Read 2 Chronicles 5
5 When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.
The Ark Brought to the Temple
2 Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 3 And all the Israelites came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month.
4 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, 5 and they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The Levitical priestscarried them up; 6 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.
7 The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. 9 These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
11 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12 All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lordand sang:
“He is good;
his love endures forever.”
Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.
Go Deeper
Finally the day has come. The temple has been finished according to God’s design. Seven years of hard work and excellent craftsmanship have culminated into a work of art. But, even after all that, the temple isn’t complete until the ark of the covenant makes its way into the Temple. All the beautiful details are meaningless without the presence of God, symbolized by the ark of the covenant.
Solomon knows this and so this day is marked by celebration, sacrifice, and praise. The text tells us that there were so many sheep and cattle sacrificed to God that they couldn’t even be counted. A huge festival marked the occasion, and all the Israelites came together to worship. Once the ark was placed in the Holy Place, the priests and musicians “joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord.” As they praised God, the temple became so full of the glory of the Lord that the priests couldn’t even do their jobs. Five hundred years after God commanded the Israelites to build the ark of the covenant, the day had finally come to move that ark into the Temple. God’s presence was permanently with them. What a celebration it was!
The crazy thing is, because of Jesus, we no longer must only access God through a Temple and a priest. The very presence of God that filled the Temple that day lives within us as believers. As Paul reminded the church in Corinth: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”(1 Corinthians 3:16) Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. We house God’s presence within us; we have access to His power and presence all the time.
The Israelites threw a massive festival just to celebrate God’s presence nearer to them through the Temple, even though they couldn’t have direct access to God themselves. We walk around housing His Spirit in our bodies and yet don’t think twice about it. We spend most days completely unaware of God’s presence within us. We take the gift of His nearness for granted. But, what would today look like if we were aware of God’s presence throughout each moment? What could God do through us if we were fully alert to His presence? Friends, let’s not miss it. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to guide, direct, and help us every moment today.
Questions
- Solomon knew that as beautiful and detailed as the Temple was, it was incomplete without the presence of God. No matter what your temple looks like, the most important thing about your body is that it houses God’s presence. How can that thinking re-shape how you view yourself today?
- How often are you aware that God’s presence is with you each day? How could remembering that He is with you help you to rely on Him more today?
- Take the next 5-10 minutes to sit with God in silence. Breathe slowly and tune into God’s presence within you. Acknowledge His presence and ask for more awareness of Him today.
Listen Here
Listen to this podcast from The Bible Project about the connection between the Temple and the Spirit.
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3 thoughts on “2 Chronicles 5”
Not sure if yall are reading the “Awe of God” by John Bevere, but if not, you should. Fantastic book, learning, learning. I am also listening to him. All that to say these old testament guys had been around the Shekinah glory. So seeing a cloud was not to unheard of, but that the priest could not do their jobs because of it, was exciting. WOW to be in the presence of God to the point you cant move!! Let’s get some praise and worship on! WOOHOO!! We have Christ within us, we are the temple, this can be us. How do I get there? Obedience. The Holy Spirit is waiting for us to obey so we can have this. All of heaven is in anticipation.
Thank You God for obedience for me. Thank You for immediate and with a contrite heart obedience for Your Glory in Jesus name amen!
WOOHOO!!!
Just imagine what it would have been like to have been in the crowd that assembled in Jerusalem for the dedication of the completed temple. The tent of meeting was now a glorious temple. No instruction, detail or specification was left undone. That day innumerable sacrifices were offered, trumpeters and singers performed, and praise and thanksgiving was offered to the Lord. V13 declares their words, “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!” God is pleased and shows his glorious presence in the form of a cloud. I can’t even imagine the sacredness of this moment. The writer doesn’t give the response of the people to the manifestation of the Lord’s presence, but surely it captured their attention with awe and silence. How should this story impact us today? I’m thinking of some parallels to our current worship experiences. Obedience to his commands, and acknowledgement of his goodness through praise and prayer invites his favor and presence. This is how we can experience his enduring love.
All Glory to God! His presence in the form of a cloud! I would have fallen to my knees in awe. What a sacred moment!
Let us all be more faithful to the specific instructions of our God. For there is a time to be creative and to put forth our ideas, but not when God’s design is outlined for our benefit, or He places someone else (meaning leaders) to lead as He has designed. I pray, in my spiritual life to carefully seek and follow God’s instructions to glorify Him.
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” 1Corinthians. 3:16