1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:07,240 First Kings Chapter 8 Welcome to the dedication service of the 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:11,480 temple. That is what chapter eight of 3 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:16,600 First Kings is all about. We have studied the building of 4 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:19,600 the temple. We've studied the details 5 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,400 surrounding the beautifying of the Temple, some of the 6 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:26,080 artifacts, and the articles within the Temple, but now we've 7 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:29,720 reached the climax of this thing called the Temple of Solomon, 8 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:35,000 and that is primarily the entrance and the arrival of the 9 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:41,280 Ark of the Covenant. Solomon decided to make an event 10 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:46,440 out of this one central piece to the House of Worship, and that 11 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,200 is the Ark. And it is no small deal for the 12 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:55,000 Ark to now find a permanent home in the house that Solomon built 13 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,560 for the Lord, like many chapters and 1st Kings. 14 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:02,280 Perhaps you already saw that this is a quite lengthy chapter. 15 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,120 There is no way that we're going to cover all of it in one 16 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:09,240 setting, but we will cover much and trust that as we glean 17 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,280 through it, we will be edified. And so let's come to this 18 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:16,120 chapter beginning in verse one and read a a few verses and then 19 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,640 take our time to dissect what it is that the Holy Spirit has 20 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,560 inscribed in first kings 8 verse one. 21 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,880 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the 22 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,600 heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers houses of the 23 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,960 people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring 24 00:01:33,960 --> 00:01:37,800 up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of 25 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,600 David which is Zion. And all the men of Israel 26 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:46,200 assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim, 27 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,120 which is the 7th month. And all the elders of Israel 28 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,640 came, and the priests took up the ark, and they brought up the 29 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:57,800 ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy 30 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,440 vessels that were in the tent. The priests and the Levites 31 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:04,240 brought them up. And King Solomon and all the 32 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,600 congregation of Israel who had assembled before him were with 33 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:12,160 him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they 34 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:14,200 could not be counted or numbered. 35 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,320 And the priest brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to 36 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:20,600 its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, and the Most Holy 37 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,800 Place underneath the wings. Of the cherubim. 38 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:30,360 Father, this is your word. We are your people as we sang, O 39 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:35,440 Lord, we desire to exalt you as we come to the Word. 40 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:37,920 Would you be exalted in our thoughts? 41 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:39,920 Would you be exalted in our affections? 42 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:42,400 Would you be exalted in our obedience? 43 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:46,280 We ask that you would energize this meeting by the power of the 44 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,920 Holy Spirit and that it would be undeniable that you were in the 45 00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:52,120 midst. Tonight we ask these things with 46 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:55,280 great reverence and hope, believing that you hear us even 47 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,080 now. We tremble at your word and we 48 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:00,720 rejoice. At the same time, in Jesus name 49 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:02,000 we pray. Amen. 50 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,640 Amen. The verse one tells us that 51 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:10,680 Solomon makes a big event out of the arrival of the Ark of the 52 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,720 Covenant, but more than just seeing the grandeur of it and 53 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,440 the celebration around it, we. Were given the precise timing of 54 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:23,680 it, you know by now how long it took to build the temple. 55 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:27,080 How long did it take? A total of how many years? 56 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:29,200 Seven years? Correct. 57 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:31,920 But look here with me and notice something. 58 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:37,280 We are told here that in verse two it was at the feast in the 59 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:40,080 month of Ethanim, which is the 7th month. 60 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,640 So you know and I know how long it took to build the temple. 61 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,640 But in the same scripture where we're told how long it took to 62 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,680 build the temple, we're also told when it was completed. 63 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:54,760 And if you do not remember when it was completed, just scroll 64 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,480 back a couple chapters in chapter 6 and look here with me. 65 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:03,280 In verse 38 you will see the precise date and the precise 66 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,600 months specifically where this all came to an end. 67 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:11,520 Concerning this construction of the temple and in the 11th year 68 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:16,279 in the month of Bull, which is the 8th month, the house was 69 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:18,079 finished in all its parts and according to all its 70 00:04:18,079 --> 00:04:20,880 specifications he was seven years in building it. 71 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,280 So in the eighth month of the 11th year. 72 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:26,520 This is when the temple was completed. 73 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:31,160 What month of the year did the Ark of the Covenant arrive? 74 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:36,840 The 7th month. So how many months after the 75 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:39,360 Temple was completed did Solomon bring in the ark? 76 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:42,640 11 months. Now some would say no, it wasn't 77 00:04:42,840 --> 00:04:45,520 11 months later. It was probably many years 78 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:47,720 later. And they take into consideration 79 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,720 that perhaps Solomon brought the Ark in after he completed his 80 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:53,800 own house, which means many years passed before this took 81 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,960 place, irrespective of the year. The Holy Spirit underscores and 82 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:01,520 sees it necessary for us to know which month out of the year 83 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:05,480 Solomon brought in the ark. Why do you think the 7th month 84 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:10,680 is important? OK, the number seven is 85 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:12,760 important in the Bible, that's true. 86 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:15,880 But what took place on the 7th month according to the Jewish 87 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,480 calendar there, the Feast of Tabernacles? 88 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:20,880 Was that the only feast in the seventh month? 89 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,800 OK, good, Let's do this. How many feasts were commanded 90 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:28,440 by the Lord for Israel to observe? 91 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:30,680 7. Another #7? 92 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:34,800 Correct. Four of them were in the spring. 93 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:37,280 Three of them were in the fall. Which ones were during the 94 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:41,360 spring? Passover #1. 95 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,640 Next? Unleavened bread? 96 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:49,240 True third. The feast of Firstfruits? 97 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:50,240 By the way? All these. 98 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:56,560 Feasts point to Jesus Christ. 4th Pentecost or the Feast of 99 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,800 Weeks. So you have Passover, Unleavened 100 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:04,160 Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, Feast of 101 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:06,600 Pentecost. Then there's a period of break, 102 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:08,520 and then you come to the Fall Season. 103 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:10,000 And there are three feasts. Which are what? 104 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:15,360 First, the Feast of Trumpets. Second, the Day of Atonement, 105 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:18,880 Really good. Lastly, the Feast of Booths or 106 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:23,280 the Feast of Tabernacles if you really it's a fascinating study. 107 00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:25,840 If you want to know more details about what these feasts mean, we 108 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:28,000 have a whole Bible study on the 7th feast. 