Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David, which is Zion.
The temple on Mount Moriah was finished, but the ark still stood under tents in Zion, the city of David. Solomon now gathers the nation's leaders to bring it up, so that God Himself may come and live in His house.
Building was never the point. Everything Solomon had made was for Someone, and that Someone still had to come.
The temple was finished and all its vessels were in place. Now He for whom Solomon had made it all must come Himself to live in His house. His throne must stand there. The temple stood on Mount Moriah, on the spot where David had set up his altar on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. Until now the ark had lived under tents in Zion, the city of David.
The ark had been moving for generations. This gathering is the last leg of a journey that came in three stages, each with its own carriers.
With David seated on the throne of the Lord (1 Chron. 29:23), the first steps began that would bring the ark to its resting place. We say steps, because there were three of them. The first was the move from Kirjath-jearim to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. The second went from Obed-edom's house to the city of David, which is Zion. The third went from Zion to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house on Mount Moriah. On the first journey men carried it on a cart. On the second the Kohathites carried it on their shoulders. On the last the priests carried it into its final resting place.
Priests carried it on this last stage, as they had at earlier turning points.
When the people went through the Jordan — that river a picture of death — the priests carried the ark on their shoulders. This foreshadowed that the Lord would make a way for His own through death. And now, as the ark was about to enter His resting place on earth, priests carried it on their shoulders into its prepared place, never to leave it.
The other temple furniture was an enlarged version of what the tent had held. One thing was not changed at all.
Here we have what is far better and deeper than all the rest — the visible proof that God was present with them… The priests brought in the one great object that had not changed. In all the other vessels the old pattern of the tabernacle was, no doubt, altered a little and enlarged for the temple. The ark was the same. How beautiful, when we think of One who is truly the same yesterday, today and forever. Nothing pictured Him more than the ark.
The ark's long years under tents are read as a picture of Christ.
The ark is the symbol of Christ as the One who upholds the throne of God (the mercy seat). It had lived in tents for many years. This speaks of Christ staying with His people as One with no settled home, until the day when He takes His rightful throne in the millennial kingdom.
David's earlier move of the ark used a picked group. This one takes in everybody, and it falls during the feast that closes Israel's year.
Solomon sets to work to bring it up from there to the temple, along with all the men of Israel, all the elders, all the heads of the tribes and the priests. It is no longer "the chosen men of Israel" (2 Sam. 6:1), as in David's day. All the people share in this complete and final celebration. Final indeed, for the dedication of the temple falls during the great days of the Feast of Tabernacles, the feast that closes the series of Jewish feasts (Lev. 23).
The ark reached its resting place only when Solomon reigned, and the day pointed beyond itself.
It was a great day, and what was happening concerned the whole earth. This was God — the God of Israel, yet the one living and true God — entering His resting place on earth. It was a foreshadowing of what will happen when the Lord reigns in power and in peace. Until Solomon the Prince of Peace was on the throne, the ark did not enter its final resting place. God will not rest until the true Prince of Peace is made King over all the earth.
- Gathered. Solomon calls Israel's elders and family heads to Jerusalem. The whole nation shares in this final celebration, not a chosen few.
- Carried. The ark's road ran from Kirjath-jearim to Obed-edom, then to Zion, and now to Moriah. It travelled by cart, then on the shoulders of the Kohathites, then on the shoulders of priests.
- Unchanged. The other vessels grew larger for the temple. The ark alone stayed the same, picturing the One who is the same yesterday, today and forever.
- Settled. Its years under tents spoke of Christ staying with His people as One with no settled home, until He takes His rightful throne.
- Rested. The ark reached its resting place only under a king of peace. God will not rest until the true Prince of Peace is King over all the earth.
And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, that is, the seventh month.
Solomon's temple was finished, but the ark was still outside it. The date set for bringing it in matters: the seventh month, at Israel's greatest yearly gathering.
The verse does not name the feast. It simply calls it the feast. One writer notes who gathered, and why the feast needs no name:
It is no longer only "the chosen men of Israel" (2 Samuel 6:1), as in David's day; all the people share in this complete and final celebration. Final indeed, for the dedication of the temple takes place during the great days of the Feast of Tabernacles, which closes the series of Jewish feasts (Leviticus 23). It is indeed "the feast" above all feasts, "the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month." This feast properly ran seven days, followed by an eighth, "the great day of the feast" (John 7:37). It came after the harvest and the vintage, which are pictures of judgment. It was the symbol pointing to the wonderful reign of Christ, when the people will live in joy and safety in their tents, remembering the testings in the wilderness, past forever.
Solomon did not invent this occasion. The law had fixed both its date and its message long before:
The Feast of Tabernacles fell on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and lasted seven days, with a holy assembly on the eighth day. Israel lived in booths during the feast, to remember that they had lived in tents when God brought them out of Egypt… It came at the end of their harvest and vintage, when they enjoyed the fruits of God's goodness. The feast pictures the millennium, when the people will enter into full blessing, and the eighth day, the great day, pictures the communion of the heavenly and the earthly.
