The first of these twelve occasions was the instance recorded here, where the fire which descended indicated G’d’s pleasure and acceptance of the sacrifices offered.
The second such occasion occurred in the days of Gideon who had asked for a sign from the angel that he had not fantasized but that G’d really wanted him to become the leader of the nation in order deliver the people from the yoke of Midian. The wording there (Judges 6,17-18) is: ”If I have gained your favour, give me a sign that it is You who are speaking to me; do not leave this place until I come back to You and bring out my offering and place it before You.” He answered: “I will stay until you return.” In verse 21 of that chapter we read that Gideon’s offering was consumed by supernatural fire. Seeing that the angel had requested that Gideon perform five tasks, Gideon in turn requested a sign to be certain in his heart that the matter would come true. The angel had requested (Judges 6,25) that Gideon take the ox belonging to his father (and destroy it) as well as “a second” seven-year old bull and offer it as a sacrifice to G’d after he had first torn down the altar of the Baal which belonged to Gideon’s father. He asked him to cut down a sacred post, to build an altar for the Lord, on level ground on top of this stronghold. He was to take the other bull and offer it as a burnt-offering on that newly erected altar. The meaning of the word “second” when the prophet spoke about a second seven year old bull was the “second of the womb of its mother.” The angel went on to say to Gideon: “destroy the altar of the Baal belonging to your father as well as the sacred post which is upon it you shall cut down.” He then instructed him to build an altar for the Lord on a fortified place on a specified site on that fortress and to offer a burnt-offering consisting of this second bull, using the wood from the sacred post as firewood. The expression מעוז which we translated as “a fortified place,” refers to a protruding rock and was supposed to symbolise the Azzazel. Seeing that these instructions sounded very strange, Gideon requested a sign from G’d that this was indeed what G’d wanted. The fire which consumed his offering on that altar was that sign.
The third time we find heavenly fire as demonstrating G’d’s approval, was when Manoach had offered a thanksgiving offering after his wife and he had been told that they would have a son who was to be raised as a Nazir and who would begin to redeem the Israelites fom the stranglehold exerted on them by the Philistines. [Israel only defeated the Philistines finally in the days of Chizkiyahu, Kings II 18,8, some 400 years after Shimshon. Ed.] We are told in Judges 13,16 that the angel told Manoach that there was no point in delaying him as he would not eat from the gift Manoach had in mind to prepare. He told him to prepare an offering to the Lord instead. When Manoach did so and the smoke from the flame and fat rose heavenward, the angel rose to heaven within that flame. According to Rabbeinu Saadyah gaon, Manoach had first (verse 19) referred to the slab of stone where he prepared the offering as צור, “a rock.” When he observed what happened he suddenly called this rock “altar,” (verse 20). Once there was evidence that their offering had been accepted by G’d, Manoach knew that the prophecy would be fulfilled.
The fourth time heavenly fire represented G’d’s pleasure occurred in the time of David after pestilence had struck the people (as a punishment for the head count) and David purchased the threshing-ground of Arona the Jebusite as the site for the Temple to be. We are told in Chronicles I 21,26 that “David built there an altar to the Lord and he sacrificed burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. He invoked the Lord who answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offerings. Thereupon the Lord ordered the angel to “return his sword to his sheath” (the pestilence would cease).
The fifth occurrence of heavenly fire signaling G’d’s approval occurred in the days of King Solomon when the Temple had been completed. When Solomon had completed the inaugural prayer and had blessed the people, heavenly fire descended on the altar and consumed the offering, and the attribute of כבוד filled the Sanctuary (Chronicles II 7,1). If you were to ask why there was a need for this demonstration and renewal of heavenly fire seeing that we said previously that it continued unceasingly ever since the inauguration of the Tabernacle in our chapter, the answer is simply that Moses’ copper altar was far too small to accommodate all the offerings presented by Solomon on that occasion (compare Zevachim 59). As a result, the Priests were forced to utilize the entire courtyard and convert it into a temporary altar (compare Kings I 8,64). It was forbidden to introduce alien fire into the courtyard as it would be classified as “alien fire.” It was also forbidden to take from the fire on the altar and use it to burn the meat and fat of the offerings in the courtyard. Transferring such fire from a site of intense sanctity to one of lesser sanctity runs counter to the general principle מעלין בקודש ואין מורידין, “one may add to levels of sanctity but not diminish it.” As a result of these problems there was a need for heavenly fire to become manifest in that courtyard for Solomon and the people to know that what they had done had met with G’d’s approval.
The sixth time heavenly fire descended to demonstrate G’d’s approval was on Mount Carmel when Elijah had his famous confrontation with the prophets and priests of the Baal (Kings I 18,38) Elijah pleaded with G’d to respond to what he had undertaken without consulting G’d. This is why he had to plead twice, saying ענני ה' ענני, “answer me O Lord, answer me!” G’d responded positively in stages. The first response was when heavenly fire consumed Elijah’s offerings as well as the moat of water surrounding it. The second response by G’d was the rain which materialized seemingly out of nowhere, just as Elijah had predicted (verse 44-46).