109 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,120 Just look up the church YouTube account and look up the seven 110 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:33,760 Feasts of Israel and your mind will be blown away if you don't 111 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,400 understand the significance of those feasts. 112 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:38,120 It's a prophetic timetable really. 113 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,360 Now we don't know exactly what feast in the seventh month this 114 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:46,560 celebration coincides with until you come to the end of this 115 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:48,400 chapter. Then you receive the clue that 116 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,640 tells you which feast exactly. So look at chapter 8, verse 65. 117 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:56,520 So Solomon held the feast at that time and all Israel with 118 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:00,760 him A great assembly from Libo Hamath to the brook of Egypt 119 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:05,720 before the Lord our God. Seven days out of those 3 feasts 120 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,200 in the seventh month there was only one of those feasts that 121 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:10,280 were celebrated throughout a week time. 122 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:13,040 And that was the feast of Tabernacles. 123 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:15,920 Very good. The Feast of Tabernacles is a 124 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,720 fascinating feast. One of the reasons why it's 125 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:24,400 fascinating is because they were instructed once a year to build 126 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:28,880 booths, kind of like tents, more decorative, and they were to 127 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:31,480 live in these booths throughout the week. 128 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:35,960 More than that, this feast was held at the end of the harvest 129 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:37,800 season. And so there would be the in 130 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,200 gathering of produce and vegetation, all these things, 131 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:44,120 and they would dedicate these things to the Lord, and they 132 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:47,200 would recognize God for His faithfulness and provision, His 133 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,600 continual leadership and guidance in their lives. 134 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:53,640 But more than just recognizing him for that year, it would 135 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:57,640 ultimately be a time of commemoration of a specific 136 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:01,680 period in Israel's history, the time in which the people were 137 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:06,080 delivered from slavery out of Egypt into freedom through the 138 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:08,240 wilderness and through the wilderness. 139 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:11,680 They lived in what they lived in tents, they lived in booths. 140 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:16,280 And so as they would reflect on what God had done for them, they 141 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:20,520 would do so in a very practical and an exciting way by actually 142 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:23,320 living in booths at this particular time. 143 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,320 And this is how they would recognize God's goodness. 144 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:28,400 This is how they would recognize his. 145 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:33,200 Faithfulness to him. But why coincide this feast with 146 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:38,840 the Ark coming into Jerusalem, into the city of David? 147 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:44,120 Well, it's for no different reason than why we were told the 148 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:48,600 exact time when Solomon began the project a couple chapters 149 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:52,120 ago. The reason why the Holy Spirit, 150 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,440 the reason why we're told that Solomon said this is the feast 151 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:59,200 that we want to overlap with. This entrance of the Ark is 152 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:03,840 because the Ark is the ultimate fulfillment of the hope of these 153 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,280 people, the goal of the redemption and the preservation. 154 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:11,840 Not the Ark itself, but what the Ark symbolize God's throne and 155 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:15,680 His presence in close proximity to those that he delivered, 156 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:23,320 exalted, honored, and enjoyed. And so why did the Lord bring 157 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,160 them out of Egypt? Why did He preserve them through 158 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:26,760 the wilderness? Why did he bring him into the 159 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:31,040 Promised Land for this very moment that God and man can 160 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:33,320 dwell as closely as possible to one another? 161 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,440 And you heard from a couple Bible studies ago, the goal of 162 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:39,880 our redemption in Christ Jesus is no different that the Lord 163 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,000 would bring us to God. Peter tells us through the 164 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,040 blood. And so they're supposed to be 165 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:48,440 this overlap because they're supposed to recognize at the 166 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:52,440 same time, this is what God ultimately provides us, not just 167 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:55,600 the things that we enjoy, our protection, our livelihood, but 168 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:59,440 His presence, His person. And you know what's so 169 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:03,000 fascinating? During the millennial reign, 170 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:05,960 this very feast will be one of the feast. 171 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:08,240 Not every feast is going to be recognized when Jesus Christ 172 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,240 returns the rules on the earth. But this feast, the feast of tag 173 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:13,080 manacles, will be a global mandate. 174 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:18,600 All the nations must recognize the Feast of Boots and they must 175 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:22,520 come to Jerusalem as they did. This is a pilgrimage feast and 176 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:26,400 recognize and honor the Lord. So this feast is even pointing 177 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,000 to what's to come. That's why Peter got so excited 178 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,360 on the Mount of Transfiguration when he saw Jesus and his glory, 179 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:34,400 Moses and Elijah. What did he say? 180 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:37,280 Out of nowhere, let's build tents for you. 181 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:40,160 Was he? Was he just groggy and he didn't 182 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:42,200 know what he was saying? Some people say it, say say 183 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:43,120 that, and they teach it that way. 184 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:44,760 No, Peter understood the Old Testament. 185 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:47,320 When Christ comes in his glory, we will celebrate the Feast of 186 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:48,760 Tabernacles. Let's do it now. 187 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:51,520 Let's do it right now. We can build boots for you and 188 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:53,320 you and you. We could just stay right here. 189 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:56,200 And if you want the reference for that, that's in Zechariah 190 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:58,760 1416, where we were told that all the nations will gather and 191 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:00,880 come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Boots. 192 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:02,800 And if you. Didn't there was punishment? 193 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:05,760 There is punishment. So there's a prophetic hope in 194 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:09,400 this that the one that the Ark points to will one day enter and 195 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:12,480 arrive, establish his throne, the glory of God. 196 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:16,120 Not on a chest, not on a treasure piece, but in the 197 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:20,320 person of Jesus Christ. He will come and he will rule 198 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:23,280 and reign, and he will be in close proximity to his own, and 199 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:24,720 we will celebrate that truth. And. 200 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:27,680 We will realize that this is the goal of our redemption. 201 00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:32,200 Christ himself, Christ himself. When you and I preach the 202 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,360 gospel, we're not just preaching for people to get to heaven. 203 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:36,040 We're preaching for people to get to Christ. 204 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:39,080 We're preaching for people to know Christ, love Christ. 205 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:43,080 Christ is heaven. You don't have Christ in heaven. 