The millennium here means Christ's coming reign on earth.
Solomon's dedication did not replace the appointed feast. It came first, and the feast followed:
The king invited all the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the family chiefs of the people of Israel, and they gathered at Jerusalem. They came to keep the feast of the Dedication before the feast of Tabernacles. They kept the first for seven days, and then came the eight days of the second.
Those two weeks raise a question the text leaves open. The Day of Atonement, Israel's yearly day of repentance, fell inside them:
Note this about the feast Solomon kept at the dedication of the temple: they kept the Feast of Tabernacles, yet the great Day of Atonement fell inside it… So the great Day of Atonement came on the second day of that feast. Did they keep it, or is it passed over in silence on purpose? The reality it pictured had been fulfilled long before; now only the fruits are gathered.
One more day followed the seven. That eighth day carries its own meaning:
The eighth day, the great day, the new day, the day of resurrection and of the new creation, is added to the feast because those who are raised will have a special part in this joy. It is the heavenly day added to the earthly days. When David brought the ark up to the city of David, that was more a "feast of trumpets" (2 Samuel 6:15), preparing for Solomon's solemn day. Here that very day has arisen in all its glory.
For all its splendour, the celebration had a flaw:
In the joy, or perhaps the excitement, of those stirring days, Solomon and the people did not keep the Feast of Tabernacles quite as Scripture said. Leviticus 23 states plainly that on the first day of the yearly feast they were to make booths of palm branches… They seem to have overlooked this. Nehemiah 8:17 says that the remnant who came back from Babylon "made booths and lived in the booths: for from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so." So Nehemiah paid closer attention to the written Word than the great king Solomon with all his wisdom.
- Timing — Solomon dedicated the temple in the seventh month, at the last and greatest of Israel's yearly feasts.
- Memory — Tabernacles looked back to life in tents after Egypt. Israel kept it once the harvest and vintage were in.
- Hope — The same feast looks ahead to the reign of Christ. Then the people will live in joy and safety, the wilderness testing past forever.
- Eighth day — One more day follows the seven: resurrection, new creation, and the heavenly share in that joy.
- Warning — A great occasion can still miss a written command. The remnant back from Babylon kept the feast more carefully than Solomon did.
And all the elders of Israel came; and the priests took up the ark.
The temple stands complete, but one thing is still missing: the ark. In verse 3 its last journey begins. The elders gather, and the priests lift the ark onto their shoulders to carry it into the house built for it.
The chest the priests lifted was not valued for its gold. Commentators read it as a picture, and they connect its long homelessness with the One it pictures:
The ark is the symbol of Christ as the Sustainer of the throne of God (the mercy seat). For many years it had lived in tents. This speaks of Christ as a Sojourner with His people, until the day when He will take His rightful throne in the millennial kingdom.
The elders named in this verse mark a contrast with an earlier day:
Solomon sets about bringing it up from there to the temple. With him are all the men of Israel, all the elders, all the heads of the tribes, and the priests. It is no longer "the chosen men of Israel" (2 Sam. 6:1), as in the time of David. All the people take part in this complete and final celebration.
Ordinarily the ark was not a priest's burden at all. The law assigned it to one Levite family, which is why the parallel account in 2 Chronicles 5:4 says the Levites took it up:
God's method was only for the Levites of the family of Kohath to carry the ark by means of the staves (Ex. 25:13-14; Num. 3:27-32), though named "priests" in Joshua 4:16-17.
Priests shouldering the ark had happened before, and always at a turning point. One writer traces the whole pattern and reads this occasion as its closing chapter:
Until Solomon the Prince of Peace was on the throne, the ark did not enter its final resting-place. God will not rest until the true Prince of Peace is made King over all the earth. What was taking place foreshadowed that future, so the priests were appointed to carry the ark into its final home. When the people went through the Jordan — that river which stands for death — by the way prepared for them, the priests bore the ark on their shoulders. The Lord, it was foreshadowed, would make a way for His own through death. When the Lord was pulling down the stronghold of the enemy, the ark was again carried on the shoulders of the sons of Aaron. When God took possession of the land through His people, the priests carried the ark. And now the ark was about to enter His resting-place on earth. The priests carried it on their shoulders into its prepared place in the inner sanctuary, never to leave it.
The date given in the previous verse is not incidental. The ark was moved during Israel's harvest festival, the Feast of Tabernacles — the week when the nation lived in shelters and remembered the wilderness:
It was at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month that the priests carried the ark into the temple (vv. 2-3). This feast itself pictures the peace of the millennial kingdom of the Lord Jesus. Together with the ark, all the tabernacle furnishings were brought to the temple (v. 4). This teaches us that all the lessons of the tabernacle are taken up into the fuller teaching of the temple. Nothing was to be lost.
This day ends something as well as starting something. Israel's worship had been split between two places, and neither of them wins:
For years there had been two centres of interest: the tabernacle with the altar at Gibeon, and the ark in the city of David. From now on there was to be only one. Gibeon did not yield first place to Zion. Instead both stepped aside, as it were, in favour of Mount Moriah.
