First Kings Chapter 8 Welcome to the dedication service of the
temple. That is what chapter eight of
First Kings is all about. We have studied the building of
the temple. We've studied the details
surrounding the beautifying of the Temple, some of the
artifacts, and the articles within the Temple, but now we've
reached the climax of this thing called the Temple of Solomon,
and that is primarily the entrance and the arrival of the
Ark of the Covenant. Solomon decided to make an event
out of this one central piece to the House of Worship, and that
is the Ark. And it is no small deal for the
Ark to now find a permanent home in the house that Solomon built
for the Lord, like many chapters and 1st Kings.
Perhaps you already saw that this is a quite lengthy chapter.
There is no way that we're going to cover all of it in one
setting, but we will cover much and trust that as we glean
through it, we will be edified. And so let's come to this
chapter beginning in verse one and read a a few verses and then
take our time to dissect what it is that the Holy Spirit has
inscribed in first kings 8 verse one.
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, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring
up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of
David which is Zion. And all the men of Israel
assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim,
which is the 7th month. And all the elders of Israel
came, and the priests took up the ark, and they brought up the
ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy
vessels that were in the tent. The priests and the Levites
brought them up. And King Solomon and all the
congregation of Israel who had assembled before him were with
him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they
could not be counted or numbered.
And the priest brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to
its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, and the Most Holy
Place underneath the wings. Of the cherubim.
Father, this is your word. We are your people as we sang, O
Lord, we desire to exalt you as we come to the Word.
Would you be exalted in our thoughts?
Would you be exalted in our affections?
Would you be exalted in our obedience?
We ask that you would energize this meeting by the power of the
Holy Spirit and that it would be undeniable that you were in the
midst. Tonight we ask these things with
great reverence and hope, believing that you hear us even
now. We tremble at your word and we
rejoice. At the same time, in Jesus name
we pray. Amen.
The verse one tells us that
Solomon makes a big event out of the arrival of the Ark of the
Covenant, but more than just seeing the grandeur of it and
the celebration around it, we. Were given the precise timing of
it, you know by now how long it took to build the temple.
How long did it take? A total of how many years?
Seven years? Correct.
But look here with me and notice something.
We are told here that in verse two it was at the feast in the
month of Ethanim, which is the 7th month.
So you know and I know how long it took to build the temple.
But in the same scripture where we're told how long it took to
build the temple, we're also told when it was completed.
And if you do not remember when it was completed, just scroll
back a couple chapters in chapter 6 and look here with me.
In verse 38 you will see the precise date and the precise
months specifically where this all came to an end.
Concerning this construction of the temple and in the 11th year
in the month of Bull, which is the 8th month, the house was
finished in all its parts and according to all its
specifications he was seven years in building it.
So in the eighth month of the 11th year.
This is when the temple was completed.
What month of the year did the Ark of the Covenant arrive?
The 7th month. So how many months after the
Temple was completed did Solomon bring in the ark?
11 months. Now some would say no, it wasn't
11 months later. It was probably many years
later. And they take into consideration
that perhaps Solomon brought the Ark in after he completed his
own house, which means many years passed before this took
place, irrespective of the year. The Holy Spirit underscores and
sees it necessary for us to know which month out of the year
Solomon brought in the ark. Why do you think the 7th month
is important? OK, the number seven is
important in the Bible, that's true.
But what took place on the 7th month according to the Jewish
calendar there, the Feast of Tabernacles?
Was that the only feast in the seventh month?
OK, good, Let's do this. How many feasts were commanded
by the Lord for Israel to observe?
7. Another #7?
Correct. Four of them were in the spring.
Three of them were in the fall. Which ones were during the
spring? Passover #1.
Next? Unleavened bread?
True third. The feast of Firstfruits?
By the way? All these.
Feasts point to Jesus Christ. 4th Pentecost or the Feast of
Weeks. So you have Passover, Unleavened
Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, Feast of
Pentecost. Then there's a period of break,
and then you come to the Fall Season.
And there are three feasts. Which are what?
First, the Feast of Trumpets. Second, the Day of Atonement,
Really good. Lastly, the Feast of Booths or
the Feast of Tabernacles if you really it's a fascinating study.
If you want to know more details about what these feasts mean, we
have a whole Bible study on the 7th feast.
Just look up the church YouTube account and look up the seven
Feasts of Israel and your mind will be blown away if you don't
understand the significance of those feasts.
It's a prophetic timetable really.
Now we don't know exactly what feast in the seventh month this
celebration coincides with until you come to the end of this
chapter. Then you receive the clue that
tells you which feast exactly. So look at chapter 8, verse 65.
So Solomon held the feast at that time and all Israel with
him A great assembly from Libo Hamath to the brook of Egypt
before the Lord our God. Seven days out of those 3 feasts
in the seventh month there was only one of those feasts that
were celebrated throughout a week time.
And that was the feast of Tabernacles.
Very good. The Feast of Tabernacles is a
fascinating feast. One of the reasons why it's
fascinating is because they were instructed once a year to build
booths, kind of like tents, more decorative, and they were to
live in these booths throughout the week.
More than that, this feast was held at the end of the harvest
season. And so there would be the in
gathering of produce and vegetation, all these things,
and they would dedicate these things to the Lord, and they
would recognize God for His faithfulness and provision, His
continual leadership and guidance in their lives.
But more than just recognizing him for that year, it would
ultimately be a time of commemoration of a specific
period in Israel's history, the time in which the people were
delivered from slavery out of Egypt into freedom through the
wilderness and through the wilderness.