206 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:47,640 You don't have heaven. And so This is why this is 207 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:50,680 taking place. And now we come here again in 208 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:52,840 verse 3, let's be reminded what happens at all. 209 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:55,920 The elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark, and 210 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:58,120 they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and 211 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:00,200 all the holy vessels that were in the tent, the priests and the 212 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,680 Levites brought them up. I see something of Solomon's 213 00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:07,560 wisdom here, because his father had an opportunity to bring the 214 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:11,440 Ark into its rightful place at one time when it was returned 215 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:14,320 from the Philistines. Did David do it right the first 216 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:15,640 time? No, he blew it. 217 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:18,640 For some reason. He found the confidence to do 218 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:21,200 his own way, an easier way, the worldly way. 219 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:24,200 He saw the Philistines bring the ark on a cart and he thought, 220 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:27,480 well, that's pretty convenient, put it on a cart. 221 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:28,840 Why put it on the shoulders of our men? 222 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:32,400 Put it on a cart on a new cart and they paid a high price for 223 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:34,000 it. We pay a high price when we 224 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,200 imitate the world, when God's given us a blueprint for how he 225 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:37,360 should be honored and worshipped. 226 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:42,280 And so David made a mistake. He paid a high price. 227 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:44,120 Somebody died. He got afraid. 228 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:46,120 He says, I don't want to deal with this. 229 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,600 And then he finds the grace to do it again. 230 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:53,040 And he does it the right way by adhering to the biblical 231 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:54,760 mandate. And I see Solomon here doing it 232 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:58,760 right the first time. He didn't have to make the same 233 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:02,800 mistake as his father. Wisdom is not just glean by 234 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:06,560 learning from your own mistakes. Wisdom is glean when you observe 235 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:08,760 and study the mistakes of others and say I can avoid this 236 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:13,240 altogether. I thought about that. 237 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,040 I thought further. Isn't it sad that Solomon here 238 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:18,200 learned from the mistake of his father in this area but not in 239 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:22,440 another area pertaining to marriage and woman? 240 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:27,560 We can be very picky and choosy with sins in our lives. 241 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:31,400 There are people who are very passionate about certain 242 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,760 standards of righteousness and very very, very loose in other 243 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:36,120 standards. If you're going to stand up for 244 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:37,800 righteousness, stand for righteousness and everything. 245 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:40,080 If you're going to stand up for the word of God, don't get 246 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:42,000 passionate about one era. Get passionate for everything. 247 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:47,440 No matter what the word of God demands, submit to it and preach 248 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,880 it with equal passion and stand for it with equal conviction. 249 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:53,760 You know Jesus says whoever takes the least of these things 250 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:55,640 and teaches others to do life swap likewise. 251 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:57,400 Will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. 252 00:13:57,840 --> 00:13:59,600 When I read that in the in the summer of the Mount, I said, 253 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:04,840 Lord, I don't want to make light of anything of your word because 254 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:06,560 I don't want to come to your Kingdom at the end and say, you 255 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:08,960 know, because you treated these things lightly and you taught 256 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:11,040 others to do the same, you're going to be called leasing the 257 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:14,480 Kingdom, God forbid. God forbid. 258 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:21,520 What happens after Solomon is leading this procession with the 259 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:23,640 priests? They slaughter these animals 260 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:27,040 without number. They didn't even count them. 261 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:33,040 They now come to the goal. They come to the parking spot, 262 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:35,720 so to speak, of the Ark, and look at this in verse six. 263 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,800 Then the priest brought the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to 264 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:44,280 its place in the inner sanctuary of the house in the Most Holy 265 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:47,120 Place, underneath the weeks. The wings of the cherubim. 266 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:49,920 For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of 267 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:53,160 the Ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the Ark and its 268 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:57,320 poles. And it says here in the polls 269 00:14:57,320 --> 00:14:59,640 were so long that the ends of the polls were seen from the 270 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:01,600 Holy Place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be 271 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:03,240 seen from outside. We'll get to that in a moment. 272 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:09,920 So remember, though the temple served this same person purpose 273 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:12,200 as the Tabernacle, it looked very different. 274 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:15,520 It had the same compartments, the same sections, But when you 275 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:19,840 came into the Most Holy Place, you saw two towering cherubim 276 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:23,480 that stood on their feet. And if you read the measurement 277 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:26,600 of these cherubim, we've read it in back in a few chapters ago. 278 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,400 If you do the equivalency of the measurements today that we used 279 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:33,960 to the to the feet, it it would be 15 feet high each. 280 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:40,160 These are tall images, and their wingspan covered the length of 281 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,160 the Most Holy Place. You had their outer rings, outer 282 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:46,520 wings touching the walls, and then their inner wings kissing 283 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:49,240 each other. So these wings just cover the 284 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:52,280 whole span of the room. And then they placed the Ark of 285 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:56,000 the Covenant in the center, underneath the inner wings of 286 00:15:56,000 --> 00:16:00,280 the cherubim. Why are the cherubim place in 287 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:01,840 the Most Holy Place? Why? 288 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:03,760 Why? Out of all the imagery, out of 289 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:07,920 all the creatures that you could have created, why did God ask 290 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:09,840 for the cherubim to be placed there? 291 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:14,640 Any idea? So one very strong case you can 292 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,200 make is that it makes a reference to the Garden of Eden, 293 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:21,840 that after men and women were expelled from paradise, God 294 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:24,200 called for the Chairman to guard the tree of life. 295 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:29,160 And So what you have here in a sense is a reference to the 296 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:34,880 Garden and how man is still through sin, kept from enjoying 297 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:35,920 the fullness of the presence of God. 298 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:41,840 Very good point. Yes, very good. 299 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,000 And so may. You didn't say this, but I'm 300 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,320 assuming you're going to say this, that this is a picture of 301 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,880 even the throne of God. Yes, because whenever you and I 302 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:54,440 get an honor to see a glimpse of the throne of God, the celestial 303 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:57,680 throne of God, in the scriptures it is often characterized by 304 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:02,520 these other worldly beings that surround the throne, whether 305 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:06,680 that be cherubim or whether that be seraphim, these amazing 306 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:10,400 creatures that are giving glory to God that would frighten us. 307 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:13,720 But in fact they are the ones who can't even stand in the 308 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:15,400 holiness of God without covering their faces. 309 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:17,079 At least the Seraphim. Any other ideas? 310 00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:26,599 Yes, yes. So that's Seraphim, more 311 00:17:26,599 --> 00:17:29,080 specifically the burning ones. But you see the cherubim in 312 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:31,800 Revelation, so they're there in Ezekiel as well. 313 00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:34,040 So these creatures are there in the throne. 314 00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:37,040 So I make the case, as much as you have the a strong case 315 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:40,120 concerning the garden, especially what was woven into 316 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:43,360 what the veil. The cherubim were woven onto the 317 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:46,360 veil, which is very much a strong picture of, hey look, the 318 00:17:46,360 --> 00:17:49,160 presence of God is being guarded by these holy beings. 