The tent itself goes up to the temple as well — and then drops out of the record:
All the vessels of the holy place, the altar, and even the tent (vv. 4, 64) are now brought together where the ark is. This is the end of the tabernacle — there is no further mention of it. In this great feast, the memorial of God stands alone — the memorial that the tent was linked with all through Israel's pilgrimage. At last God has found a final resting place in the midst of His people.
- Gathered. Every elder and tribal head came, not a hand-picked few as in David's day. The whole nation shares this final celebration.
- Lifted. The ark stands for Christ upholding God's throne. Its years under tents picture Him as a Sojourner among His people, until He takes His rightful throne.
- Carried. Priests bore the ark at every turning point — through the Jordan, at the fall of the enemy's stronghold, at the taking of the land, and now on its last journey home.
- Converged. Gibeon and Zion both give way to Mount Moriah. The tabernacle is never mentioned again, yet nothing it taught is lost.
- Rested. The ark reached the inner sanctuary during the Feast of Tabernacles, never to move again. God at last had a resting place among His people — a picture of the peace of Christ's kingdom.
And they brought up the ark of Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent the priests and the Levites brought them up.
Solomon's temple is finished. Now everything that had served God's dwelling since the days of Moses goes up Mount Moriah. So what becomes of the old wilderness sanctuary once the permanent house is ready?
Israel's worship had been split between two places. One writer describes the day that ended:
The priests came up from Gibeon, in Benjamin, north of Jerusalem. With them came most of the Levites, carrying the tabernacle. That tent was closely bound up with Israel's wilderness wanderings. The Levites too, along with the trumpet-blowing priests whose duties had kept them on Zion, prepared to move. For years there had been two centres of interest: the tabernacle with the altar at Gibeon, and the ark in the city of David. From now on there would be only one. Gibeon did not give way to Zion. Both, as it were, stepped aside in favour of Mount Moriah.
The old tent did not disappear. Its furnishings went into the new house:
At the Feast of Tabernacles, in the seventh month, the priests carried the ark into the temple. This feast itself pictures the peace of the millennial kingdom of the Lord Jesus. All the tabernacle furnishings came to the temple along with the ark. This teaches us that the fuller teaching of the temple takes up every lesson of the tabernacle. Nothing was to be lost.
The wilderness tent came indoors. One writer notes what the record lists here, and what it leaves out:
The tabernacle and all its vessels from Gibeon rejoin the ark in the temple. So the remembrance of the wilderness journey always remains before God. We are not told of the vessels of the court. Above all, we are not told of the bronze altar that Moses set up. There God in grace came to meet a sinful people. This wilderness altar is replaced by Solomon's altar.
Gibeon had held the tent and the altar while the ark sat elsewhere. This verse closes that arrangement:
The priests have indeed finished with the miserable state of things at Gibeon. All the vessels of the holy place, the altar, and even the tent are now brought together where the ark is. This is the end of the tabernacle — there is no further mention of it. At last God has found a final resting place among His people.
Commentators differ on what became of the tabernacle's furniture. Another writer says none of it entered the temple:
The temple was above all the resting place of the ark. When the building was finished, Solomon and the people brought up the tabernacle of the congregation from Gibeon — the tent of meeting. They brought all its sacred vessels too. This is the last time we read of the sanctuary that Moses built in the wilderness, so full of spiritual meaning. None of its sacred vessels entered Solomon's temple. With the ark it was different. It had not been in the tabernacle since the sad days of Eli. David pitched a tent for the ark in Zion, while the tabernacle stood at Gibeon.
The day had a meaning far beyond Israel:
Now what was it all about? A change of residence for the ark? That was certainly true, yet not the whole truth. The day was a great day, and what was taking place really concerned all the earth. It was God, the God of Israel, the one living and true God, entering into His resting place on earth. This foreshadows what will happen when the Lord reigns in power and in peace. Not until Solomon the prince of peace was on the throne did the ark enter its final resting place. God will not rest until the true Prince of Peace is made King over all the earth. Because this day foreshadowed the future, the priests were appointed to carry the ark into its final home. When Israel crossed the Jordan, that river a picture of death, priests bore the ark on their shoulders. That foreshadowed the Lord making a way for His own through death. And now priests carried it into its prepared place, never to leave it.
- Gathered — Priests came up from Gibeon with the tent and vessels. Levites came from Zion with the ark. Two centres of worship both stepped aside for Mount Moriah.
- Carried — The tabernacle's furnishings came into the new house. The fuller teaching of the temple took up every lesson of the tent. Nothing was lost.
- Kept — With the wilderness tent inside the house, the memory of the desert journey stayed before God. The old bronze altar, though, gave way to Solomon's.
- Ended — This is the last mention of the tabernacle in Israel's history. Commentators differ over whether its vessels entered the temple, but all agree its era closed here.
