2 Chronicles 5:1 - Meaning and Application

This agrees with what we read in 1 Kings 8:2 and following, where the ark was brought into the new temple with great solemnity. There was no need for great ceremony when the dedicated items were brought in, because they only added to the temple’s wealth, and perhaps to its beauty. But they could not add to its holiness, because it is the temple that makes the gold holy (Matthew 23:17).

This shows how fair Solomon was both to God and to his father David. Whatever David had set apart for God, Solomon would not take for himself, even if he might have wanted to. He placed it among the temple treasures instead. Children who want to receive the blessing of godly parents should follow their good plans and not undo them. Solomon had already made a great supply of temple vessels (2 Chronicles 4:18), and many materials were left over. He did not put them to some other use, but stored them in the treasury for future need. Things dedicated to God must not be taken away for ordinary use. To do that is sacrilege, a serious act of stealing what belongs to God.

It was right, however, that the ark should be brought in with great solemnity, and so it was. The other vessels had been newly made, and made larger to fit the temple. But the ark, with the mercy seat and the cherubim, was the same as before. That is because God’s presence and grace are the same in a small gathering as in a large one, and in a weak church as in a thriving one. Wherever two or three meet in Christ’s name, he is truly present with them just as surely as if thousands were there. The ark came with a great gathering of Israel’s elders, who added to the dignity and solemnity of the event (2 Chronicles 5:2-4). It was carried by the priests (2 Chronicles 5:7), brought into the most holy place, and set under the wings of the large cherubim Solomon had made there (2 Chronicles 5:7-8). It was there “to this day” (2 Chronicles 5:9), meaning either the day when this history was first written down, or, if read another way, the day of Jerusalem’s ruin, that sad day (Psalm 137:7).

The ark was a type, or picture, of Christ, and so it stood for God’s presence among his people. The promise, “I am with you always, even to the end of the world,” in effect brings the ark into our worship gatherings, if we lay hold of that promise by faith and prayer. This should be what we most earnestly seek. Lord, if your presence does not go with us, why should we go at all? If Christ leaves a temple, it becomes a deserted place (Matthew 23:38).

With the ark they also brought up the tabernacle and all the holy vessels that had been in it (2 Chronicles 5:5). Since these had been dedicated to God, they were not taken for another use or melted down for the new temple, even though they were no longer needed there. They were carefully stored as reminders of earlier times, and likely some vessels that were still useful continued to be used.

All of this was done with great joy. They kept a holy feast for the occasion (2 Chronicles 5:3), and they offered sheep and oxen without number (2 Chronicles 5:6). The setting up of public worship according to God’s command, with signs of his presence, is and should be a cause of great joy for any people. When Christ is formed in a soul, that is, when his life and teaching are fixed in the heart, and the law of God is written there, so that the soul becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit, there is true peace and satisfaction. Whatever comfort we receive, we should give God the glory for it with the sacrifice of praise, and not hold back. God is pleased with such sacrifices. If God blesses us with his presence, we must honor him with our service, giving him our very best.