319 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,680 More than that is that the Holy Place is a reflection of the 320 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:58,960 throne of God, and like you said, God's presence surrounded 321 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:00,880 by these holy beings that worship him. 322 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:05,400 With that being said, can I ask this question at this point in 323 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,400 Solomon's temple? How many cherubim were in the 324 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:12,240 Most Holy Place? Was it one? 325 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,480 OK, so total how many more than that? 326 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:21,240 You had four total. You had one in each side. 327 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:24,640 And then you had two cherubim that were infused on what? 328 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:28,280 On the Ark of Covenant itself. And so let me show you the 329 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:30,760 reference of this, because this is quite amazing when you 330 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:34,400 consider the four cherubim and how they were positioned, 331 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:38,120 they're different. So go to Exodus with me and look 332 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:40,800 at the construction, the building of the Ark of the 333 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:43,800 Covenant in verse 18 of chapter 25. 334 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:48,560 Exodus chapter 25, verse 18. Here's the instruction given to 335 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:53,480 Moses concerning the cherubim on the lid of the Ark of the 336 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:55,040 Covenant. What was the lid of the Ark of 337 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:58,640 the Covenant called? Very good the mercy seat. 338 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:02,320 Here is the instruction. And you shall make 2 cherubim of 339 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:08,120 gold of hammered work, shall you make them on the two ends of the 340 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:11,680 mercy seat? Make one cherub on the one end 341 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:15,440 and one cherub on the other end of one piece. 342 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,200 With the Mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two 343 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,880 ends. The cherubim shall spread out 344 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:25,840 their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, 345 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:31,880 their faces one to another, toward the Mercy Seat shall the 346 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:38,320 faces of the cherubim be so on both ends of this chest piece, 347 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:43,440 called the Ark of the Covenant, you had one cherub facing the 348 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:47,080 other. Their wings are overshadowing 349 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:50,600 the Ark, and not only are they facing one another, but their 350 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:57,560 faces are downward. Looking at the mercy seat now, 351 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:02,480 the two cherub that Solomon built, they're much bigger. 352 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:06,200 They were not directly attached to the Ark of the Covenant, but 353 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:09,240 based on the description here, where were they facing? 354 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:15,560 They were facing outward. They were facing toward what? 355 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:18,600 You have the most Holy place, if we're looking at it from the 356 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:22,040 view of the cherub. They're looking toward the holy 357 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:25,000 place, are they not? If you want the reference for 358 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:28,520 this, the exact reference is Second Chronicles 313, where 359 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:33,040 we're told that they face the nave they faced outward. 360 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:37,360 So let me paint this picture. You have two bigger cherub that 361 00:20:37,360 --> 00:20:41,760 were facing outward, and you had two smaller cherub that were 362 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:45,200 facing downward and looking toward the mercy. 363 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:47,960 Seat. And this is really an exciting 364 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:49,640 illustration. It's really a picture of 365 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,480 something that you and I kind of read in the New Testament. 366 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,240 In what sense? Well, Peter says something quite 367 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:56,880 fascinating concerning the gospel. 368 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:01,520 He says this mystery of the gospel of human salvation, the 369 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:06,080 mercy of God in this gospel is something that angels long. 370 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:10,600 To lick into. They longed to study this. 371 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:14,440 They longed to try to understand redemptive history and why this 372 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,000 holy God would redeem these rebels. 373 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:22,160 They longed to look into the mystery and the mercy of God. 374 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,600 And yet at the same time we're told by Paul in Ephesians 375 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:31,320 chapter three that the church is really something of a spectacle 376 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:36,040 and that through the Church the wisdom of God is made known to 377 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:41,640 these authorities and to these beings from where heavenly 378 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:45,520 places. So you have these otherworldly 379 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:49,160 beings that are also looking at this phenomenon called the 380 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:53,560 Church and how God not only saves these sinners, but he is 381 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,880 conforming them and he is working in them and through 382 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:00,440 them. And not to others, but even to a 383 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,320 world unknown to us, at least how we perceive it. 384 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:05,720 Humanly speaking world that we believe in, but a world that we 385 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:08,560 can't immediately interact with. They're looking in and they're 386 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:11,040 saying what is this thing called the Church? 387 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:13,880 Look at the wisdom of God in the church. 388 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:16,480 Look at the grace of God in the Church. 389 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:20,640 And these cherub. They were not looking at the 390 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:23,160 mercy see two of them were but these other two were looking out 391 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:25,920 into the holy place where the priests were ministering. 392 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:33,040 It's so fascinating to see how the old connects with the new. 393 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:36,320 Here's another point and one of the gospel accounts we're told 394 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:41,400 that when the woman came to the tomb and they and they looked 395 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:47,880 in, one of the accounts tells. Us that on the bed that Jesus 396 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:53,120 laid on, there was an Angel on one end and there was an Angel 397 00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:56,000 on the other end. What do you think that is 398 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,880 supposed to point back to? Well, who's in the middle? 399 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:02,920 It would have been that precious, holy, sinless body of 400 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:06,800 the Lord Jesus Christ who is ultimately the mercy seat. 401 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:11,280 Isn't the Bible rich? Isn't the Bible fascinating 402 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,920 because it's authored by an amazing God and so they placed 403 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:21,160 the ark of the covenant here. And Speaking of pre serving they 404 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:23,200 would have seen something. This might be a shocking 405 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:24,920 statement. They would have seen something 406 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:29,800 of the most holy place. Now that sounds illegal because 407 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,840 it is illegal. But notice verse 8 with me of 408 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:38,240 first kings 8. And the poles were so long the 409 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:40,880 poles of the Ark of the Covenant, that the ends of the 410 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:43,520 poles were seen from the holy place. 411 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,840 Before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from 412 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:50,960 outside. You want to talk about wrestling 413 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:55,880 with a verse? Because we're told throughout 414 00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:58,360 the Old Testament, especially when the ark was introduced to 415 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:03,240 the people, that they had no right to freely look upon the 416 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:05,480 Ark of the covenant. Even when it was transported, it 417 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,360 was covered. It was a holy thing. 418 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,840 And yet here we're told that the poles, because the Ark also had 419 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:16,680 poles for the priests to put on their shoulders, those poles, 420 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:18,800 according to Exodus, were to never be removed. 