- Rest — The move was a foreshadowing. God took His resting place only under Solomon, the prince of peace. That points to the day when the true Prince of Peace reigns over all the earth.
And king Solomon, and all the assembly of Israel that were assembled to him, [who were] with him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be counted nor numbered for multitude.
The temple was finished, and Israel carried the ark up to it. This verse catches the moment: the king and the whole nation move with the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen in numbers nobody counted.
Everyone came: elders, heads of tribes, priests, and the whole nation. One writer points out that David gathered only a chosen few, and that this day has a note of finality.
Solomon sets about bringing the ark up to the temple, along with all the men of Israel, all the elders, all the heads of the tribes, and the priests. It is no longer only "the chosen men of Israel" (2 Sam. 6:1), as in David's time; all the people take part in this complete and final celebration. Final indeed, for the dedication of the temple happens during the great days of the Feast of Tabernacles, the feast that closes the series of Jewish feasts.
Everything in the scene turns on one object. The crowd gathers to the king, yet it stands "before the ark" — and one writer finds a lesson there for worship today.
How good it was to see this great gathering united in honouring their God, with His ark at the centre of their thoughts and their movements. Our worship can only be acceptable to God when Christ is the object before the heart, directing all our movements for His pleasure.
Why did one wooden chest deserve all this? The answer lay in what it was made of and what it held.
The ark was the highest picture of Christ in that age of pictures. The acacia wood, and the gold that covered it, speak of who He is: both man and God. The mercy seat on the ark speaks of His sacrifice, for the blood of the sin offering was always on it. As the container for the tablets of the law, it expressed righteousness. Grace in God has found a way for lawbreakers to be blessed. That way is Christ and His atoning sacrifice.
The text gives no number. One writer treats that missing number as the point.
While this work was going on, King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel were sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that no one could count them (v. 6). Every one of these offerings is a picture of the one offering of Christ. Yet the number speaks of the worship of One who is worthy of unlimited adoration, because His sacrifice is of unlimited value.
The same writer looks further ahead. He reads the uncountable animals as a picture of a day still to come.
At this time Solomon and the people offered so many sheep and oxen that no one could count them (v.5). This seems amazing. But it is a picture of the great work of grace that God will do among His redeemed people when the Lord Jesus sets up His thousand-year kingdom. It shows how the people will value the one great sacrifice of the Lord Jesus at Calvary. Their praise will be almost unceasing.
The scale of it raises a question. One writer asks it plainly, then answers it.
We may well ask, why all this great ceremony and rejoicing? Was it only that the ark had reached a resting place at last? That is certainly true, but it is not the whole truth. It was that God — the God of Israel, the one living and true God — was entering His resting place on earth. This was a foreshadowing of what will happen when the Lord Jesus reigns in power and in peace over the earth.
- Centre. The crowd faced the ark, not the king. Worship is acceptable today only when Christ is the object before the heart.
- Person. Wood and gold pictured Christ as man and God. The mercy seat pictured His sacrifice, and the law inside the ark His righteousness.
- Reach. David gathered a chosen few. Solomon gathered the whole nation, at the feast that closes Israel's year.
- Immeasurable. The animals stay uncounted for a reason. One offering of Christ, of unlimited value, calls for unlimited adoration.
- Rest. The day pointed beyond itself. God was entering His resting place on earth — a preview of Christ reigning in peace, with praise that hardly stops.
And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah to its place, into the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim;
The priests carry the ark into the innermost room of the finished temple and set it down under the wide wings of the great cherubim. Commentators see here the end of a long journey, God's throne at rest, and a picture of a greater rest to come.
Where the ESV reads "inner sanctuary," older translations say "oracle." One writer traces that word from the temple room to a Person.
An "oracle" is of course a speaking-place. Both Kings and Chronicles use the term for the innermost sanctuary of the temple. Failure came in so soon after the temple was built that God may have spoken from His holy oracle in Jerusalem hardly ever, if at all. Yet that was what God intended. Only when the Lord Jesus appeared did that intention come true in full. He could speak of the temple of His body. In Him we find not only the speaking place, but the Speaker. All that God has to say to us is in and through Him.
Cherubim are on the ark itself, and huge standing figures now close over it. One writer asks what this double guard says about God's side of the covenant, and about the people's side.
The ark of the covenant comes into its place. Its own cherubim, beaten out of the mercy seat, are witnesses of this covenant. Beside them stand the tall cherubim with touching wings, who are its guardians. On the Lord's side nothing was missing. All was sure. God Himself faithfully watched over the carrying out of His will. But of what benefit was that under the old covenant if the people for their part were unfaithful to the covenant? It will not be so when the Lord makes a new covenant with Israel. That covenant is all of grace. It has no conditions, and the responsibility of the people will not count at all.
The small cherubim on the ark's lid and the tall ones in the temple room do not face the same way. One writer asks what each set is watching.
The cherubim on the mercy seat looked down on the sprinkled blood. They witnessed the redemption that secured the glory of God's throne. But the cherubim in the temple looked outwards. They witnessed the results in glory won through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everywhere was the gold that spoke of the glory of God.
