And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD,
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.
God Takes Possession
This is the moment the house becomes God's own home among Israel, and it changes what the priests can do.
Leslie M. GrantHaving 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.
What the Cloud Stands For
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.
ForeshadowsA 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.
Why the Priests Had to Go Out
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.
H. L. RossierA 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 Cloud and the Song
The account in 2 Chronicles adds what was happening as the cloud came down. One writer links the singing with the filling.
The Bible TreasuryThe 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.
A Later House, and a Different Effect
God fills a house again in the New Testament, and one writer sets the two houses side by side.
W. T. P. WolstonOn 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.
What the Filled House Points To
One writer sees Solomon's house as a picture of a coming reign. He also marks the temple off from the earlier tabernacle.
J. T. MawsonThe 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.
W. T. P. WolstonEzekiel 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.
Summary
- 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.