421 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,440 They were to always remain intact with the Ark. 422 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:25,520 But here the Holy Spirit highlights that they were so 423 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:33,520 long that the ends of the poles were sticking out, and that they 424 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:37,760 could be seen. From the holy place, How do we 425 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,320 make sense of this? Trust me, many people have tried 426 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:43,760 to give many explanations, and the most satisfacting, 427 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:49,880 satisfactory explanation that I could agree with is that these 428 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:53,240 ends of the poles did not actually stick out where you can 429 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:55,720 see them clearly and get a glimpse of a piece of the art. 430 00:24:56,080 --> 00:25:00,880 But they were being impressed upon the veil, and as they were 431 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,280 being impressed on the veil, there was almost two bulges 432 00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:09,120 against the curtain. And so it was known that these 433 00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:12,480 were the poles that were pressing against the screen, but 434 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:15,240 they weren't completely protruding out. 435 00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:20,120 Why is this important for us to even know? 436 00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:22,960 That's the question I always ask when it comes to an obscure 437 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:24,960 verse like this. Why is it important for me to 438 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,120 know that if that is the explanation of this verse, that 439 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:34,360 these poles were elevating the screen, so to speak, and if you 440 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:36,360 were serving there in the Holy place, you would see it. 441 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:39,640 You would see a dent, so to speak, into this thick curtain 442 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:43,840 called the veil? Well, it looks like Urghese has 443 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:50,000 a question or answer. Yes. 444 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:53,520 So in a practical sense, it would be a constant reminder 445 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:56,760 that the ark is here. It'd be a constant reminder to 446 00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:00,240 the to the ministers that the presence of God is in the midst. 447 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:05,080 But this is not dogmatic, This is not definite, so to speak. 448 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:07,760 This is just working with what we have here. 449 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:11,000 I just began to think about what the Ark symbolized, what the 450 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:15,600 veil symbolized, and how we're being told that it was seen by 451 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:16,720 the priest. Right. 452 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,280 This is important for them to register what was happening. 453 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,920 The Ark represents very simply the presence of God and in God 454 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,480 dwelling in and through the ark, manifesting his glory through 455 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:28,800 the ark. This is God's longing the the 456 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,280 constant threat throughout the Bible, God's longing to dwell 457 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:33,960 with man. What is the veil symbolize? 458 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:37,480 Why is there even a veil to begin with? 459 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:46,000 Separate the presence of God from who, from man, from sinful 460 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:47,840 man. And again, if you even look at 461 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:50,320 what's woven on the veil, it's very clear. 462 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,520 In the Tabernacle, especially the cherubim are there, which is 463 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,480 supposed to be a constant reminder of the Garden of Eden, 464 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:00,080 that the cherubim were raised up to block man's entrance into the 465 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:04,160 presence of God. And so you have the Ark of the 466 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,120 Covenant, which symbolizes the presence of God. 467 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:09,800 You have the veil that speaks of the separation caused by sin, 468 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:13,920 and then you have the poles that are pressing against the veil. 469 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:17,520 And this is the thought that ran through my mind. 470 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,080 Disagree with me if you would like that. 471 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:23,600 If this ark represents God's presence, wanting to dwell with 472 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:27,600 man, this veil representing sin, here is God reaching out. 473 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:33,440 Here is God reaching out. You know what James tells us? 474 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:37,040 That this God yearns jealously for the spirits that he has made 475 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:41,360 in US. In a sense, even as redemptive 476 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:44,240 history is progressing, what you're what you're seeing in the 477 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:50,680 Most Holy Place is that God is longing to touch man, redeem 478 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:54,200 man, rescue man, being closer proximity to man. 479 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:57,280 And so you have the Tabernacle or the ark was very comfortable 480 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:01,040 in you have the Temple of Solomon where now the poles, the 481 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:03,960 extension of the ark are pressing against the veil. 482 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:07,400 And then you come to the New Testament where Jesus Christ 483 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:09,360 comes in the flesh and he tabernacles among men. 484 00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:12,240 And then, after Jesus Christ ascends into heaven, he sends 485 00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:12,640 his. Spirit. 486 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:15,440 And what does he do? He dwells in you and I. 487 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:17,280 How much closer can you get than that? 488 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:20,440 You are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 489 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:24,480 And so here we have a God who first love us, and we can love 490 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,120 him because he first love us. Here is a God that even in this 491 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:32,160 small picture showing his longing and yearning to be with 492 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:36,080 you and I, he doesn't need us, but He desires us. 493 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:43,480 This moved me when I saw this, and I wonder if it ran through 494 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:45,600 the mind of the priests as they were serving there. 495 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:48,800 There's the ark being pressed against the veil. 496 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:51,920 What does that say about God's heart? 497 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:57,080 And we read on. And what do we see? 498 00:28:57,120 --> 00:28:58,480 Something else concerning the ark. 499 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:00,440 This is the concluding thought concerning the ark. 500 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:05,440 It's not so much about the ark itself, but the contents in the 501 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:08,760 ark. If you were troubled by verse 8, 502 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:11,240 at least puzzled get. Ready for verse nine? 503 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:19,400 There was nothing in the Ark. Except the two tablets of stone 504 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:24,360 that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant 505 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:27,800 with the people of Israel when they came out of the land of 506 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:32,040 Egypt. Why is that puzzling? 507 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:36,400 Because there are two other articles that were supposed to 508 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:41,840 be in the Ark. And if you want a summation of 509 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:43,400 this, it's actually in the New Testament. 510 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:45,320 What book do you think I'm about to quote? 511 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:48,040 Very good. You know your Bible as well. 512 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:51,000 Hebrews 9, verse three and four. I want you to see this with your 513 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,920 own eyes. Hebrews 9, three and four. 514 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:58,920 The author of Hebrews, who many believed to be Paul, masterfully 515 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:04,840 makes a case for the supremacy of Christ, and he speaks about 516 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:09,520 the very structure that we are referring to, though it's very 517 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:12,280 likely he's actually speaking about the Tabernacle more than 518 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:14,880 the temple. So what does he say here? 519 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:23,240 Says here in verse 4 having the golden altar of incense in the 520 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:26,880 ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold in which was 521 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:29,880 a golden. Urn holding the Manna and Aaron 522 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:33,760 staff that budded and the tablets of the covenant. 523 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:36,640 There it is. You have three things. 524 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:41,040 The golden urn of Manna that was ordered in Exodus. 525 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:46,920 You have Aaron's rod that budded that was ordered in #17 and then 526 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:50,600 you have the tablets which was ordered back in Exodus to be 527 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:53,520 placed in the Ark of the Covenant. 528 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:55,360 Do we have a contradiction here because we're told in First 529 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:58,360 Kings 8-9 that there was nothing except for the tablets of stone? 