The ark had spent generations on the move. One writer links its arrival at a settled place to a prayer in the Psalms.
However, it was not always to be a traveller. The afflictions of David, and the wars of Israel too, were to have an end. The prayer was still to be prayed and answered: "Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might." (Ps. 132:8) This most sublime prayer found a partial fulfilment in the best days of Solomon… The sand of the desert would give way to the golden floor of the temple. The wanderings of the ark were to have an end.
(The Psalm appears here in the ESV. The writer used an older translation: "Arise, O Lord, into Your rest.")
The ark has come in from the open air to a golden room. One writer asks whose journey this pictures.
Do we not see in all this a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus entering heaven after His journeys through this world? He has left behind the scene where men despised and neglected Him. He has gone into the presence of His God and Father, where all is glory. In holiness He once passed through a world where everything stood against God and sin had defiled it all. Now He has entered the holy place to rest from all His work.
- Journey. The ark had been a traveller. Desert sand gives way to the golden floor of the temple, and its wanderings end.
- Rest. The prayer "Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place" was partly answered in Solomon's best days. Partly, not finally.
- Speech. The innermost room was a speaking-place. God's whole intention for it came true in Christ, who is both the place and the Speaker.
- Security. Under the wings, nothing was lacking on God's side. Yet the old covenant still rested on a people who failed. The new covenant will be all of grace.
- Glory. The cherubim on the ark looked down on the blood; those in the temple looked outward. Redemption secured God's throne, and glory shows its results. Christ Himself has entered the holy place to rest.
for the cherubim stretched forth [their] wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its staves above.
Carried through desert and battle for centuries, the ark now comes to rest in the innermost room of Solomon's temple, under the wings of the cherubim. Commentators read the scene as God settling among His people, and they ask why the carrying poles stayed on a chest that would never travel again.
The temple was new. The ark carried into it was not. One writer points out that the building exists for the ark, not the other way round.
The ark is not altered. It was put in the temple, which was only a house built to receive it. The ark was the seat of the presence of Him who dwelt between the cherubim. It was the sign of God's presence, and of His throne set up on the earth. In that sense it had entered into its rest, and so had the Lord whose seat it was.
The ark's travelling days end here. Even the floor beneath it changes.
However, it was not always to be a traveller… The desert sand would give way to the golden floor of the temple. The wanderings of the ark were to have an end; there was "neither adversary nor misfortune," and therefore the poles were drawn out.
(That phrase comes from 1 Kings 5:4. Older translations read "neither enemy nor evil occurrent.")
The wings in this verse are not the small golden figures on the ark's lid. Solomon added a second, far larger pair, and they are what now overshadow the ark.
One of the most unique features of Solomon's Temple was the great cherubim set up in the Holy of Holies. They were in addition to the gold figures on the ark… The large cherubim were each ten cubits high — about fifteen feet. Each had two wings, and the breadth of the wings matched the height of the cherubim. They touched the walls of the inner room on either side, and they touched each other in the middle.
The two sets of cherubim do not have the same role.
The ark of the covenant, with its cherubim beaten out of the mercy seat, who are witnesses of this covenant, is brought into its place. With it come the standing cherubim, their wings touching, who are its guardians. On the Lord's side nothing was missing. All was assured, and God was faithfully watching over the carrying out of His will. But what good was that under the old covenant, if the people for their part were unfaithful to it? It will not be so when the Lord makes a new covenant with Israel — all of grace, unconditional…
In the tabernacle the cherubim gazed down at the mercy seat. In the temple they stand and look a different way.
It is the throne of God, and the cherubim are of one piece with it. They look towards one another, but their gaze stays fixed downwards on the covenant, and their wings stretch out to cover the mercy seat. When Solomon puts his cherubim in the temple, they stood up. The tip of one wing touched one wall, two tips met in the middle of the house, and the tip of the fourth wing touched the wall on the opposite side. They looked outwards, because all the attributes of God were going out to man.
The verse mentions the poles as well as the ark. Why does that matter?
The cherubim covered not only the ark, but its poles as well. On God's part the rest which the covenant gave was as sure as the covenant itself. The poles of the ark are witnesses of its pilgrimage through the wilderness. From now on they are useless and serve no more. They remain as witnesses of the past in the very place of rest… But to be sure of this rest and to enjoy it, one had to enter the Holy Place. Those outside could not take account of it. The final rest of God belongs to those who dwell with Him, to the priests who live in His house.
One writer sees in those poles a memory that will never fade.
The poles were no longer needed for carrying the ark. They remained as a reminder that the ark (a picture of Christ) had once been a pilgrim. In the same way we shall remember for eternity that the Lord Jesus was once on earth as an outcast stranger. All His history on earth will be a matter for our eternal appreciation.
- Unchanged — The temple was new; the ark was not. The house existed to receive the throne of God's presence, and that throne came in unaltered.
- Covered — The great cherubim spread their wings over the ark and its poles. Nothing of it lay outside their shelter.
