Family Worship In Solomon's Temple

Family worship at the temple included the rite of circumcision and various sacrifices and offerings for tithe, personal vows, sin, and sickness. From time to time every family visited the temple in Jerusalem. Eight days after a baby boy was born he was circumcised to mark his membership in Israel. Then a month or two later the baby's mother went to the temple to offer sacrifice (Lev. 12; cf. Luke 2:22-24). Animals were sacrificed in the lambing and calving season. The first lamb or calf born to every ewe or cow was presented as a sacrifice (Exod. 22:30). Similarly at the beginning of the harvest season a basket of the firstfruits was offered, and at the end of it a tenth of all the harvest, the tithe, was given to the priests as God's representatives (Num. 18:21-32). Deuteronomy 26:5-15 gives a typical prayer for use on such occasions. Sometimes a person would decide to offer a sacrifice for more personal reasons. In a crisis vows could be made and sealed with a sacrifice (Gen. 2…