We find that during various times in our history there have been twelve recorded occasions when fire descended from heaven (to accomplish a specific task). Six of these occasions were for the sake of accepting sacrificial offerings; the other six occasions were demonstrations of Divine displeasure and anger.
The first of these twelve occasions was the instance recorded here, where the fire which descended indicated G’d’s pleasure and acceptance of the sacrifices offered.
The second such occasion occurred in the days of Gideon who had asked for a sign from the angel that he had not fantasized but that G’d really wanted him to become the leader of the nation in order deliver the people from the yoke of Midian. The wording there (Judges 6,17-18) is: ”If I have gained your favour, give me a sign that it is You who are speaking to me; do not leave this place until I come back to You and bring out my offering and place it before You.” He answered: “I will stay until you return.” In verse 21 of that chapter we read that Gideon’s offering was consumed by supernatural fire. Seeing that the angel had requested that Gideon perform five tasks, Gideon in turn requested a sign to be certain in his heart that the matter would come true. The angel had requested (Judges 6,25) that Gideon take the ox belonging to his father (and destroy it) as well as “a second” seven-year old bull and offer it as a sacrifice to G’d after he had first torn down the altar of the Baal which belonged to Gideon’s father. He asked him to cut down a sacred post, to build an altar for the Lord, on level ground on top of this stronghold. He was to take the other bull and offer it as a burnt-offering on that newly erected altar. The meaning of the word “second” when the prophet spoke about a second seven year old bull was the “second of the womb of its mother.” The angel went on to say to Gideon: “destroy the altar of the Baal belonging to your father as well as the sacred post which is upon it you shall cut down.” He then instructed him to build an altar for the Lord on a fortified place on a specified site on that fortress and to offer a burnt-offering consisting of this second bull, using the wood from the sacred post as firewood. The expression מעוז which we translated as “a fortified place,” refers to a protruding rock and was supposed to symbolise the Azzazel. Seeing that these instructions sounded very strange, Gideon requested a sign from G’d that this was indeed what G’d wanted. The fire which consumed his offering on that altar was that sign.
The third time we find heavenly fire as demonstrating G’d’s approval, was when Manoach had offered a thanksgiving offering after his wife and he had been told that they would have a son who was to be raised as a Nazir and who would begin to redeem the Israelites fom the stranglehold exerted on them by the Philistines. [Israel only defeated the Philistines finally in the days of Chizkiyahu, Kings II 18,8, some 400 years after Shimshon. Ed.] We are told in Judges 13,16 that the angel told Manoach that there was no point in delaying him as he would not eat from the gift Manoach had in mind to prepare. He told him to prepare an offering to the Lord instead. When Manoach did so and the smoke from the flame and fat rose heavenward, the angel rose to heaven within that flame. According to Rabbeinu Saadyah gaon, Manoach had first (verse 19) referred to the slab of stone where he prepared the offering as צור, “a rock.” When he observed what happened he suddenly called this rock “altar,” (verse 20). Once there was evidence that their offering had been accepted by G’d, Manoach knew that the prophecy would be fulfilled.
The fourth time heavenly fire represented G’d’s pleasure occurred in the time of David after pestilence had struck the people (as a punishment for the head count) and David purchased the threshing-ground of Arona the Jebusite as the site for the Temple to be. We are told in Chronicles I 21,26 that “David built there an altar to the Lord and he sacrificed burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. He invoked the Lord who answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offerings. Thereupon the Lord ordered the angel to “return his sword to his sheath” (the pestilence would cease).
The fifth occurrence of heavenly fire signaling G’d’s approval occurred in the days of King Solomon when the Temple had been completed. When Solomon had completed the inaugural prayer and had blessed the people, heavenly fire descended on the altar and consumed the offering, and the attribute of כבוד filled the Sanctuary (Chronicles II 7,1). If you were to ask why there was a need for this demonstration and renewal of heavenly fire seeing that we said previously that it continued unceasingly ever since the inauguration of the Tabernacle in our chapter, the answer is simply that Moses’ copper altar was far too small to accommodate all the offerings presented by Solomon on that occasion (compare Zevachim 59). As a result, the Priests were forced to utilize the entire courtyard and convert it into a temporary altar (compare Kings I 8,64). It was forbidden to introduce alien fire into the courtyard as it would be classified as “alien fire.” It was also forbidden to take from the fire on the altar and use it to burn the meat and fat of the offerings in the courtyard. Transferring such fire from a site of intense sanctity to one of lesser sanctity runs counter to the general principle מעלין בקודש ואין מורידין, “one may add to levels of sanctity but not diminish it.” As a result of these problems there was a need for heavenly fire to become manifest in that courtyard for Solomon and the people to know that what they had done had met with G’d’s approval.
The sixth time heavenly fire descended to demonstrate G’d’s approval was on Mount Carmel when Elijah had his famous confrontation with the prophets and priests of the Baal (Kings I 18,38) Elijah pleaded with G’d to respond to what he had undertaken without consulting G’d. This is why he had to plead twice, saying ענני ה' ענני, “answer me O Lord, answer me!” G’d responded positively in stages. The first response was when heavenly fire consumed Elijah’s offerings as well as the moat of water surrounding it. The second response by G’d was the rain which materialized seemingly out of nowhere, just as Elijah had predicted (verse 44-46).