- Guarded — The small cherubim witness the covenant; the tall ones guard it. On God's side everything was assured. Only the people's unfaithfulness spoiled the old covenant.
- Outward — In the wilderness the cherubim looked down at the covenant. In the temple they look outwards, as God's attributes go out to man.
- Remembered — The poles stayed, useless for travel but kept as witnesses of the pilgrimage. Only those who went inside could see that rest.
And the staves were long, so that the ends of the staves were seen from the holy place before the oracle, but they were not seen without. And there they are to this day.
The ark had travelled for generations. Priests carried it on poles through the desert, across the Jordan, and through the wars of Canaan. Now it rests in the innermost room of the temple. The first thing recorded there is a small detail about the carrying poles — a detail still true "to this day."
The poles belonged to a travelling ark. In the temple, that travelling ended.
The desert sand would give way to the golden floor of the temple (1 Kings 6:30). The ark's wanderings would come to an end; there was "neither adversary nor misfortune," and therefore, "the poles were drawn out."
Older translations read "they drew out the poles" here, where the ESV says the poles "were so long" that their ends could be seen.
The original instruction in Exodus was that the poles were never to be taken from the ark. So what happened here has been argued over.
This verse has caused much debate. Were the poles removed from the ark entirely, or withdrawn to one end? Every picture of the ark I have seen shows the poles along the back and the front. I am sure this is a mistake. The words "drew out" show that they ran along the sides of the ark and stuck out at the front end, pointing towards the house. They were not taken right out but withdrawn to one end. This showed that the Levites would no longer carry the ark. It had been commanded in Exodus 25:15, "The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it."
One writer treats the two passages not as a problem to solve but as a mark of how exact the picture-language of these objects is.
There is no contradiction in this, but rather a beautiful example of the accuracy of typical language.
The poles stayed on the ark even after the journeys ended.
The poles the priests had used to carry the ark were now the memorial of their journeys with God. In His faithfulness He had led them and kept them safe, and He had brought them into the rest He had prepared for them.
The verse notes who could see the ends of the poles, and who could not.
The poles of the ark witnessed its long journey through the wilderness. From now on they are useless and serve no more. They remain as witnesses of the past in the very place of rest… This was plainly the rest of God, and it had all the more value because it came with a permanent reminder of what had gone before. Only, to be sure of this rest and to enjoy it, you had to enter the Holy Place. Those outside could take no account of it. The final rest of God is the portion of those who dwell with Him, of the priests who dwell in His house.
One writer applies the timing of that withdrawal to where we stand now.
The poles were not to be withdrawn till the Ark found its final resting place in the Temple in the land. So God would teach us that we are still in the wilderness.
The poles speak of God travelling with His people. Their withdrawal points to a day when that travelling is over for good.
God cannot enter into His rest until He brings His people into it too. So everything waits until the conflict with sin is over forever — settled by God, and settled for eternity. Then, and only then, will the poles be withdrawn. That is when our Lord's walking with His blood-bought people through the wilderness will be over: "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God" (Heb. 4:9). Even then the "poles" will be visible, in memory of the past, and be the cause of fresh and eternal outbursts of praise.
- Carried — The poles existed so the ark could travel. While they stayed in place for lifting, Israel was still on the move, and God moved with them.
- Drawn — Not pulled right out, but drawn back to one end. The old command that they never leave the ark still stood, and the carrying was over.
- Kept — Left in place, they became the memorial of every journey God had led His people through. They stood as witnesses of the past inside the place of rest.
- Hidden — Only someone inside could see their ends. Those who dwell with God enjoy His rest; outsiders cannot take account of it.
- Coming — Our travelling is not yet finished, so the poles teach us we are still in the wilderness. When the rest comes, they will stay visible as the cause of endless praise.
There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb, when Jehovah made [a covenant] with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
The priests carried the ark, Israel's covenant chest, into Solomon's temple, and inside it lay only the two stone tablets from Horeb. Hebrews 9:4 also names a golden pot of manna and Aaron's rod inside the ark — so where had they gone?
The scene marks the end of a journey.
The poles the priests had used to carry the ark were now a memorial of their journeys with God. In His faithfulness He had led them, kept them safe, and brought them into the rest He had prepared for them. But the sign of their means of grace on the way through the wilderness was no longer inside it. Nothing but the law remained. The law was the basis for governing the kingdom, and the rule of the righteousness practised in it.
Hebrews 9:4 and this verse do not describe the same place: the wilderness tabernacle and Solomon's temple.
The ark had now found its resting place in the kingdom of Solomon, whose reign is a picture of the millennium. It is significant too that now only the two tables of stone were in the ark. The manna had ceased when they ate the old grain of the land, which pictures a heavenly Christ. And the witness of Aaron's rod was no longer needed now that they were in the kingdom. The manna and the priesthood of Christ were so necessary in the wilderness, but those conditions had now passed. Hebrews 9:4 mentions both, because there the tabernacle is in view, and not the temple.