530 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:02,360 No one, because it could be that the author, if he was just 531 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:05,600 speaking about the Tabernacle and others, would even make the 532 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:10,400 case that it was only the tablets of stone that were 533 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:14,760 committed to be in the Ark and the golden Urn of Manna and 534 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:17,680 Aaron's rod were to be placed around the Ark. 535 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:19,200 Where do they get that notion from? 536 00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:21,280 Well, if you look at the instructions about the Golden 537 00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:25,120 Urn and Aaron's rod, there's very specific language and the 538 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:30,120 language was this place it before the Ark of the Covenant. 539 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:34,360 And so they would make the case on top of that. 540 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:36,880 Well, if you look at the author's point here. 541 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:39,520 He adds another thing. In the Most holy place that's 542 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:40,840 technically not supposed to be there. 543 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:42,880 What is it? Look at verse 4 again. 544 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:45,680 What's out of place? What's not supposed to be be 545 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:51,840 there? Somebody whispered it. 546 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:53,280 Don't be shy. Huh. 547 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:56,720 Huh. The first thing having the 548 00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:00,560 golden altar of incense and the Ark of the Hold on, There's no 549 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:05,040 end in the in the Most Holy Place, the only thing in the 550 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:06,320 Most Holy. Place is the Ark of the 551 00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:09,080 Covenant. The one piece of furniture 552 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:12,160 before you would enter into the Most Holy Place was the altar of 553 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:15,120 incense. That was the closest thing to 554 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:19,040 the veil that would lead into the Most Holy Place, which is a 555 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:24,000 practical picture of what that the closest place you can be in 556 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:27,000 terms of knowing the presence of God is prayer. 557 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:31,200 The altar of incense symbolizes prayer and that was the closest 558 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:33,760 thing to the presence of God symbolizing the Ark of the 559 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:35,320 Covenant. You want to be close to the 560 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:36,280 Lord? Get a prayer life. 561 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:38,800 You want to know his presence, get a prayer life. 562 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:41,320 But more than that, it's a picture of the intercessory 563 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:43,080 ministry of Jesus. It's amazing. 564 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:45,600 So this altar of incense, why? Well, why? 565 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:46,920 Where did you go? What? 566 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:51,480 Why is the golden altar of incense in the Most Holy Place? 567 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,000 And here's the argument. Well, in doesn't necessarily 568 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,520 mean in if it's true that the golden altar is not in the Most 569 00:32:57,520 --> 00:33:00,520 Holy Place. And you can also say that the 570 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:05,080 Golden Urn and the the budded staff is not in the Ark of the 571 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:08,480 Covenant. Regardless, we can still ask the 572 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:14,920 question based on 1st Kings 8-9 what happened to the Golden Urn 573 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:19,720 of Manna and to Aaron's staff? Because it's being explicitly 574 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:24,160 stated there was nothing in the Ark as though the the Holy 575 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:27,400 Spirit wants us to know nothing else was in this. 576 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:31,520 The only thing that's important to know that was in the Ark is 577 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:35,560 the law. No explanation. 578 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:42,680 You'd be hard pressed to find an answer to why, but what many 579 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:46,320 would say if you don't hold to this view that it's not 580 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:48,000 necessarily and maybe before or around. 581 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:50,320 That there was something significant that happened in the 582 00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:52,720 history of the Ark of the Covenant that could possibly 583 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:54,840 explain what happened to these other articles. 584 00:33:55,960 --> 00:33:58,960 I'm thinking something obviously in between Moses time with the 585 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:01,360 Tabernacle and Solomon's time with the Temple. 586 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:06,040 Was there any significant episode that could explain the 587 00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:09,360 missing Golden Urn and Aaron Staff? 588 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:15,080 The Ark was captured By who? The Philistines. 589 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:20,280 First Samuel 4-5 and six? Because what people would say to 590 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:21,840 this is, well, clearly they were. 591 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:25,360 Removed somehow, some way they were removed. 592 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:28,239 Well, how were they removed? Ah. 593 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:32,400 Maybe during that 7th month period when it was stolen from 594 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:36,719 the people of Israel, the Philistines found liberty to say 595 00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:41,320 oh look what's in here. And so it could be that they 596 00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:44,320 either removed or took, for whatever reason, the Golden Urn 597 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:46,320 of Mana and Aaron's. But it's staff. 598 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:49,320 And if that is true, if that is the explanation, I find it 599 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:50,600 absolutely hilarious that they left the. 600 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:54,520 Law in there, like what is this Looks like commands. 601 00:34:54,639 --> 00:34:55,880 Keep it in there, give it back to them. 602 00:34:55,880 --> 00:35:00,800 We don't want that. And if that is true, then what a 603 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:03,000 wonderful lesson of how the enemy works. 604 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:14,520 You know how God wants you to see Him in a relational way, and 605 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:17,480 even through the commandments that you would see it as a 606 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:20,280 delight because you love the person behind the commands. 607 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:23,480 You know how? Satan would like you to view God 608 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:26,040 through the law and the law alone. 609 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:31,200 Do's and don'ts. Do's and don'ts, do's and 610 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:32,280 don'ts. You know, so many people believe 611 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:34,840 Christian is just about do's and don'ts, Do's and don'ts. 612 00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:37,240 Can I do this? Can I not do this? 613 00:35:37,240 --> 00:35:38,960 Can I go there? Can I not go there? 614 00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:41,840 Yes, commands are important, but the law here the. 615 00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:46,360 Tablets do not symbolize the commands of God as a response of 616 00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:48,400 our love toward Him. This is speaking about the 617 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:52,960 condemnation of the law, the condemnation of the law, And if 618 00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:57,200 you purely view the God of this book through the lens of the 619 00:35:57,200 --> 00:36:00,120 law, you're doomed. You're doomed. 620 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:02,160 You're hopeless. That's the point of the law. 621 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:06,480 To make you feel hopeless, To show you that you cannot satisfy 622 00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:13,240 this righteous demand. So if the enemies of Israel did 623 00:36:13,240 --> 00:36:15,680 remove these two other things, which is significant? 624 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:19,640 The rod symbolizes resurrection. I won't get into the other 625 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:21,240 details. Here's the law. 626 00:36:21,240 --> 00:36:22,480 That's the only thing that's left. 627 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:25,200 You're saying? Well, yeah, but the law is 628 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:26,200 important. It is important. 629 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:28,680 But for what purpose? Be careful how you relate to the 630 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:30,600 law, even the law in the Ark of the Covenant. 631 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:32,400 Notice where it was placed. Are you with me? 632 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:37,360 Notice where it was placed. The law on the tablets of stone 633 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:38,960 were in the ark. Correct. 634 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:42,720 Yes. God's holiness, Yes. 635 00:36:42,720 --> 00:36:45,880 The code of his righteousness, Yes, His standards for us to 636 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:49,120 relate to him. But also yes, impossible to 637 00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:54,520 keep, impossible to observe. So it's in the Ark as a memorial 638 00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:58,200 of His Holiness. But what is on top of the Law? 639 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:05,000 The mercy seat. The Mercy seat Shields the law. 640 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:08,680 The Mercy of God covers the demands of the Law. 641 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:10,320 And what was in between that mercy? 