They lived in what they lived in tents, they lived in booths.
And so as they would reflect on what God had done for them, they
would do so in a very practical and an exciting way by actually
living in booths at this particular time.
And this is how they would recognize God's goodness.
This is how they would recognize his.
Faithfulness to him. But why coincide this feast with
the Ark coming into Jerusalem, into the city of David?
Well, it's for no different reason than why we were told the
exact time when Solomon began the project a couple chapters
ago. The reason why the Holy Spirit,
the reason why we're told that Solomon said this is the feast
that we want to overlap with. This entrance of the Ark is
because the Ark is the ultimate fulfillment of the hope of these
people, the goal of the redemption and the preservation.
Not the Ark itself, but what the Ark symbolize God's throne and
His presence in close proximity to those that he delivered,
exalted, honored, and enjoyed. And so why did the Lord bring
them out of Egypt? Why did He preserve them through
the wilderness? Why did he bring him into the
Promised Land for this very moment that God and man can
dwell as closely as possible to one another?
And you heard from a couple Bible studies ago, the goal of
our redemption in Christ Jesus is no different that the Lord
would bring us to God. Peter tells us through the
blood. And so they're supposed to be
this overlap because they're supposed to recognize at the
same time, this is what God ultimately provides us, not just
the things that we enjoy, our protection, our livelihood, but
His presence, His person. And you know what's so
fascinating? During the millennial reign,
this very feast will be one of the feast.
Not every feast is going to be recognized when Jesus Christ
returns the rules on the earth. But this feast, the feast of tag
manacles, will be a global mandate.
All the nations must recognize the Feast of Boots and they must
come to Jerusalem as they did. This is a pilgrimage feast and
recognize and honor the Lord. So this feast is even pointing
to what's to come. That's why Peter got so excited
on the Mount of Transfiguration when he saw Jesus and his glory,
Moses and Elijah. What did he say?
Out of nowhere, let's build tents for you.
Was he? Was he just groggy and he didn't
know what he was saying? Some people say it, say say
that, and they teach it that way.
No, Peter understood the Old Testament.
When Christ comes in his glory, we will celebrate the Feast of
Tabernacles. Let's do it now.
Let's do it right now. We can build boots for you and
you and you. We could just stay right here.
And if you want the reference for that, that's in Zechariah
1416, where we were told that all the nations will gather and
come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Boots.
And if you. Didn't there was punishment?
There is punishment. So there's a prophetic hope in
this that the one that the Ark points to will one day enter and
arrive, establish his throne, the glory of God.
Not on a chest, not on a treasure piece, but in the
person of Jesus Christ. He will come and he will rule
and reign, and he will be in close proximity to his own, and
we will celebrate that truth. And.
We will realize that this is the goal of our redemption.
Christ himself, Christ himself. When you and I preach the
gospel, we're not just preaching for people to get to heaven.
We're preaching for people to get to Christ.
We're preaching for people to know Christ, love Christ.
Christ is heaven. You don't have Christ in heaven.
You don't have heaven. And so This is why this is
taking place. And now we come here again in
verse 3, let's be reminded what happens at all.
The elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark, and
they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and
all the holy vessels that were in the tent, the priests and the
Levites brought them up. I see something of Solomon's
wisdom here, because his father had an opportunity to bring the
Ark into its rightful place at one time when it was returned
from the Philistines. Did David do it right the first
time? No, he blew it.
For some reason. He found the confidence to do
his own way, an easier way, the worldly way.
He saw the Philistines bring the ark on a cart and he thought,
well, that's pretty convenient, put it on a cart.
Why put it on the shoulders of our men?
Put it on a cart on a new cart and they paid a high price for
it. We pay a high price when we
imitate the world, when God's given us a blueprint for how he
should be honored and worshipped.
And so David made a mistake. He paid a high price.
Somebody died. He got afraid.
He says, I don't want to deal with this.
And then he finds the grace to do it again.
And he does it the right way by adhering to the biblical
mandate. And I see Solomon here doing it
right the first time. He didn't have to make the same
mistake as his father. Wisdom is not just glean by
learning from your own mistakes. Wisdom is glean when you observe
and study the mistakes of others and say I can avoid this
altogether. I thought about that.
I thought further. Isn't it sad that Solomon here
learned from the mistake of his father in this area but not in
another area pertaining to marriage and woman?
We can be very picky and choosy with sins in our lives.
There are people who are very passionate about certain
standards of righteousness and very very, very loose in other
standards. If you're going to stand up for
righteousness, stand for righteousness and everything.
If you're going to stand up for the word of God, don't get
passionate about one era. Get passionate for everything.
No matter what the word of God demands, submit to it and preach
it with equal passion and stand for it with equal conviction.
You know Jesus says whoever takes the least of these things
and teaches others to do life swap likewise.
Will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
When I read that in the in the summer of the Mount, I said,
Lord, I don't want to make light of anything of your word because
I don't want to come to your Kingdom at the end and say, you
know, because you treated these things lightly and you taught
others to do the same, you're going to be called leasing the
Kingdom, God forbid. God forbid.
What happens after Solomon is leading this procession with the
priests? They slaughter these animals
without number. They didn't even count them.
They now come to the goal. They come to the parking spot,
so to speak, of the Ark, and look at this in verse six.
Then the priest 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 weeks. The wings of the cherubim.
For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of
the Ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the Ark and its
poles. And it says here in the polls
were so long that the ends of the polls were seen from the
Holy Place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be
seen from outside. We'll get to that in a moment.
