#552 The Heart of It

Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, and stored the silver, the gold, and all the vessels in the treasuries of the house of God.

The Ark Brought to the Temple

2 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. 3 And all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the feast that is in the seventh month. 4 And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark. 5 And they brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the Levitical priests brought them up. 6 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 7 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. 9 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside. And they are[a] there to this day. 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. 11 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to their divisions, 12 and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; 13 and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord,

“For he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever,”

the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. 2 Chronicles 5 ESV

Solomon has walked well in the works that were a vision of his father before him. This is his greatest accomplishment, a huge undertaking, requiring friendship and talent outside the control of his government. It requires planning, labor, attention to detail that could be foregone in one's house or a public place. This is a matter of most serious business, and must replicate the design of the tabernacle, for it is not the presence of a man made idol that we house or seek, but rather we ask the presence of the Lord. Remember, at this point we are looking back upon those that have returned from the Babylonian captivity as they are looking back upon their history. Their are even more lamps lit for them now, for they have the books of Moses, along with the stories of the Judges and the kings. Prophets have been among them here and even in Babylon. If these things were written for them, then they were also for us, and Solomon brings the elders and representatives of the people to witness the carrying in of the ark. Before the throne of grace, the ark, God's foot stool is settled in it's place, there is and must be a sacrifice, for without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. 

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. Psalm 5:4

They sacrifice much but it compares little, for these are a finite people sacrificing to an infinite God. This is not an end to the sacrifice, but it points to The Sacrifice, it tells of an approach that cannot be taken for granted. They bring the ark to it's place, in the heart of the sanctuary, and in it are left still the tablets of the law. Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee. He we are, focused with the angels, upon the glory that is God, our hearts lifted up in praise to not only the Creator, but also the Savior of the world. 

Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 150

The Shekinah fills the temple, so much so that the things that were scheduled to happen next, get put aside, for what are the works of men compared to the glory of God? Paul said it well, he said, 

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2: 1-5

Sometimes we fall in love with our own words, we love the debate, we imagine ourselves in one of those movies where the hero stands up for what is right and gives some marvelous speech that turns everyone to the truth. Sometimes we just proclaim the gospel, that your a sinner, that God hates sin, but sent His only begotten Son into the world, not to justify sin, but to justify sinners, so repent and be saved. Call upon the name of the Lord. Praise Jesus before He shows up in their lives, because He has already shown up in yours, and when He changes your neighbors heart then lift up your voices together, rejoicing, Praise ye the Lord.