1 Kings 8:1 - Meaning and Application

The temple was richly decorated, but without the ark it was like a body without a soul, or a lamp without a flame, or, more rightly, a house without anyone living in it. All the expense and labor spent on this grand building would mean nothing if God did not accept it. Unless he chose it as the place where he would put his name, it would still be only an empty shell. So when all the work was finished (1 Kings 7:51), one thing still remained, and that was to bring in the ark. That final act was the true crowning of the work, and this passage gives a solemn account of it.

Solomon led this service, just as David had led the ark to Jerusalem. Neither man thought it beneath him to follow the ark or to guide the people in honoring it. Solomon calls himself the preacher (Ecclesiastes 1:1), and also the master of assemblies (Ecclesiastes 12:11). He gathers this great crowd together (1 Kings 8:1), and all of them assemble around him (1 Kings 8:2) at the feast in the seventh month, the Feast of Tabernacles, which was held on the fifteenth day of that month (Leviticus 23:34). David, as a good man, brought the ark to a suitable place near him. Solomon, as a great king, brought it to a more splendid place. Each person should serve God with the gifts he has received, and children should continue God’s work where their parents left off.

All Israel attended this service, including the judges, the leaders of the tribes and families, and all the civil and military officers. Such a gathering could rightly be called an assembly of all Israel. They came together for two reasons. First, they wanted to honor Solomon and thank him for all the good he had done for the nation. Second, they wanted to honor the ark, show respect for it, and express their joy that it had now been settled. When the ark is advanced in outward honor, that can sometimes tempt false followers, but it can also help its true cause. So all who love it should rejoice, though with caution. Public blessings call for public thanks. Those who came before the Lord did not come empty-handed, because they offered sheep and oxen without number (1 Kings 8:5). The people in Solomon’s day were wealthy, comfortable, and cheerful, so it was fitting that they should give not only their joy but also part of their wealth to God and his honor.

The priests also did their part. In the wilderness, the Levites carried the ark, because there were not enough priests then. But here, since this was the last time the ark would be moved, the priests themselves carried it, as they had been commanded when it circled Jericho. We are told three things about it. First, what was in the ark, only the two stone tablets (1 Kings 8:9). These were a treasure far greater than all the offerings made by David and Solomon. The jar of manna and Aaron’s rod were beside the ark, but not inside it. Second, what was brought up with the ark: the tent of meeting (1 Kings 8:4). It is likely that both Moses’ tabernacle, which was at Gibeon, and the tent David had set up in Zion, were brought to the temple. In a way, they gave up their special holiness and were joined to the greater holiness of the temple, which would now be the place where God was sought. In a similar way, all the holy things of the church on earth, which are such a joy and glory now, will one day be gathered up into the perfect holiness of heaven. Third, where the ark was placed, in the room set apart for its rest after all its journeys (1 Kings 8:6). It was put in the inner sanctuary of the house, where God was expected to speak to them, in the most holy place. There it stood under the wings of the great cherubim Solomon had made (1 Kings 6:27), which showed the special protection of angels over God’s worship and over the gatherings of his people. The poles of the ark were drawn out far enough to be seen from under the cherubim’s wings, guiding the high priest to the mercy seat over the ark when he entered once a year to sprinkle the blood there. So the poles still served a purpose, even though the ark no longer needed to be carried.

God then graciously showed that he accepted what had been done (1 Kings 8:10, 1 Kings 8:11). The priests could enter the most holy place until God revealed his glory there. After that, no one could come near the ark, except the high priest on the Day of Atonement, and even then only at the cost of his life if he came wrongly. So the cloud of glory, the Shechinah, took possession of the place only after the priests had come out of the inner sanctuary. It filled not only the most holy place, but the whole temple, so that the priests burning incense at the golden altar could not remain inside. By this visible display of his glory, God did several things. He honored the ark and showed that it remained a sign of his presence. Its glory had long seemed dimmed by being moved so often, housed so humbly, and seen too openly. Now God showed that it was still precious to him, and he wanted it honored as much as when Moses first brought it into the tabernacle. He also showed his approval of the temple and its furnishings as service done for his name and for his rule among people. He struck holy fear into the whole assembly, and by what they saw, he confirmed what they had read in Moses’ writings about the glory of God’s appearances to their fathers. That would help keep them faithful to the God of Israel and protect them from idolatry. He also showed that he was ready to hear Solomon’s coming prayer, and more than that, he took up his dwelling in this house so that all his praying people would be encouraged to come to him there. The glory of God appeared in a cloud, a dark cloud, to show two things. First, it showed how dark that old covenant was compared with the light of the gospel, by which we behold the Lord’s glory with open face, as in a mirror. Second, it showed how dim our present life is compared with the vision of God that will be our joy in heaven, where his glory will be fully revealed. Now we can only say what God is not. Then we shall see him as he is.