There were two sets of stone tablets. Only the second set ever went inside, and the reason lies in what an ark is for.
An ark, as far as the word teaches us, is designed to keep whatever is put in it intact… So when we read of "the ark of the covenant," we take it that God designed it to preserve His covenant unbroken among a failing people. In it, as we know, lay the second set of tablets. The first set was broken in pieces at the foot of the mountain. That showed that man's covenant was set aside altogether, and that his work could never, in any way, form the basis of Jehovah's throne of government… The ark could not hold broken tablets inside its holy enclosure. Man might fail to keep the vow he chose for himself. But God's law must be kept in its divine integrity and perfection.
The verse dates the tablets to Horeb, when God made a covenant with Israel after Egypt. That covenant had terms, and the temple itself stood or fell with them.
The ark contained the tables of the law, the testimony of the covenant between the Lord and His people. On God's part, He kept this covenant with exact and unchanging faithfulness. But it was conditional. If Israel fulfilled its conditions, God would dwell in the midst of His people. If Israel disobeyed, the Lord had to abandon her, to leave His throne and His house in Israel.
Commentators point to one place where God's law could stay unbroken.
The tables of the covenant were also in the ark. God's holy law was enshrined in the only place where it could remain unbroken: in the heart of Christ Himself. "Your law is within my heart" was perfectly shown in His outward life. Then, over it all, were the cherubim of glory. They are witnesses of God's righteousness and judgment, which are the foundation of His throne. They looked down on the mercy seat and overshadowed it — the place sprinkled with the blood of atonement.
The missing manna and rod also point forward.
These two objects, the manna and the rod, will no longer be needed in the millennial reign, as the picture here shows. The covenant will be kept, because God is the only party to it. The priesthood will follow the pattern of Melchizedek, not Aaron, and its work will be to bless. The glory of Christ the Man will no longer be hidden in the sanctuary. It will be shown to all eyes in the person of the true Solomon.
- Journey over. The poles were drawn out and the wilderness contents were gone. The ark had reached the rest God prepared for His people.
- Gifts withdrawn. Manna stopped when Israel ate the grain of the land, and the rod had no more work in the kingdom. Hebrews 9:4 describes the tabernacle, not the temple.
- Law retained. The law stayed, as the basis for governing the kingdom and the rule of its righteousness.
- Unbroken. Only the second, whole tablets went inside. Man's broken covenant could never be the base of God's throne.
- Fulfilled in Christ. The heart of Christ is the one place where the law stays unbroken. In the reign Solomon pictures, His glory is no longer hidden but shown to all.
And it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of Jehovah,
The priests have just placed the ark in the innermost room, and now they come out. What follows is not something Solomon arranged: God Himself moves into the house built for Him, and the sign of His arrival is a cloud.
This is the moment the house becomes God's own home among Israel, and it changes what the priests can do.
Having placed the ark in the holiest of all, the priests came out. At once the cloud of God's glory filled the house of the Lord (v.10). So God was showing His presence in approving of the temple as His dwelling place among Israel. At that time the priests could not minister in the temple (v.11). The glory of the Lord was supreme, and man's work must then stop.
The cloud is not weather. In Scripture the same sign marks God's glory, from the tabernacle to the day Jesus was taken up out of sight.
A cloud in Scripture stands as the expression of the glory of God. When the tabernacle was set up, a cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD filled it, Ex. 40:34-35. Again, "the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud," Ex. 16:10. Again, "and a cloud received Him out of their sight," Acts 1:9.
This was Israel's high point, and yet the men trained to serve God were the ones shut out. One writer reads that as the built-in limit of the whole system.
A striking picture of what could not be had even under the most glorious dispensation of the law. God's presence excluded that of the priests. In the heavenly sanctuary the priests are able to stand in the presence of His glory, to dwell there, and to have their part there. But what we have in spirit already now cannot be equalled in the millennial temple. Solomon begins to show this in verse 12, where he says the LORD would dwell in thick darkness. The way of approach was not yet made known. The temple at Jerusalem worked on the same terms as the tabernacle. The veil, even though it is not mentioned here, was still there (2 Chr. 3:14).
The account in 2 Chronicles adds what was happening as the cloud came down. One writer links the singing with the filling.
The first (2 Chron. 5:11-14) comes before Solomon's prayer. The trumpeters, singers, and all join with one voice saying, or singing, "For He is good, for His mercy endures for ever." Then a cloud fills the house. The cloud appears as an answer to their shout of praise. The LORD steps down from the heaven of heavens, His dwelling place, to His earthly throne. He comes to receive the praise of His people, and reveals His presence by a cloud.
God fills a house again in the New Testament, and one writer sets the two houses side by side.
On the day of Pentecost a "sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind" announced an unseen presence. It was the coming of the third Person of the Godhead to earth, to form the Assembly, the new dwelling-place of God, the body of Christ… Men make up the tabernacle, where God does not refuse to dwell. Cleansed by the blood of Jesus, they are made fit to be God's habitation in Spirit. When this took place, the disciples — now a holy priesthood — are not driven from the Lord's presence like those of old (see 1 Kings 8:10-11). His presence is their joy, and they form His habitation.