So remember, though the temple served this same person purpose
as the Tabernacle, it looked very different.
It had the same compartments, the same sections, But when you
came into the Most Holy Place, you saw two towering cherubim
that stood on their feet. And if you read the measurement
of these cherubim, we've read it in back in a few chapters ago.
If you do the equivalency of the measurements today that we used
to the to the feet, it it would be 15 feet high each.
These are tall images, and their wingspan covered the length of
the Most Holy Place. You had their outer rings, outer
wings touching the walls, and then their inner wings kissing
each other. So these wings just cover the
whole span of the room. And then they placed the Ark of
the Covenant in the center, underneath the inner wings of
the cherubim. Why are the cherubim place in
the Most Holy Place? Why?
Out of all the imagery, out of
all the creatures that you could have created, why did God ask
for the cherubim to be placed there?
Any idea? So one very strong case you can
make is that it makes a reference to the Garden of Eden,
that after men and women were expelled from paradise, God
called for the Chairman to guard the tree of life.
And So what you have here in a sense is a reference to the
Garden and how man is still through sin, kept from enjoying
the fullness of the presence of God.
Very good point. Yes, very good.
And so may. You didn't say this, but I'm
assuming you're going to say this, that this is a picture of
even the throne of God. Yes, because whenever you and I
get an honor to see a glimpse of the throne of God, the celestial
throne of God, in the scriptures it is often characterized by
these other worldly beings that surround the throne, whether
that be cherubim or whether that be seraphim, these amazing
creatures that are giving glory to God that would frighten us.
But in fact they are the ones who can't even stand in the
holiness of God without covering their faces.
At least the Seraphim. Any other ideas?
Yes, yes. So that's Seraphim, more
specifically the burning ones. But you see the cherubim in
Revelation, so they're there in Ezekiel as well.
So these creatures are there in the throne.
So I make the case, as much as you have the a strong case
concerning the garden, especially what was woven into
what the veil. The cherubim were woven onto the
veil, which is very much a strong picture of, hey look, the
presence of God is being guarded by these holy beings.
More than that is that the Holy Place is a reflection of the
throne of God, and like you said, God's presence surrounded
by these holy beings that worship him.
With that being said, can I ask this question at this point in
Solomon's temple? How many cherubim were in the
Most Holy Place? Was it one?
OK, so total how many more than that?
You had four total. You had one in each side.
And then you had two cherubim that were infused on what?
On the Ark of Covenant itself. And so let me show you the
reference of this, because this is quite amazing when you
consider the four cherubim and how they were positioned,
they're different. So go to Exodus with me and look
at the construction, the building of the Ark of the
Covenant in verse 18 of chapter 25.
Exodus chapter 25, verse 18. Here's the instruction given to
Moses concerning the cherubim on the lid of the Ark of the
Covenant. What was the lid of the Ark of
the Covenant called? Very good the mercy seat.
Here is the instruction. And you shall make 2 cherubim of
gold of hammered work, shall you make them on the two ends of the
mercy seat? Make one cherub on the one end
and one cherub on the other end of one piece.
With the Mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two
ends. The cherubim shall spread out
their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings,
their faces one to another, toward the Mercy Seat shall the
faces of the cherubim be so on both ends of this chest piece,
called the Ark of the Covenant, you had one cherub facing the
other. Their wings are overshadowing
the Ark, and not only are they facing one another, but their
faces are downward. Looking at the mercy seat now,
the two cherub that Solomon built, they're much bigger.
They were not directly attached to the Ark of the Covenant, but
based on the description here, where were they facing?
They were facing outward. They were facing toward what?
You have the most Holy place, if we're looking at it from the
view of the cherub. They're looking toward the holy
place, are they not? If you want the reference for
this, the exact reference is Second Chronicles 313, where
we're told that they face the nave they faced outward.
So let me paint this picture. You have two bigger cherub that
were facing outward, and you had two smaller cherub that were
facing downward and looking toward the mercy.
Seat. And this is really an exciting
illustration. It's really a picture of
something that you and I kind of read in the New Testament.
In what sense? Well, Peter says something quite
fascinating concerning the gospel.
He says this mystery of the gospel of human salvation, the
mercy of God in this gospel is something that angels long.
To lick into. They longed to study this.
They longed to try to understand redemptive history and why this
holy God would redeem these rebels.
They longed to look into the mystery and the mercy of God.
And yet at the same time we're told by Paul in Ephesians
chapter three that the church is really something of a spectacle
and that through the Church the wisdom of God is made known to
these authorities and to these beings from where heavenly
places. So you have these otherworldly
beings that are also looking at this phenomenon called the
Church and how God not only saves these sinners, but he is
conforming them and he is working in them and through
them. And not to others, but even to a
world unknown to us, at least how we perceive it.
Humanly speaking world that we believe in, but a world that we
can't immediately interact with. They're looking in and they're
saying what is this thing called the Church?
Look at the wisdom of God in the church.
Look at the grace of God in the Church.
And these cherub. They were not looking at the
mercy see two of them were but these other two were looking out
into the holy place where the priests were ministering.
It's so fascinating to see how the old connects with the new.
Here's another point and one of the gospel accounts we're told
that when the woman came to the tomb and they and they looked
in, one of the accounts tells. Us that on the bed that Jesus
laid on, there was an Angel on one end and there was an Angel
on the other end. What do you think that is
supposed to point back to? Well, who's in the middle?
It would have been that precious, holy, sinless body of
the Lord Jesus Christ who is ultimately the mercy seat.
