1 Kings 8:7

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.

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.

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 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…

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 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.

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.