642 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:11,640 What was in between those cherubim? 643 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:17,120 Once a year, the blood blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat, and 644 00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:20,760 it was the Mercy that was hovering over the Law. 645 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,960 You can't keep this law. You need mercy. 646 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:29,640 That's the message of the ark of the covenant and Jesus the 647 00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:35,680 greater ark of the covenant. And So what happens? 648 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:39,840 Let's read verse. 10 And when the priest came out of the Holy 649 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:44,520 place, a cloud filled the House of the Lord, so that the priest 650 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:47,200 could not stand to minister because of the cloud. 651 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:51,040 For the glory of the Lord filled the House of the Lord. 652 00:37:51,720 --> 00:37:57,920 So once the Ark was placed, people stepped back and a 653 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:02,600 manifestation of the glory of God began to reveal itself. 654 00:38:05,960 --> 00:38:09,000 And this is not the first time that a cloud filled the House of 655 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:11,800 the Lord. In Exodus 40, we're told that at 656 00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:15,680 the completion of the Tabernacle and the placement of all the 657 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:18,680 ordered pieces. A cloud also came and filled the 658 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:22,240 House of the Lord. Why did the cloud come in the 659 00:38:22,240 --> 00:38:23,960 Tabernacle? Why did the cloud come in the 660 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:26,120 temple? As a sign of divine approval of 661 00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:28,440 what just took place. And the people would have 662 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:32,040 witnessed and recognized. God is pleased with this work. 663 00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:35,960 He will dwell here. He does say yes, and he does 664 00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:39,840 accept this offering. But notice the language here. 665 00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:45,960 In verse 10 and verse 11, a cloud filled the House of the 666 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:47,680 Lord. And then you read on and it says 667 00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:49,680 the same thing. The glory of the Lord. 668 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:51,600 Filled the House of the Lord. I told you. 669 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:54,160 That's the same language used in Exodus chapter 40 as well. 670 00:38:54,440 --> 00:39:00,480 It filled the Tabernacle. Do you think God's desire is any 671 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:03,840 less for the House of God today? Who am I speaking about this 672 00:39:03,840 --> 00:39:05,240 church building? I'm speaking about you and I. 673 00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:09,640 In the same way that the Lord filled the Tabernacle, in the 674 00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:11,960 same way that the Lord filled the temple. 675 00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:17,040 In the same way the Lord wants to fill you and I not partially, 676 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:23,360 completely, not in sections of your life, in saturation of your 677 00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:26,840 entire life. Paul, commanded by the Spirit in 678 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:31,800 Ephesians 518, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, filled, 679 00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:38,080 bubbling over, saturated, covered in the fragrance of the 680 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:40,520 person and will and character of Jesus Christ. 681 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:44,400 And that is something you and I should long for that every part 682 00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:46,840 of who we are would be. Permeated by him? 683 00:39:47,440 --> 00:39:50,880 Permeated by him? How ridiculous would it be if 684 00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:52,960 the glory of the Lord filled just a couple of the rooms in 685 00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:55,440 the house? What's this? 686 00:39:56,640 --> 00:39:59,320 No, everything was blanketed over. 687 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:01,000 And the will of God in the person. 688 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:02,560 The Holy Spirit is no different for you and I. 689 00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:07,200 He wants every corner of your life to be touched by him, to 690 00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:09,560 reflect Him. To carry his glory. 691 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:13,240 To carry his glory. How does that look? 692 00:40:13,240 --> 00:40:15,360 Does that look like you try really hard to look righteous 693 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:17,200 and stoic? That's not the glory of God. 694 00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:20,160 It's not. It's not you being legalistic 695 00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:23,240 and you looking like you're sour and you think that being holy 696 00:40:23,240 --> 00:40:25,040 means that you're not an enjoyable person. 697 00:40:25,040 --> 00:40:28,080 God forbid. That's just when you allow the 698 00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:31,920 Holy Spirit, as you surrender every part of your life, to take 699 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:34,600 control of that and to guide you and lead you and to convict you 700 00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:37,760 and to conform you and to give you the wisdom to know how to 701 00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:40,640 respond to every situation, circumstance, scenario, person, 702 00:40:40,640 --> 00:40:42,520 the way Jesus would. That's what the glory of God 703 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:45,960 looks like. And so yearn for that to be 704 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:47,840 filled with the Holy Spirit. By the way, that's not a 705 00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:49,120 suggestion. It's a command. 706 00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:51,880 Hey, if you feel like it'd be filled with the holy. 707 00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:54,360 Spirit, Huh. Is that how Paul spoke about the 708 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:55,080 Holy Spirit? No. 709 00:40:55,440 --> 00:40:58,600 Be filled? And the verb tense? 710 00:40:58,600 --> 00:41:02,360 There's continually filled, continually filled, continually 711 00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:06,840 filled. So now the glory of God shows up 712 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:11,000 to the degree that it was so thick in the House of God that 713 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:13,480 the the priest couldn't even continue to minister. 714 00:41:13,800 --> 00:41:17,880 They had to excuse themselves. And this was a sight for all to 715 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:20,680 see. And Solomon saw this. 716 00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:24,480 And as Solomon is witnessing the glory of God now perfuming this 717 00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:27,360 house, because what's the House of God without the glory of God? 718 00:41:27,720 --> 00:41:29,840 What's the temple without the presence of God? 719 00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:35,360 It's just a hollow museum. There are many religious 720 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:38,920 facilities today that prize and praise of their artifacts and 721 00:41:38,920 --> 00:41:41,800 their art and all these different things and materials. 722 00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:44,360 And the money they spent and they're bankrupt of the presence 723 00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:49,640 of God because it's not for the glory of God and it doesn't host 724 00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:53,000 the truth of God. So Solomon now for the rest of 725 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:54,480 this chapter is really going to respond to this. 726 00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:57,480 He's going to respond to what's taking place here in the first 727 00:41:57,480 --> 00:42:00,000 thing he does is he says something to the Lord and then 728 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:01,560 he's going to say something to the people. 729 00:42:01,560 --> 00:42:04,440 And that's what we're going to cover the next few verses here 730 00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:07,000 and then we will end. Let's read here in verse 12 731 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:11,280 then, Solomon said. The Lord has said that he would 732 00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:15,160 dwell in thick darkness. I have indeed built you an 733 00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:19,160 exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever. 734 00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:24,360 Where does God dwell? According to Solomon, In what 735 00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:31,160 thick darkness is that your imagination when it comes to the 736 00:42:31,160 --> 00:42:32,600 manifestation of the glory of God? 737 00:42:32,880 --> 00:42:37,040 Do you see a thick darkness or an unapproachable light? 738 00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:41,360 According to First Timothy 616 First John, we're told that God. 739 00:42:41,360 --> 00:42:45,240 Is. Light God is light. 740 00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:48,280 First Timothy six. He dwells in unapproachable 741 00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:53,000 light. Solomon thick darkness, Which 742 00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:54,600 one is it? How can you have? 743 00:42:54,600 --> 00:42:56,680 God is light. He dwells in unapproachable 744 00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:59,040 light, but He also dwells in thick darkness. 745 00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:03,360 Again, this is reminiscent of what happened on Mount Sinai. 746 00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:06,800 When the Lord came, He also came to reveal himself in his glory 747 00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:12,000 and a thick dark cloud, Thunder clapping, trumpet sounds. 748 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:15,360 It was absolutely terrifying. And here's God coming again in 749 00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:18,480 thick darkness. Contradiction. 