Isn't the Bible rich? Isn't the Bible fascinating
because it's authored by an amazing God and so they placed
the ark of the covenant here. And Speaking of pre serving they
would have seen something. This might be a shocking
statement. They would have seen something
of the most holy place. Now that sounds illegal because
it is illegal. But notice verse 8 with me of
first kings 8. And the poles were so long the
poles of the Ark of the Covenant, that the ends of the
poles were seen from the holy place.
Before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from
outside. You want to talk about wrestling
with a verse? Because we're told throughout
the Old Testament, especially when the ark was introduced to
the people, that they had no right to freely look upon the
Ark of the covenant. Even when it was transported, it
was covered. It was a holy thing.
And yet here we're told that the poles, because the Ark also had
poles for the priests to put on their shoulders, those poles,
according to Exodus, were to never be removed.
They were to always remain intact with the Ark.
But here the Holy Spirit highlights that they were so
long that the ends of the poles were sticking out, and that they
could be seen. From the holy place, How do we
make sense of this? Trust me, many people have tried
to give many explanations, and the most satisfacting,
satisfactory explanation that I could agree with is that these
ends of the poles did not actually stick out where you can
see them clearly and get a glimpse of a piece of the art.
But they were being impressed upon the veil, and as they were
being impressed on the veil, there was almost two bulges
against the curtain. And so it was known that these
were the poles that were pressing against the screen, but
they weren't completely protruding out.
Why is this important for us to even know?
That's the question I always ask when it comes to an obscure
verse like this. Why is it important for me to
know that if that is the explanation of this verse, that
these poles were elevating the screen, so to speak, and if you
were serving there in the Holy place, you would see it.
You would see a dent, so to speak, into this thick curtain
called the veil? Well, it looks like Urghese has
a question or answer. Yes.
So in a practical sense, it would be a constant reminder
that the ark is here. It'd be a constant reminder to
the to the ministers that the presence of God is in the midst.
But this is not dogmatic, This is not definite, so to speak.
This is just working with what we have here.
I just began to think about what the Ark symbolized, what the
veil symbolized, and how we're being told that it was seen by
the priest. Right.
This is important for them to register what was happening.
The Ark represents very simply the presence of God and in God
dwelling in and through the ark, manifesting his glory through
the ark. This is God's longing the the
constant threat throughout the Bible, God's longing to dwell
with man. What is the veil symbolize?
Why is there even a veil to begin with?
Separate the presence of God from who, from man, from sinful
man. And again, if you even look at
what's woven on the veil, it's very clear.
In the Tabernacle, especially the cherubim are there, which is
supposed to be a constant reminder of the Garden of Eden,
that the cherubim were raised up to block man's entrance into the
presence of God. And so you have the Ark of the
Covenant, which symbolizes the presence of God.
You have the veil that speaks of the separation caused by sin,
and then you have the poles that are pressing against the veil.
And this is the thought that ran through my mind.
Disagree with me if you would like that.
If this ark represents God's presence, wanting to dwell with
man, this veil representing sin, here is God reaching out.
Here is God reaching out. You know what James tells us?
That this God yearns jealously for the spirits that he has made
in US. In a sense, even as redemptive
history is progressing, what you're what you're seeing in the
Most Holy Place is that God is longing to touch man, redeem
man, rescue man, being closer proximity to man.
And so you have the Tabernacle or the ark was very comfortable
in you have the Temple of Solomon where now the poles, the
extension of the ark are pressing against the veil.
And then you come to the New Testament where Jesus Christ
comes in the flesh and he tabernacles among men.
And then, after Jesus Christ ascends into heaven, he sends
his. Spirit.
And what does he do? He dwells in you and I.
How much closer can you get than that?
You are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
And so here we have a God who first love us, and we can love
him because he first love us. Here is a God that even in this
small picture showing his longing and yearning to be with
you and I, he doesn't need us, but He desires us.
This moved me when I saw this, and I wonder if it ran through
the mind of the priests as they were serving there.
There's the ark being pressed against the veil.
What does that say about God's heart?
And we read on. And what do we see?
Something else concerning the ark.
This is the concluding thought concerning the ark.
It's not so much about the ark itself, but the contents in the
ark. If you were troubled by verse 8,
at least puzzled get. Ready for verse nine?
There was nothing in the Ark. Except the two tablets of stone
that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant
with the people of Israel when they came out of the land of
Egypt. Why is that puzzling?
Because there are two other articles that were supposed to
be in the Ark. And if you want a summation of
this, it's actually in the New Testament.
What book do you think I'm about to quote?
Very good. You know your Bible as well.
Hebrews 9, verse three and four. I want you to see this with your
own eyes. Hebrews 9, three and four.
The author of Hebrews, who many believed to be Paul, masterfully
makes a case for the supremacy of Christ, and he speaks about
the very structure that we are referring to, though it's very
likely he's actually speaking about the Tabernacle more than
the temple. So what does he say here?
Says here in verse 4 having the golden altar of incense in the
ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold in which was
a golden. Urn holding the Manna and Aaron
staff that budded and the tablets of the covenant.
There it is. You have three things.
The golden urn of Manna that was ordered in Exodus.
You have Aaron's rod that budded that was ordered in #17 and then
you have the tablets which was ordered back in Exodus to be
placed in the Ark of the Covenant.
Do we have a contradiction here because we're told in First
Kings 8-9 that there was nothing except for the tablets of stone?
