The Ark Brought to the Temple

Introduction:

In 1 Kings 6–7, Solomon oversaw the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple was to be the permanent place of worship for Israel and the place where God’s people would gather to offer sacrifices.

Now, in chapter 8, the Temple is completed, and Solomon brings the Ark of the Covenant into the Most Holy Place.

1 Kings 8:1-11 NLT
The Ark Brought to the Temple
^8:1 Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes—the leaders of the ancestral families of the Israelites. They were to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. ² So all the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn in the month of Ethanim.
³ When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. ⁴ The priests and Levites brought up the Ark of the Lord along with the special tent and all the sacred items that had been in it. ⁵ There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count!
⁶ Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. ⁷ The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. ⁸ These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. ⁹ Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt.
¹⁰ When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. ¹¹ The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord.

Examine the Scriptures

1 Kings 8:1-11 NLT
The Ark Brought to the Temple

^8:1 Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes—the leaders of the ancestral families of the Israelites.

• This event was a spiritual milestone for the entire nation of Israel.

The Ark of the Lord’s Covenant would have a permanent home in the Temple.

They were to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion.

• The Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of the Lord’s presence with His people and represented God’s covenant with Israel.

The ark only contained the tablets of the law.

The Ark’s journey before Jerusalem:

The Ark had been captured by the Philistines. (1 Samuel 4)
The Philistines returned it to the Israelite border town of Beth-shemesh. (1 Samuel 6)
From Beth-shemesh it was moved to Kiriath-jearim where it stayed for approximately20 years.      (1 Samuel 7)

When David initially attempted to move the Ark to Jerusalem from Kiriath-jearim, it was placed on a new cart rather than being carried on poles by the Levites.  When the oxen stumbled, a man named Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark and was instantly struck dead by God.  (2 Samuel 6)

Fearing the anger of the Lord, David halted the procession and redirected the Ark to the nearby home of Obed-edom the Gittite. (Scripture does not identify the town or provide the exact location of Obed-edom’s house).  It remained there (3 months) until David saw that God was blessing Obed-edom’s household, prompting him to complete the journey to Jerusalem properly.

The Ark of the Covenant had remained for some time in a tent sanctuary in the old city of David.

2 Samuel 6:17 NLT
¹⁷ They brought the Ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And David sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord.

Solomon also went to the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to make a sacrifice to the Lord.

1 Kings 3:15 NLT
¹⁵ Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, where he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he invited all his officials to a great banquet.

• The Temple was now ready to receive the Ark of the Covenant. 

² So all the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn in the month of Ethanim.

• Solomon chose to dedicate the temple during the annual Festival of Shelters.

Solomon apparently delayed the dedication of the temple until the following year so it could take place during the annual Festival of Shelters. (September or October)

The temple:

1 Kings 6:38 NLT
³⁸ The entire building was completed in every detail by midautumn, in the month of Bul, during the eleventh year of his reign. So it took seven years to build the Temple. (October or November)

Israelites from throughout the nation were gathering in Jerusalem for a week long (7-8 days) time of celebration and worship.

Leviticus 23 – The Israelites lived in temporary shelters as a reminder of the exodus as well as a celebration for harvest that had been gathered.

• The dedication of the Temple celebrated the establishment of a permanent place of worship in Jerusalem.

This was also a Jubilee year according to some Bible scholars. (This may or may not be true.) 

³ When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. ⁴ The priests and Levites brought up the Ark of the Lord along with the special tent and all the sacred items that had been in it.

• The Ark was not an ordinary piece of furniture. It was a sacred object associated with God’s covenant and His presence among Israel.

1 Chronicles 15:2 NLT (Deuteronomy 10:8)
² Then he commanded, “No one except the Levites may carry the Ark of God. The Lord has chosen them to carry the Ark of the Lord and to serve him forever.” 

Numbers 4:15 explains that the Kohathites were to carry the holy furnishings after the priests had covered them. They were not to touch the sacred objects themselves.

All priests were Levites, but not all Levites were priests.

Only priests could have taken the Ark into the inner sanctuary of the Temple.

1 Chronicles 16:1 NLT
^16:1 They brought the Ark of God and placed it inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to God. 

