2 Chronicles 5:11 - Meaning and Application

Solomon and the elders of Israel had done all they could to honor the solemn bringing in of the ark. But God gave the greatest honor by showing that he accepted what they had done. The cloud of glory that filled the temple made it more beautiful than all the gold covering it and all the jewels decorating it. Even so, that glory is nothing compared with the glory of the gospel age (2 Corinthians 3:8-10).

Notice how God took possession of the temple. He filled it with a cloud (2 Chronicles 5:13). First, this showed that he accepted this temple in the same way he had accepted the tabernacle of Moses, and that he would be present in it just as he had been there. He had made his public entrance into the tabernacle by a cloud (Exodus 40:34). Second, it showed kindness to human weakness. People could not endure the full brightness of God’s light, because it would have overwhelmed them. So he spread his cloud over it (Job 26:9). Christ also revealed things to his disciples only as they were able to bear them, often speaking in parables that wrapped divine truth like a cloud.

Third, the cloud would stir holy reverence and fear in everyone who worshiped there. Christ’s disciples were afraid when they entered a cloud (Luke 9:34). Fourth, it pointed to the darkness of that earlier covenant, under which they could not clearly see the full end of what was being set aside (2 Corinthians 3:13).

Notice also when God took possession of the temple. He did it when the priests came out of the holy place (2 Chronicles 5:11). That is the way possession is given. Everyone else must step aside so the rightful owner may come in. If we want God to dwell in our hearts, we must make room for him and let everything else yield.

On this occasion, all the priests who were there had been made holy for service (2 Chronicles 5:11). There was work enough for all of them, since so many sacrifices were being offered. It was also fitting that all of them should see this great scene and feel its weight.

God filled the house with a cloud when the singers and musicians praised him. That is worth noticing. It was not when they offered sacrifices, but when they sang God’s praise, that he gave this sign of his favor. The sacrifice of praise pleases the Lord more than an ox or bullock (Psalm 69:31).

All the singers and musicians were used, from all three Levite families. To complete the music, 120 priests joined them with trumpets, all standing at the east end of the altar, on the side of the court farthest from the people (2 Chronicles 5:12). When this part of the worship began, the glory of God appeared.

Notice three things. It happened when they were united, making one sound together. The Holy Spirit came on the apostles when they were gathered with one accord (Acts 2:1-4). Where there is unity, the Lord gives his blessing. It happened when they were lively and wholehearted, lifting up their voices to praise the Lord. We serve God rightly when we serve him with zeal, that is, with warm and earnest devotion. It happened when they were praising God’s lasting mercy and goodness.

Scripture repeats the words, “His mercy endures forever,” more often than any other saying, even twenty-six times in one psalm (Psalm 136). Yet this simple praise was the one especially honored from heaven. The priests were not singing some high and unusual song when the glory of God appeared, but this plain truth: “He is good, and his mercy endures forever.” God’s goodness is his glory, and he is pleased when we give him glory for that goodness.

The effect was that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud (2 Chronicles 5:14). This showed, as well as anything could, that the law appointed priests who were weak and limited. It also pointed ahead to the end of the Levitical priesthood, the priesthood tied to the law, when the Messiah would come, and God’s fullness would dwell in him bodily. In Christ, God’s glory lived among us, though it was still covered like a cloud. The Word became flesh. When he comes to his temple, like a refiner’s fire, who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? (Malachi 3:1-2)