No one, because it could be that the author, if he was just
speaking about the Tabernacle and others, would even make the
case that it was only the tablets of stone that were
committed to be in the Ark and the golden Urn of Manna and
Aaron's rod were to be placed around the Ark.
Where do they get that notion from?
Well, if you look at the instructions about the Golden
Urn and Aaron's rod, there's very specific language and the
language was this place it before the Ark of the Covenant.
And so they would make the case on top of that.
Well, if you look at the author's point here.
He adds another thing. In the Most holy place that's
technically not supposed to be there.
What is it? Look at verse 4 again.
What's out of place? What's not supposed to be be
there? Somebody whispered it.
Don't be shy. Huh.
The first thing having the
golden altar of incense and the Ark of the Hold on, There's no
end in the in the Most Holy Place, the only thing in the
Most Holy. Place is the Ark of the
Covenant. The one piece of furniture
before you would enter into the Most Holy Place was the altar of
incense. That was the closest thing to
the veil that would lead into the Most Holy Place, which is a
practical picture of what that the closest place you can be in
terms of knowing the presence of God is prayer.
The altar of incense symbolizes prayer and that was the closest
thing to the presence of God symbolizing the Ark of the
Covenant. You want to be close to the
Lord? Get a prayer life.
You want to know his presence, get a prayer life.
But more than that, it's a picture of the intercessory
ministry of Jesus. It's amazing.
So this altar of incense, why? Well, why?
Where did you go? What?
Why is the golden altar of incense in the Most Holy Place?
And here's the argument. Well, in doesn't necessarily
mean in if it's true that the golden altar is not in the Most
Holy Place. And you can also say that the
Golden Urn and the the budded staff is not in the Ark of the
Covenant. Regardless, we can still ask the
question based on 1st Kings 8-9 what happened to the Golden Urn
of Manna and to Aaron's staff? Because it's being explicitly
stated there was nothing in the Ark as though the the Holy
Spirit wants us to know nothing else was in this.
The only thing that's important to know that was in the Ark is
the law. No explanation.
You'd be hard pressed to find an answer to why, but what many
would say if you don't hold to this view that it's not
necessarily and maybe before or around.
That there was something significant that happened in the
history of the Ark of the Covenant that could possibly
explain what happened to these other articles.
I'm thinking something obviously in between Moses time with the
Tabernacle and Solomon's time with the Temple.
Was there any significant episode that could explain the
missing Golden Urn and Aaron Staff?
The Ark was captured By who? The Philistines.
First Samuel 4-5 and six? Because what people would say to
this is, well, clearly they were.
Removed somehow, some way they were removed.
Well, how were they removed? Ah.
Maybe during that 7th month period when it was stolen from
the people of Israel, the Philistines found liberty to say
oh look what's in here. And so it could be that they
either removed or took, for whatever reason, the Golden Urn
of Mana and Aaron's. But it's staff.
And if that is true, if that is the explanation, I find it
absolutely hilarious that they left the.
Law in there, like what is this Looks like commands.
Keep it in there, give it back to them.
We don't want that. And if that is true, then what a
wonderful lesson of how the enemy works.
You know how God wants you to see Him in a relational way, and
even through the commandments that you would see it as a
delight because you love the person behind the commands.
You know how? Satan would like you to view God
through the law and the law alone.
Do's and don'ts. Do's and don'ts, do's and
don'ts. You know, so many people believe
Christian is just about do's and don'ts, Do's and don'ts.
Can I do this? Can I not do this?
Can I go there? Can I not go there?
Yes, commands are important, but the law here the.
Tablets do not symbolize the commands of God as a response of
our love toward Him. This is speaking about the
condemnation of the law, the condemnation of the law, And if
you purely view the God of this book through the lens of the
law, you're doomed. You're doomed.
You're hopeless. That's the point of the law.
To make you feel hopeless, To show you that you cannot satisfy
this righteous demand. So if the enemies of Israel did
remove these two other things, which is significant?
The rod symbolizes resurrection. I won't get into the other
details. Here's the law.
That's the only thing that's left.
You're saying? Well, yeah, but the law is
important. It is important.
But for what purpose? Be careful how you relate to the
law, even the law in the Ark of the Covenant.
Notice where it was placed. Are you with me?
Notice where it was placed. The law on the tablets of stone
were in the ark. Correct.
Yes. God's holiness, Yes.
The code of his righteousness, Yes, His standards for us to
relate to him. But also yes, impossible to
keep, impossible to observe. So it's in the Ark as a memorial
of His Holiness. But what is on top of the Law?
The mercy seat. The Mercy seat Shields the law.
The Mercy of God covers the demands of the Law.
And what was in between that mercy?
What was in between those cherubim?
Once a year, the blood blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat, and
it was the Mercy that was hovering over the Law.
You can't keep this law. You need mercy.
That's the message of the ark of the covenant and Jesus the
greater ark of the covenant. And So what happens?
Let's read verse. 10 And when the priest came out of the Holy
place, a cloud filled the House of the Lord, so that the priest
could not stand to minister because of the cloud.
For the glory of the Lord filled the House of the Lord.
So once the Ark was placed, people stepped back and a
manifestation of the glory of God began to reveal itself.
And this is not the first time that a cloud filled the House of
the Lord. In Exodus 40, we're told that at
the completion of the Tabernacle and the placement of all the
ordered pieces. A cloud also came and filled the
House of the Lord. Why did the cloud come in the
Tabernacle? Why did the cloud come in the
temple? As a sign of divine approval of
what just took place. And the people would have
witnessed and recognized. God is pleased with this work.