One writer sees Solomon's house as a picture of a coming reign. He also marks the temple off from the earlier tabernacle.
The temple glory is the glory of the millennial kingdom, while the tabernacle's glory shows what lasts for ever.
But the cloud did not stay. The rest of Israel's history is the story of that glory leaving.
Ezekiel tells us (Ezek. 9 and 10) how His glory, which had so blessedly filled the House of the Lord in Solomon's day (see 1 Kings 8:10-11), began to depart. It was very reluctant to go. It moved from the cherubim to the threshold, then to the east side of the city, upon the Mount of Olives. Then it went up and away, and God's House was empty. Was it ever refilled? Never; it was burned by Nebuchadnezzar.
- Filled — When the priests came out, God came in. His presence approved the house, and human work had to stop.
- Cloud — The cloud is the visible sign of God's glory. The same sign runs from the tabernacle to the day Jesus was taken up out of sight.
- Excluded — The priests could not stand there. The veil still hung, so Israel's best day gave no man a place inside the glory.
- Answered — In 2 Chronicles the cloud comes as the singers praise with one voice. God steps down to receive it.
- Rehoused — That glory later left the temple and never came back. At Pentecost God filled a house made of people. They were not shut out; they became His dwelling.
and the priests could not stand to do their service because of the cloud; for the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of Jehovah.
The ark now sits in the innermost room. The priests have stepped back out. God answers by filling His own house with a cloud of glory. The result is startling. The very men appointed to serve there have to stop. Why would God's nearness shut His servants out?
The cloud is not decoration. It is God moving in, and the timing shows whose house this is.
The priests placed the ark in the holiest of all and came out. At once the cloud of God's glory filled the house of the Lord (v.10). So God was showing His presence, approving of the temple as His dwelling place among Israel. At that time the priests could not minister in the temple (v.11). The glory of the Lord was paramount, and man's work must then cease.
The account in Chronicles adds what Israel was doing as the cloud came down.
There are seemingly two occasions when the glory filled the house so that the priests could not minister. The first (2 Chronicles 5:11-14) is before Solomon's prayer. The trumpeters, singers, and all join with one voice saying, or singing, "For He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever," and then the house was filled with a cloud. The cloud appears as an answer to their shout of praise. Jehovah steps down from the heaven of heavens, His dwelling place, to His throne on earth. He comes to receive the praise of His people, and He reveals His presence by a cloud. On the second occasion (2 Chronicles 7:3), after Solomon had finished praying, the fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house.
The law at its very best could not put a man at ease in God's presence.
A striking picture of what could not be obtained even under the most glorious arrangement of the law. God's presence excluded that of the priests. In the heavenly sanctuary the priests can stand in the presence of His glory. They can dwell there and have their part there.
The building itself explains why. It followed the same plan as the tent of worship that came before it.
The way of approach was not yet revealed. The arrangement of the temple at Jerusalem was the same as that of the tabernacle. The veil, even if it is not mentioned here, still remains.
There is a matching scene in the New Testament. A house is filled again, and this time nobody is driven out.
Suddenly a violent wind is felt, filling all the house where they sat. It is like the cloud that filled the temple, so that the priests could not enter there (1 Kings 8:11). But now men themselves made up the tabernacle where God did not refuse to dwell. The blood of Jesus had purified them, and made them fit to be the habitation of God through the Spirit (Eph. 2:22)... instead of driving away the priests by His presence, God, in grace, makes us His habitation! What a contrast between the law and the gospel!
What changed is not the brightness of the glory but the standing of those in front of it.
Like Moses, when the tabernacle was set up, the priests cannot stay where God's glory dwells. Man under law cannot bear the brightness of God's glory. It is very different now under grace. We can gaze into the glory in the face of Jesus, and His presence will be our dwelling place for evermore.
The filled house did not stay filled. That same glory later left, step by step.
It was called God's House, and His glory filled it. Anyone in that day who sought God had to go to that Temple — that was where He was to be found... Failure, sin, and idolatry had come in. God had disowned His earthly people and left His House, the Temple. Ezekiel tells us how His glory began to depart. It had filled the House of the Lord so wonderfully in Solomon's day. It was very reluctant to go, and moved from the cherubim to the threshold, then to the east side of the city, on the Mount of Olives. Then it went up and away, and God's House was empty. Was it refilled? Never; it was burned by Nebuchadnezzar.
- Filled — God fills the house the moment the ark is in place, showing He accepts it as His dwelling among Israel.
- Answered — the cloud falls while Israel sings. The glory is God's reply to praise.
- Excluded — the priests must stop. The veil still hangs, and man under law cannot bear that brightness.
- Departed — the glory later left that house, one slow step at a time. It was never filled again.
- Dwelling — at Pentecost God fills a house of people. He does not drive them out. He makes them His home.