The Temple and the Glory of God

 The Temple the Ark the Glory of God

 Book of 2 Chronicles Chapter 5

After seven long years, the Temple and all its furnishings were completed.

 1Ki 6:38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.

Solomon gathered the entire nation and its leaders and its priests to the dedication of the Temple.

 This gathering was no longer to Gibeon the site of the Tabernacle, but to Jerusalem the place God had chosen Himself.

 Even today the Jews are looking forward to the day they can reestablish their worship of the Lord God Jehovah in a Temple dedicated to Him.

 We certainly need a place to worship to honor God.

 Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

 God Himself says it is more important to gather together today than it was back in the day of the dedication of Solomon’s Temple.

 If we do not dedicate our places of worship to be used for the worship of the Lord, then they will be used for anything other than that.

 Dedicate means to set apart for sacred use.

 Sacred means consecrated; dedicated; or devoted to.

 We also need to dedicate ourselves to the Lord for His use!

 Most every nation at this time had a temple dedicated to some false god, and some had many.

 This was the drive that moved King David. He wanted a magnificent temple dedicated to Jehovah the One True God.

 Most people do not realize that God is about worship, and not about buildings!

 Pagans built temples for gods who could not see, who could hear, and who could not speak to them.

 2Co_6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the "temple of the living God"; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

 There is only one "Living God"!

 Jhn_6:69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, "the Son of the living God".

 Psa_84:2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the "living God".

 How can anyone serve a dead god or a god that does not exist?

 The Living God is the God we need to have reverent fear of, and even actual fear.

 Heb_10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

 2 Chronicles Chapter 5 verse 1

 *****2Ch 5:1 Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.

 The Temple was King Solomon's greatest work.

 It was the Temple of Solomon that made the greatest impression on the known world at that time.

 People would come far and wide to see this Temple of God.

 The importance of the Temple was to ensure a central place of worship and more important a central place to offer sacrifices for sin.

 The object of the Temple was to bring about a unity of faith and national unity among the people of Israel.

 The object of the Temple was to fulfill the commandment of God to Moses.

 Moses said, when you shall obtain possession of the land and have become established, then you shall have one place in which to appear before the Lord.

 Deu_16:16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God "in the place which he shall choose"; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:

 The Temple did provide a fixed habitation for Jehovah.

 The Temple did provide a central place of worship where all the tribes of Israel might assemble at the three annual feasts.

 It is these things that would preserve the unity of Israel.

 According to the Book of Leviticus, there must be:

 1) A place to meet Jehovah on the throne of "Grace".

2) Sacrifices made for sin.

3) Priests as intermediaries between Jehovah and the people.

4) Times in which they could approach Jehovah with daily, weekly, monthly, and annual offerings.

5) A ritual telling how to approach God.

 The Temple was in fact, a type of the most glorious building which is the individual believer!

 1Co_3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

 King David had not only provided the plunder he had taken for his conquest for the building of the Temple, but he also provided his riches to be dedicated to the upkeep of this Temple and to pay the priests.

 David had also dedicated all the musical instruments he had to the Temple. Some he had made himself.

 These instruments are listed in First Chronicles chapter 15.

 1Ch 15:16 And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.

 1Ch 15:24 And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obededom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark.

 1Ch 15:28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.

 So, we know of psalteries, harps, and cymbals, trumpets, and cornets.

 A psaltery is a lyre or another type of harp just as a cornet is another type of trumpet.

 Solomon next brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple according to the instructions of God.

 The Ark was placed in the new Holy of Holies, the Most Holy Place in the Temple.

 *****2Ch 5:2 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.

2Ch 5:3 Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month.

2Ch 5:4 And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.

2Ch 5:5 And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up.

 Many of these things from the time of Moses and those remade after the destruction of the Tabernacle by the Philistines were no longer usable for the new Temple and were stored at the Temple and preserved as relics.

 Things such as the tent and a great many of the old-time utensils, including the Brazen Serpent.

 The Feast of the Seventh month is the Feast of Tabernacles, sometimes called Booths, and also known as the Feast of the Ingathering.

 It was to last seven days but for the dedication of the Temple, it lasted fourteen days.

 1Ki 8:65 And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.

1Ki 8:66 On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

 This is the feast that commemorates the forty-year wilderness journey.

 It is also called Sukkot.

 It is a celebration of the fall harvest and a time to build booths which are temporary shelters of branches to remember how the Hebrew people lived under God's care during those forty years in the wilderness.

 These things were repeated when the Hebrews returned from Babylon.

 Neh 8:14 And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:

Neh 8:15 And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.

Neh 8:16 So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.

Neh 8:17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua (which is Joshua) the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.

Neh 8:18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

 This celebration is a reminder of God's faithfulness and protection.

 All Jewish males were required to go to Jerusalem to appear before the Lord and their families usually went with them.