He will dwell here. He does say yes, and he does
accept this offering. But notice the language here.
In verse 10 and verse 11, a cloud filled the House of the
Lord. And then you read on and it says
the same thing. The glory of the Lord.
Filled the House of the Lord. I told you.
That's the same language used in Exodus chapter 40 as well.
It filled the Tabernacle. Do you think God's desire is any
less for the House of God today? Who am I speaking about this
church building? I'm speaking about you and I.
In the same way that the Lord filled the Tabernacle, in the
same way that the Lord filled the temple.
In the same way the Lord wants to fill you and I not partially,
completely, not in sections of your life, in saturation of your
entire life. Paul, commanded by the Spirit in
Ephesians 518, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, filled,
bubbling over, saturated, covered in the fragrance of the
person and will and character of Jesus Christ.
And that is something you and I should long for that every part
of who we are would be. Permeated by him?
How ridiculous would it be if
the glory of the Lord filled just a couple of the rooms in
the house? What's this?
No, everything was blanketed over.
And the will of God in the person.
The Holy Spirit is no different for you and I.
He wants every corner of your life to be touched by him, to
reflect Him. To carry his glory.
How does that look?
Does that look like you try really hard to look righteous
and stoic? That's not the glory of God.
It's not. It's not you being legalistic
and you looking like you're sour and you think that being holy
means that you're not an enjoyable person.
God forbid. That's just when you allow the
Holy Spirit, as you surrender every part of your life, to take
control of that and to guide you and lead you and to convict you
and to conform you and to give you the wisdom to know how to
respond to every situation, circumstance, scenario, person,
the way Jesus would. That's what the glory of God
looks like. And so yearn for that to be
filled with the Holy Spirit. By the way, that's not a
suggestion. It's a command.
Hey, if you feel like it'd be filled with the holy.
Spirit, Huh. Is that how Paul spoke about the
Holy Spirit? No.
Be filled? And the verb tense?
There's continually filled, continually filled, continually
filled. So now the glory of God shows up
to the degree that it was so thick in the House of God that
the the priest couldn't even continue to minister.
They had to excuse themselves. And this was a sight for all to
see. And Solomon saw this.
And as Solomon is witnessing the glory of God now perfuming this
house, because what's the House of God without the glory of God?
What's the temple without the presence of God?
It's just a hollow museum. There are many religious
facilities today that prize and praise of their artifacts and
their art and all these different things and materials.
And the money they spent and they're bankrupt of the presence
of God because it's not for the glory of God and it doesn't host
the truth of God. So Solomon now for the rest of
this chapter is really going to respond to this.
He's going to respond to what's taking place here in the first
thing he does is he says something to the Lord and then
he's going to say something to the people.
And that's what we're going to cover the next few verses here
and then we will end. Let's read here in verse 12
then, Solomon said. The Lord has said that he would
dwell in thick darkness. I have indeed built you an
exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.
Where does God dwell? According to Solomon, In what
thick darkness is that your imagination when it comes to the
manifestation of the glory of God?
Do you see a thick darkness or an unapproachable light?
According to First Timothy 616 First John, we're told that God.
Is. Light God is light.
First Timothy six. He dwells in unapproachable
light. Solomon thick darkness, Which
one is it? How can you have?
God is light. He dwells in unapproachable
light, but He also dwells in thick darkness.
Again, this is reminiscent of what happened on Mount Sinai.
When the Lord came, He also came to reveal himself in his glory
and a thick dark cloud, Thunder clapping, trumpet sounds.
It was absolutely terrifying. And here's God coming again in
thick darkness. Contradiction.
No. A declaration of the mercy of
God. How so?
Well, if he does dwell in unapproachable light, if his
unfiltered presence is consuming, so beautiful.
I mean, if you have the glory of God causing them not to be able
to minister, what would it look like if you removed every veil?
He would absolutely overwhelm you.
Dare I say, kill you? Lord, show us your glory.
Be careful, because when even the closest followers and
greatest servants of God were exposed to the glory of God,
they couldn't stand under their own feet.
You talk about Daniel, who is called the beloved of the Lord,
And when he had some glimpse of the glory, the messengers of
God, he fainted. So thick darkness, I say the
mercy of God. Why?
Because if that is, what happens to those who see just a
percentage of his power. What would it be like if it came
in its complete form? And so, God, I believe in thick
darkness cloaks himself. He provides this canopy, this
pavilion. This way of.
Shielding the brilliance of His Holiness so that he could make
himself known without making his subjects turn into fine powder.
And so this thick darkness is really a screen so that the Lord
can come and meet with his people.
And you know what? He does that in the New
Covenant? The person of Jesus Christ.
He doesn't come in thick darkness.
He comes in flesh and he walks among us, and he eats with us
and he touches us. Oh yeah, you come in the glory.
Oh, if God really wants to reveal himself, let him reveal
himself. And be careful, one he does
reveal himself too. He knows his nature better than
yours, and in his mercy he comes in the flesh for many reasons,
for many reasons. One of them is because He's
merciful and the glory of God shines through the sun.
So he dwells in thick darkness. And then he says, I have indeed
built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in
forever. Now look at this.
Then the king, verse 14, turned around and blessed He blessed
all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel
stood. So as he's witnessing this, He's
glory of the Lord dwells in thick darkness.
I have indeed built you a house, an exalted house that you may
dwell in forever. And he's just overwhelmed by
this. And then he turns around toward
the people who are standing there witnessing the same thing,
and he begins to bless him. What a wonderful pattern.
