2 Chronicles 5:1 – 14 The Ark Enters the Temple (1 Kings 8:1-11)
“So all the work that Solomon had performed for the house of the LORD was completed. Then Solomon brought the consecrated items of his father David—the silver, the gold, and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the house of God.
At that time Solomon assembled in Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads and family leaders of the Israelites—to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Zion, the City of David. So all the men of Israel came together to the king at the feast in the seventh month.
When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, and they brought up the ark and the Tent of Meeting with all its sacred furnishings. The Levitical priests carried them up.
There, before the ark, King Solomon and the whole congregation of Israel who had assembled with him sacrificed so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.
Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its poles. The poles of the ark extended far enough that their ends were visible from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are there to this day.
There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt.
The Glory of the LORD Fills the Temple (1 Kings 8:10-11)
Now all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves regardless of their divisions. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, all the Levitical singers—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps, and lyres, accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the LORD with one voice. They raised their voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments, in praise to the LORD: “For He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.”
Then the temple, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.”
The Ark was coming up from the tent that David had created for it, and Solomon had planned a fantastic celebration. All the men of Israel gathered for the occasions. Solomon sacrificed numberless animals. All of the priests had consecrated themselves; nobody wanted to be left out. As the Ark entered the temple and came to its resting place, the singers and musicians were making so much noise that the sound might have echoed all the way to Jericho! But there was more to come. Just when the crowd thought nothing could be any better, God filled the temple with His presence. Under the weight of the glory of the Lord, the priests could only prostrate themselves. God Himself consecrated the temple.
There were probably men standing there who had been in pagan temples before. But NOBDY had ever experienced the presence of God as those men did.
APPLICATION: Sometimes we speak very lightly about being in the presence of God. And it is true that God veils His glory so that He does not overwhelm us. But here God unveiled Himself for a brief moment, and the glory was so overwhelming that all the priests could do was to lie flat on their faces. This morning my Facebook page was full of friends haling their pastors as wonderful men and women of God, and I felt quite uneasy. Who is more important, the minister or the God whom he or she is serving? The Westminster Shorter Catechism tells us that the chief end of man is to “enjoy God and to glorify Him forever.” But there is truly something wrong when all we hear is praise for the minister and not for the God of all creation.
Many Jewish prayers begin with the phrase “Baruch Atta Adonai Eloheinu Melekh Ha Olam.” This phrase means “Blessed are You, oh Lord, King of the universe.” When we are in the States, we enjoy worshiping with Messianic Jewish congregations because of their reverence for God.
Notice that in Solomon’s temple, Solomon was not the one who received the worship and praise; it was God. We do have a short list of the praise leaders, but there are no other names mentioned. The Israelites were gathered to worship God and not a personality.
Whom or what are we worshiping? Are we worshiping God, or are we fixated on some charismatic leader? Men and women can fail us or die; it is only God who is perfect and holy. Today, let us truly worship the Lord God of the universe, who is worthy of all of our devotion!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Thank You that You ARE the Lord God of the universe. Thank You that You are wrothy of all of our praise and all of our worship. Lord, help us to remember that no matter how wonderful Your servants are, they are only because of the God whom they serve. Help us to give You the glory! In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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