Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath 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.
The Inner Sanctuary: A Place Where God Speaks
Where the ESV reads "inner sanctuary," older translations say "oracle." One writer traces that word from the temple room to a Person.
F. B. HoleAn "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.
Two Sets of Cherubim, One Secure Covenant
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.
H. L. RossierThe 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 Direction of Their Gaze
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.
An Outline of Sound WordsThe 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 Wanderings End
The ark had spent generations on the move. One writer links its arrival at a settled place to a prayer in the Psalms.
C. H. MackintoshHowever, 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.")
A Picture of Christ Entering Heaven
The ark has come in from the open air to a golden room. One writer asks whose journey this pictures.
An Outline of Sound WordsDo 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.
Summary
- 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.