31 Aug. 1 Kings 8:1-11

31 Aug.  The Ark of the Covenant is installed in the Temple

“King Solomon called for the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes and the leaders of the families to come to him in Jerusalem. He wanted them to bring the Ark of the [Covenant] Agreement with the LORD from the older part of the city. So all the Israelites came together with King Solomon during the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.”

“When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests lifted up the Ark. They carried the Ark of the LORD, the Meeting Tent and the holy things; the priests and the Levites brought them up.”

“King Solomon and all the Israelites gathered before the Ark and sacrificed so many sheep and cattle no one could count them all. Then the priests put the Ark of the Agreement with the LORD in its place inside the Most Holy Place in the Temple, under the wings of the golden creatures.”

“The wings of these creatures were spread out over the place for the Ark, covering it and its carrying poles. The carrying poles were so long that anyone standing in the Holy Place in front of the Most Holy Place could see the ends of the poles, but no one could see them from outside the Holy Place. The poles are still there today.”

“The only things inside the Ark were two stone tablets that Moses had put in the Ark at Mount Sinai. That was where the LORD made his agreement with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.”

“When the priests left the Holy Place, a cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. The priests could not continue their work, because the Temple was filled with the glory of the LORD.”

          (1 Kings 8:1-11)

 

 

When Solomon’s Temple had been fully furnished, the Ark of the Covenant was brought from Mount Zion in the City of David, to the new temple on Mount Moriah.

King Solomon and the elders of the Israelites gathered before the Ark and sacrificed many sheep and cattle. Then the priests put the Ark of the Covenant inside the ‘Holy of Holies’ - the Most Holy Place in the Temple, under the wings of the golden creatures (see 1 Kings 8:6).

When the Ark was brought into the inner sanctuary of the Temple, the glory of the LORD (the radiant presence of God) filled the Temple (see Exodus 24:1-18 and Ezekiel 10:4).

In the Old Testament, the glory of the Lord (‘kabod’ in the Hebrew scriptures, ‘doxa’ in the ‘Septuagint’ – the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) signified the radiant, shining presence of God himself (also called the ‘Shekinah’ in Hebrew, meaning the 'dwelling' or manifestation of God's divine presence).

The glory of the Lord appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai (see Exodus 24:16), and filled the tabernacle – the tent where the Ark of the Covenant was kept (see Exodus 40:34-35). God’s glory then filled the Temple in Jerusalem when the Ark of the Covenant was moved there by King Solomon (see 1 Kings 8:11). The glory of God's presence here on earth continued to fill the Temple during the period of the divided monarchy.

But in Ezekiel’s prophetic vision, the glory and dazzling radiance of God’s holy presence (the ‘Shekinah’) left the Temple just before its destruction by King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC (see Ezekiel 10:18-19).

After the fall of Jerusalem, the prophet Isaiah urged the Jewish exiles in Babylon to prepare the way for the LORD's return, "Then the glory of the LORD will be shown, and all people together will see it" (Isaiah 40:5).

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the radiant, shining presence of God re-appeared on earth again. God’s personal presence was revealed by the glory of the Lord (Greek, ‘doxa’) appearing to the shepherds in the fields on the hillside outside Bethlehem (see Luke 2:9).

The photo evokes the glory - the radiant shining presence of God.

You can read more about the glory of the Lord @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/biblejourney2/31-the-golden-age-of-israel-under-king-solomon/the-ark-of-the-covenant-is-installed-in-the-temple/

Powered by Church Edit