What a wonderful pattern for us to consider for our own lives,
That when you and I behold the glory of God, when we are
visited by manifestations of his faithfulness, even his beauty in
the word in life, you know what should that do to us?
It should cause us to do many things.
Worship him, adore him, yes, but also turn around and bless
others. The closer you are to the Lord,
the more the Lord shows you should make you of a greater
blessing to other people. I know a lot of people who have
a lot of biblical knowledge, but the way they treat people shows
that I don't know if you really got what you got.
The more you know, the more you see it will make an impression
on you that will have you turning around and looking at
others and blessing them. And he blesses them by speaking
to them about the truth of God. Look at verse 15.
And he said, blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who
with his hand has fulfilled what he has promised with his mouth.
To David, my father saying, since the day that I brought my
people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the
tribes of Israel in which to build a house that my name might
be there, but I chose David to be over my people Israel.
Now it was in the. Heart of David, my Father, To
build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
But the Lord said to David my father, whereas it was in your
heart to build a house for my name, you did well in that it
was in your heart. Do you sense the preciousness of
that commentary? He's telling the people, you
know, hey, look, my father originally had this desire to
build what you see, and it was in his heart.
And although it was in his heart, the Lord recognized that.
And he prays that. And he goes on to explain how he
didn't fulfill that through David, but through myself.
You know what's so precious about this?
The Lord knows the desires of our hearts.
That's what's so beautiful about this verse.
The Lord sees, recognizes, and if it's the right desire, even
praises the desires of our hearts.
Think about that. Think about how weighty that is.
Yet this thing, this chamber that entertains so many things,
that meditates and dreams and hopes, God sees it all, and he
saw it in David. And he prays that you did well.
You know what He didn't say? He didn't say you did well, and
that you built me a house. He says you did well, that it
was in your heart. The simple desire alone blessed
God. The wish alone pleased God, and
it was something that he was willing to command.
You know, you might have desires to serve God in a particular
way, and you never saw it realized.
Do you realize that God is pleased with the desire alone?
Perhaps you feel limited. Perhaps you're struggling with
God's Providence, maybe even with God's gifting in your life,
and you'd understand. I have this desire, Lord, why
aren't you allowing me to walk in these desires?
They're for you. And that's wonderful.
We're about to find out how God does lead us in a moment.
But be at rest with this truth, that the Lord sees that desire,
and though it may never be realized the way you had hoped,
for the desire alone blesses him.
That moved my heart. That moved my heart.
But here's the other lesson. Look at verse 19.
And nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son
who shall be born to you, shall build the house for my name.
So the desire was there. It was strong.
You read the Psalms? It actually says that he did not
sleep until he built the house for the Lord.
David could even sleep at night. Talk about desire.
This man could not even put his eyes to rest because he could
not fathom that he lived in a house and God lived in a tent.
I must in my lifetime do something, contribute to the
honor and glory of God. He couldn't sleep.
And yet, as strong as those feelings were, as strong as that
passion were, Passion was. The Lord says you're not going
to build it. Here's the truth in that.
Here's the lesson. Feelings, no matter how strong
they are, do not determine the legitimacy of it being realized.
No matter how strong your passion is, no matter how strong
your desire is, it's not always an indication that's the will of
God. Oh, this is so important, man,
because our emotions can dictate so much.
I really want to do this, even if it's for the Lord.
But it doesn't mean it's from God.
He can use desires to nudge you in a direction.
He can use and even deposit things in you to lead you in a
certain place, in a certain course of action.
But not always. David is an example of that.
He had this passion, passion. He had this longing, and yet it
was not in alignment with God's will.
Too many people live by their emotions.
Too many people live by what they feel.
Too many people interpret what they feel to be God's will
again. This is a call for wisdom.
At the same time, again like in First Timothy three, he who
desires the office of an overseer desires a noble thing.
God can speak through your desires, but if you always think
that everything you feel and long for is the will of God,
you're in trouble. So what do I do?
Will you take those desires, those plans, those dreams, those
hopes? And you laid them at the feet of
Lord saying, Lord, I desire this to you.
Is this what you want? Is this you saying this is what
you want me to do? If not, then Lord, make me
sensitive enough to you to know that this is not from you.
It's simple as that. You do your part and surrender
to him in humility and he'll do his part.
He's a big God. He knows how to lead your life.
He knows how to clear the air. He knows how to subdue you and
keeping you from making foolish mistakes even in the name of
your feelings. Just surrender it to him, no
matter how strong those feelings are.
Learn to bring him to the Lord and let him clarify if this is
from him or not. Do you want further proof of
this? OK, fine.
Let me give you a New Testament. Unless you beat me over the head
and say, oh, you're Old Testament.
OK, a New Testament. Was there a man who desire to do
something very noble, very righteous, very holy, and the
Lord said no on many examples. Let me give you one of the
clearest ones. Go to Acts 16.
Here's Paul. And what does Paul want to do?
He wants to preach the gospel. He wants to.
Fulfill the Great Commission verse six of Acts 16.
In Acts 16, verse six we read and they went through the region
of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy
Spirit to speak the Word in Asia.
Is it speaking the Word a good thing?
Amen, isn't it? Preaching to the lost a
wonderful thing, Amen. Isn't spreading the gospel to
the nations the will of Christ one of his final commands before
he sent it to Amen and yet? Here's Paul strategizing a
brilliant man and realizing, OK, where do we need to go next?