Note: The “special tent” David had prepared and the Tabernacle appear to be two different structures.

2 Chronicles 1:2-6 NLT (during the early years of Solomon’s reign.)
² Solomon called together all the leaders of Israel—the generals and captains of the army, the judges, and all the political and clan leaders. ³ Then he led the entire assembly to the place of worship in Gibeon, for God’s Tabernacle was located there. (This was the Tabernacle that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had made in the wilderness.)
⁴ David had already moved the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the tent he had prepared for it in Jerusalem. ⁵ But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri and grandson of Hur was there at Gibeon in front of the Tabernacle of the Lord. So Solomon and the people gathered in front of it to consult the Lord. ⁶ There in front of the Tabernacle, Solomon went up to the bronze altar in the Lord’s presence and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on it. 

⁵ There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count!

• Solomon and the assembly of Israel sacrificed so many sheep and cattle that they could not be counted.

The enormous number of sacrifices expressed the significance of this occasion.

Note: At the dedication of the Temple:

1 Kings 8:63 NLT
⁶³ Solomon offered to the Lord a peace offering of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the Temple of the Lord. 

⁶ Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim.

• The Most Holy Place was the innermost and most sacred area of the Temple. It represented the special presence of God among His people.

The cherubim were large figures whose outstretched wings covered the area above the Ark.

The Ark itself was a chest associated with God’s covenant. Its cover, often called the mercy seat, was the place where blood was presented on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:14–16).

Leviticus 16:14-16 NLT
¹⁴ Then he must take some of the blood of the bull, dip his finger in it, and sprinkle it on the east side of the atonement cover. He must sprinkle blood seven times with his finger in front of the atonement cover.
¹⁵ “Then Aaron must slaughter the first goat as a sin offering for the people and carry its blood behind the inner curtain. There he will sprinkle the goat’s blood over the atonement cover and in front of it, just as he did with the bull’s blood. ¹⁶ Through this process, he will purify the Most Holy Place, and he will do the same for the entire Tabernacle, because of the defiling sin and rebellion of the Israelites.

Review: Cherubim

1 Kings 6:23-28 NLT
²³ He (Solomon) made two cherubim of wild olive wood, each 15 feet tall, and placed them in the inner sanctuary. ²⁴ The wingspan of each of the cherubim was 15 feet, each wing being 7 1⁄2 feet long. ²⁵ The two cherubim were identical in shape and size; ²⁶ each was 15 feet tall. ²⁷ He placed them side by side in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Their outspread wings reached from wall to wall, while their inner wings touched at the center of the room. ²⁸ He overlaid the two cherubim with gold.

⁷ The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. 

• The cherubim symbolized the holiness and majesty of God’s heavenly presence.

 Similar to Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4

Isaiah 6:1-3 NLT
^6:1 It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. ² Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. ³ They were calling out to each other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
The whole earth is filled with his glory!” 

Also Revelation 4:8 

⁸ These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. 

Exodus 25:15 NLT
¹⁵ These carrying poles must stay inside the rings; never remove them. 

Remember:
There is a right way and a wrong way to transport the Ark.
(David should have known this.) 

 ⁹ Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt.

The ark had once contained a jar of manna and Aaron’s rod.

Now the ark only contained the tablets of the law.

• The tablets reminded Israel that its relationship with God was based on His covenant. 

¹⁰ When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord.

• The cloud was a visible sign of God’s glorious presence.

Exodus 40:33-35 NLT (The Lord’s Glory Fills the Tabernacle)

³³ Then he hung the curtains forming the courtyard around the Tabernacle and the altar. And he set up the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard. So at last Moses finished the work.
³⁴ Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. ³⁵ Moses could no longer enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. 

¹¹ The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord.

• God’s presence was so overwhelming that the priests could not carry on their duties.

Previous examples of God’s presence with the people:

Exodus 20:21 NLT
²¹ As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.

Deuteronomy 4:10-12 NLT
¹⁰ Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’
¹¹ “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness. ¹² And the Lord spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his form; there was only a voice. 

The Ark of the Covenant now has a home in the Temple.