 Many Jewish people still celebrate Sukkot today, by building and dwelling in temporary booths for eight days.

 There are four special plants used to cover the booths, and they are the citron, the myrtle, the palm, and the willow.

 Lev 23:39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. 

Lev 23:40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.

 Then, the elders came and took up the Ark out of the Tabernacle of David.

 It was necessary to put a new lid on the Ark. It was about five hundred years old and when opened, nothing remained but the two tablets of stone from the time of Moses.

 It originally contained two tablets that contained the Ten Commandments and Aaron's rod that budded and a pot of manna.

 Blame was put on the Philistines for the missing items.

 So, the steps to the dedication included:

 1) Placing in the treasury all the things dedicated by David. Solomon could have kept these riches of his father, and no one would have known but God, but Solomon honored the wishes of His father David.

 2) Placing all the sacred vessels and furniture in their proper position.

 3) The offering of the many sacrifices.

 4) The priests carrying into the Most Holy Place the Ark of the Covenant.

 5) As the priests came from the Most Holy Place and one hundred and twenty other priests standing east of the Altar blew their trumpets, the Levite choir burst into a song of praise and thanksgiving with cymbals and other musical instruments saying "For He is good; for His mercy endureth forever.

 6) Then the cloud, a symbol of the Divine Presence and the Glory of God filled the house.

 Let's read the Scriptures.

 *****2Ch 5:6 Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

2Ch 5:7 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims:

2Ch 5:8 For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

2Ch 5:9 And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day.

2Ch 5:10 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

 We now know what happened in the dedication of the Temple so, let's look at some other things.

 Many today are concerned about the location of the Ark of the Covenant today.

 We do not know for sure if the Ark remained at the Temple when Nebuchadnezzar plundered the Temple but what we do know when the vessels were brought back from Babylonian captivity the Ark of the Covenant was not mentioned.

 Ezr 1:9 And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives,

Ezr 1:10 Thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand.

Ezr 1:11 All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem.

 The staves of the Ark were at least fifteen feet long, which was about the size of the Most Holy Place.

 The staves were that long to give room for those men who carried the Ark leaving room to stay clear of the Ark.

 The staves were withdrawn as far as they could to the back wall so they would not protrude in sight at the front.

 The Ark had only the tablets of stone written by the finger of God at this time.

 Exo 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

Exo 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

Exo 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

 Remember it was Moses who had broken these two tablets.

 Exo 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.

 Deu_10:2 And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.

 There was something else that was with or in the Ark.

 Deu_31:26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

 Probably the very same book, which (after having been some way misplaced) was found in the house of the Lord, in the days of Josiah, and publicly read by the king himself, for a witness against a people, who were then almost ripe for ruin.

 On the side or On the inside, Some say there was a little chest fixed to the Ark for such things but it is not mentioned. Some say that this book was just placed inside the Ark. There was nothing but the stone tablets that were contained in the Ark.

 This book was found later.

 2Ch 34:14 And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses.

2Ch 34:15 And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.

2Ch 34:16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do it.

 The Shekinah Glory of the Lord

 *****2Ch 5:11 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:

2Ch 5:12 Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)

2Ch 5:13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, "For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever": that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;

 Once the Ark was in place God gave His stamp of approval!

 So, it had been when Moses finished the Tabernacle, and so it was at Pentecost after the Lord Jesus began His Church, that the Holy Spirit came down in His mighty power.

 God's glory has to be the most wonderful sight we will ever see!

 Notice all the priests were in white linen robes. Does this not make us think about the white robes in Heaven?

 Rev_7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

 King Solomon now had all things in place and a platform had been erected about seven feet squared somewhat like a pulpit, so he was lifted up above the people to be seen as well as heard and it seems King Solomon acted as King and High Priest.

 We see some typology here.

 In reality, only King Jesus can be the true King and High priest when He returns to take us home and then sits upon His throne in Jerusalem.

 Immediately after the priests had performed and withdrawn and the doors of the Temple were closed, the cloud of God's Holy Presence and God's Majestic Glory filled the Temple just as He had done when the Tabernacle of Moses was completed.

 King Solomon was stunned:

 1Ki 8:10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,

1Ki 8:11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

1Ki 8:12 Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

 Our true Holy God manifested His presence showing the public that he had accepted their labor of love in building this Temple.

 *****2Ch 5:14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

 A man of God said this beautified this Temple much more than all the gold which it was overlaid and all the precious stones that adorned it. Yet even that glory in comparison does not match the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 God had not allowed King David to build this Temple but told him that his son Solomon would have the honor of building this Temple.

 Then King Solomon began to pray.

2Ch 6:12  And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands: 

2Ch 6:13  For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven, 

2Ch 6:14  And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts: 

2Ch 6:15  Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

And he continued therefore:

 Amen