And he goes to this region and having been forbidden from the
Holy Spirit. No.
OK and so look at verse 7. And when they had come up to
Meijia, they attempted to go into Bethenia, but the Spirit of
Jesus did not allow them. No talk about patience.
Traveling wasn't easy back then, by the way.
You can't call an Uber. You can't take a flight?
No. Very difficult.
So they go here? No.
How did the Lord make it known? It's debated, but it was clear
enough for them to say the Lord doesn't want us here next door.
No. Why?
Because it wasn't the time for this region to receive the
gospel. And there was a more pressing
matter that needed to be attended to.
There was a call from Macedonia. So here's another example of a
good thing, a noble thing, a passionate pursuit.
Being redirected by God, who is all knowing.
And so this is a call for us to be prayerful, to be sensitive,
to be seeking counsel, and to walk in the Spirit and ask the
Lord to work with our feelings and to sober us if those
feelings are not in alignment with His desires for our lives.
Additionally, may I add that noticing in both David and
Paul's examples, the Lord guides us not just through open doors,
but closed doors. We're very simplistic in the way
we view and even counsel people's leadership or God's
leadership in people's lives. God can lead you through
hindrance. Often times when we feel
resistance, when we feel obstacles, we call a preming,
OK, Satan is hindering us here. Let's pray.
What if it's God? What if it's God doing a very
wonderful job, keeping you from making a very foolish mistake in
terms of timing, in terms of your resources, in terms of you
getting in trouble if you go in that direction at this time?
So how do we deal with this? Because Paul says to the
Thessalonians that he tried to go through them, but Satan
hindered him. The place of prayer, the place
of being with spirit filled believers.
The place of seeking counsel from spirit filled people.
That's where you're and I are the safest.
And so be encouraged. With this, you might have a
strong desire, and that desire will not be realized.
Maybe not realized at all, maybe not realized at this time.
God is no less leading you there than He is.
If He gave you what you desired, you might be thinking, the way
God is going to answer is going to open this door.
God can slam the door shut in your face, and it's just as an
act of mercy. As though he had opened the door
for you to walk through. Open your mind.
Expand the breath of your understanding how God leads and
shepherds his sheep. And realize that his Nos are
just as good as his yeses. And you?
Know what's so fascinating? If I was Paul, at least we have
no indication that Paul felt this way.
But if I was Paul, I'd be very puzzled.
I'd be puzzled by this. OK, go here.
Nope. Go here.
Nope. It's like what's going on?
And the leadership of God can be puzzling in our lives, but it's
never void of purpose. He's never forgetful.
He with all the millions of children that he has in the
world, he's never overwhelmed. I get overwhelmed when I have so
many emails to answer that week. I get Frank, oh, I got to do
this. It just messes up with my
routine. But God is not like me.
He's not like you. Thank God for that.
He's not overwhelmed. He doesn't break out in the
sweat when all these needs come to him.
At the same time effortless. You know, he's writing a million
stories right now, and it's just nothing to him.
You know, he's providentially putting pieces in the lives of
every single one of his children.
And he's enjoying it. This is the God you and I serve,
so be careful. Bring that passion to the feet
of Jesus. Say, Lord, is this your will?
And be careful when you see circumstances that don't seem to
fit with your timeline or your script.
Realize that God is a better story writer than you are.
Let's come back and finish first.
Kings 8 verse 20 Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that
he made, For I have risen in the place of David my father, and
sit on the throne of Israel as the Lord promised.
And I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of
Israel. And there I have provided a
place for the ark in which is the covenant of the Lord that He
made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of
Egypt. And for the rest of this chapter
Solomon is going to pray a very, very long prayer, with several
requests in the subject of our study.
Next week will be what these requests mean for us, and some
wonderful lessons about what we should do in prayer.
Let's pray. It is indeed our delight, Lord,
to be sanctified by the truth. Your word is truth.
Thank. You, for manifesting your glory
through this chapter. Thank you for teaching and
instructing us about who you are.
Lord, may we be a people with a greater zeal and curiosity to
look into the things of the mystery of the Gospel and to
realize that the Church is no small thing but a trophy case of
your grace. May not the angels and the
creatures of another world outdo us in the pursuit of knowing
your truth more and understanding your character and
how you relate to us? Lord, every person here has a
different background. Every person here is enduring or
enjoying a season that's different than the other.
But, Lord, may we be reminded by the simple truth that you are in
control and that your will takes priority over our desires, and
that, Lord, your leadership is greater than how we could
conjure up a plan for our own lives.
Lord, thank you that there's a day coming where the Greater Ark
of the Covenant will make his way to Jerusalem, and we will
rule and reign with him and we will know His presence forever.
And you will fashion us with bodies unlike the priest who
could not be in the same presence of that glory.
We will be able to register, receive, enjoy and drink every
drop of your brilliance and holiness for ages unending Glory
be to the Father. Glory be to the Son, Glory be to
the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name we pray.
Amen. Amen.
Hey, if you were touched by this Bible study and you feel that it
is necessary for you to not stand but to just be in a place
of quiet prayer and to talk to the Lord, you do that.
You're not forced to stand. But if you want to stand in
honor of the Lord and sing to him, you can stand.
At this moment. All I ask is that you respond to
the Bible study in one way or another.
That could be by singing or that can be by saying, Lord, thank
you. You spoke to my heart or Lord
throughout the whole Bible study.
My heart was dry. I don't want to leave here Dry
touch my heart. You just commune with the God
that you just heard about, and he will honor that.
Whenever you're ready, please.