750 00:43:18,560 --> 00:43:20,800 No. A declaration of the mercy of 751 00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:23,640 God. How so? 752 00:43:24,120 --> 00:43:27,760 Well, if he does dwell in unapproachable light, if his 753 00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:32,280 unfiltered presence is consuming, so beautiful. 754 00:43:32,280 --> 00:43:34,840 I mean, if you have the glory of God causing them not to be able 755 00:43:34,840 --> 00:43:38,440 to minister, what would it look like if you removed every veil? 756 00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:40,400 He would absolutely overwhelm you. 757 00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:45,520 Dare I say, kill you? Lord, show us your glory. 758 00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:49,560 Be careful, because when even the closest followers and 759 00:43:49,560 --> 00:43:51,840 greatest servants of God were exposed to the glory of God, 760 00:43:51,840 --> 00:43:53,400 they couldn't stand under their own feet. 761 00:43:54,360 --> 00:43:57,160 You talk about Daniel, who is called the beloved of the Lord, 762 00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:03,720 And when he had some glimpse of the glory, the messengers of 763 00:44:03,720 --> 00:44:09,120 God, he fainted. So thick darkness, I say the 764 00:44:09,120 --> 00:44:10,040 mercy of God. Why? 765 00:44:10,040 --> 00:44:14,560 Because if that is, what happens to those who see just a 766 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:19,200 percentage of his power. What would it be like if it came 767 00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:21,960 in its complete form? And so, God, I believe in thick 768 00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:28,840 darkness cloaks himself. He provides this canopy, this 769 00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:31,360 pavilion. This way of. 770 00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:35,360 Shielding the brilliance of His Holiness so that he could make 771 00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:40,080 himself known without making his subjects turn into fine powder. 772 00:44:41,960 --> 00:44:46,280 And so this thick darkness is really a screen so that the Lord 773 00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:48,440 can come and meet with his people. 774 00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:49,840 And you know what? He does that in the New 775 00:44:49,840 --> 00:44:51,320 Covenant? The person of Jesus Christ. 776 00:44:51,320 --> 00:44:52,440 He doesn't come in thick darkness. 777 00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:57,240 He comes in flesh and he walks among us, and he eats with us 778 00:44:57,240 --> 00:44:59,640 and he touches us. Oh yeah, you come in the glory. 779 00:44:59,840 --> 00:45:02,280 Oh, if God really wants to reveal himself, let him reveal 780 00:45:02,280 --> 00:45:06,080 himself. And be careful, one he does 781 00:45:06,080 --> 00:45:09,240 reveal himself too. He knows his nature better than 782 00:45:09,240 --> 00:45:14,680 yours, and in his mercy he comes in the flesh for many reasons, 783 00:45:16,600 --> 00:45:18,520 for many reasons. One of them is because He's 784 00:45:18,520 --> 00:45:21,120 merciful and the glory of God shines through the sun. 785 00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:25,000 So he dwells in thick darkness. And then he says, I have indeed 786 00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:27,400 built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in 787 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:29,040 forever. Now look at this. 788 00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:33,760 Then the king, verse 14, turned around and blessed He blessed 789 00:45:33,760 --> 00:45:37,760 all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel 790 00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:39,920 stood. So as he's witnessing this, He's 791 00:45:43,760 --> 00:45:45,320 glory of the Lord dwells in thick darkness. 792 00:45:45,320 --> 00:45:48,880 I have indeed built you a house, an exalted house that you may 793 00:45:48,880 --> 00:45:51,160 dwell in forever. And he's just overwhelmed by 794 00:45:51,160 --> 00:45:52,480 this. And then he turns around toward 795 00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:54,360 the people who are standing there witnessing the same thing, 796 00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:56,360 and he begins to bless him. What a wonderful pattern. 797 00:45:58,360 --> 00:46:00,360 What a wonderful pattern for us to consider for our own lives, 798 00:46:00,360 --> 00:46:03,480 That when you and I behold the glory of God, when we are 799 00:46:03,480 --> 00:46:08,040 visited by manifestations of his faithfulness, even his beauty in 800 00:46:08,040 --> 00:46:12,880 the word in life, you know what should that do to us? 801 00:46:12,880 --> 00:46:14,800 It should cause us to do many things. 802 00:46:14,800 --> 00:46:17,120 Worship him, adore him, yes, but also turn around and bless 803 00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:20,280 others. The closer you are to the Lord, 804 00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:22,080 the more the Lord shows you should make you of a greater 805 00:46:22,080 --> 00:46:26,320 blessing to other people. I know a lot of people who have 806 00:46:26,320 --> 00:46:28,680 a lot of biblical knowledge, but the way they treat people shows 807 00:46:28,680 --> 00:46:30,640 that I don't know if you really got what you got. 808 00:46:33,400 --> 00:46:35,680 The more you know, the more you see it will make an impression 809 00:46:35,680 --> 00:46:38,200 on you that will have you turning around and looking at 810 00:46:38,200 --> 00:46:42,360 others and blessing them. And he blesses them by speaking 811 00:46:42,360 --> 00:46:44,160 to them about the truth of God. Look at verse 15. 812 00:46:44,160 --> 00:46:47,160 And he said, blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who 813 00:46:47,160 --> 00:46:49,800 with his hand has fulfilled what he has promised with his mouth. 814 00:46:49,800 --> 00:46:53,960 To David, my father saying, since the day that I brought my 815 00:46:53,960 --> 00:46:57,400 people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the 816 00:46:57,400 --> 00:47:00,840 tribes of Israel in which to build a house that my name might 817 00:47:00,840 --> 00:47:04,960 be there, but I chose David to be over my people Israel. 818 00:47:05,160 --> 00:47:07,840 Now it was in the. Heart of David, my Father, To 819 00:47:07,840 --> 00:47:10,120 build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 820 00:47:10,440 --> 00:47:13,800 But the Lord said to David my father, whereas it was in your 821 00:47:13,800 --> 00:47:17,640 heart to build a house for my name, you did well in that it 822 00:47:17,640 --> 00:47:23,600 was in your heart. Do you sense the preciousness of 823 00:47:23,600 --> 00:47:27,880 that commentary? He's telling the people, you 824 00:47:27,880 --> 00:47:31,920 know, hey, look, my father originally had this desire to 825 00:47:31,920 --> 00:47:35,280 build what you see, and it was in his heart. 826 00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:40,000 And although it was in his heart, the Lord recognized that. 827 00:47:40,680 --> 00:47:42,600 And he prays that. And he goes on to explain how he 828 00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:45,120 didn't fulfill that through David, but through myself. 829 00:47:47,160 --> 00:47:48,680 You know what's so precious about this? 830 00:47:49,560 --> 00:47:51,160 The Lord knows the desires of our hearts. 831 00:47:53,040 --> 00:47:54,480 That's what's so beautiful about this verse. 832 00:47:54,760 --> 00:47:59,720 The Lord sees, recognizes, and if it's the right desire, even 833 00:47:59,720 --> 00:48:02,680 praises the desires of our hearts. 834 00:48:03,400 --> 00:48:05,600 Think about that. Think about how weighty that is. 835 00:48:06,600 --> 00:48:09,840 Yet this thing, this chamber that entertains so many things, 836 00:48:10,200 --> 00:48:15,800 that meditates and dreams and hopes, God sees it all, and he 837 00:48:15,800 --> 00:48:18,600 saw it in David. And he prays that you did well. 838 00:48:18,600 --> 00:48:21,160 You know what He didn't say? He didn't say you did well, and 839 00:48:21,160 --> 00:48:25,360 that you built me a house. He says you did well, that it 840 00:48:25,360 --> 00:48:30,120 was in your heart. The simple desire alone blessed 841 00:48:30,120 --> 00:48:35,720 God. The wish alone pleased God, and 842 00:48:35,720 --> 00:48:37,560 it was something that he was willing to command. 843 00:48:38,440 --> 00:48:40,760 You know, you might have desires to serve God in a particular 844 00:48:40,760 --> 00:48:42,480 way, and you never saw it realized. 845 00:48:42,480 --> 00:48:45,640 Do you realize that God is pleased with the desire alone? 846 00:48:49,520 --> 00:48:52,960 Perhaps you feel limited. Perhaps you're struggling with 847 00:48:52,960 --> 00:48:55,760 God's Providence, maybe even with God's gifting in your life, 848 00:48:56,960 --> 00:48:59,760 and you'd understand. I have this desire, Lord, why 849 00:48:59,760 --> 00:49:02,000 aren't you allowing me to walk in these desires? 850 00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:03,400 They're for you. And that's wonderful. 851 00:49:03,800 --> 00:49:05,960 We're about to find out how God does lead us in a moment. 852 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:10,800 But be at rest with this truth, that the Lord sees that desire, 853 00:49:11,320 --> 00:49:13,120 and though it may never be realized the way you had hoped, 854 00:49:13,120 --> 00:49:15,240 for the desire alone blesses him. 855 00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:18,640 That moved my heart. That moved my heart. 856 00:49:19,600 --> 00:49:21,280 But here's the other lesson. Look at verse 19. 857 00:49:21,280 --> 00:49:27,720 And nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son 858 00:49:28,120 --> 00:49:30,920 who shall be born to you, shall build the house for my name. 859 00:49:32,560 --> 00:49:34,880 So the desire was there. It was strong. 860 00:49:34,920 --> 00:49:39,120 You read the Psalms? It actually says that he did not 861 00:49:39,120 --> 00:49:41,240 sleep until he built the house for the Lord. 862 00:49:41,240 --> 00:49:43,680 David could even sleep at night. Talk about desire. 863 00:49:46,040 --> 00:49:49,760 This man could not even put his eyes to rest because he could 864 00:49:49,760 --> 00:49:52,360 not fathom that he lived in a house and God lived in a tent. 865 00:49:52,560 --> 00:49:55,360 I must in my lifetime do something, contribute to the 866 00:49:55,400 --> 00:49:57,720 honor and glory of God. He couldn't sleep. 867 00:49:59,400 --> 00:50:02,200 And yet, as strong as those feelings were, as strong as that 868 00:50:02,200 --> 00:50:04,960 passion were, Passion was. The Lord says you're not going 869 00:50:04,960 --> 00:50:08,240 to build it. Here's the truth in that. 870 00:50:08,320 --> 00:50:11,680 Here's the lesson. Feelings, no matter how strong 871 00:50:11,680 --> 00:50:16,400 they are, do not determine the legitimacy of it being realized. 872 00:50:18,280 --> 00:50:21,520 No matter how strong your passion is, no matter how strong 873 00:50:21,520 --> 00:50:25,080 your desire is, it's not always an indication that's the will of 874 00:50:25,080 --> 00:50:27,880 God. Oh, this is so important, man, 875 00:50:28,680 --> 00:50:31,000 because our emotions can dictate so much. 876 00:50:31,280 --> 00:50:34,000 I really want to do this, even if it's for the Lord. 877 00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:35,000 But it doesn't mean it's from God. 878 00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:40,840 He can use desires to nudge you in a direction. 879 00:50:40,840 --> 00:50:45,920 He can use and even deposit things in you to lead you in a 880 00:50:45,920 --> 00:50:48,000 certain place, in a certain course of action. 881 00:50:48,080 --> 00:50:51,120 But not always. David is an example of that. 882 00:50:51,280 --> 00:50:54,600 He had this passion, passion. He had this longing, and yet it 883 00:50:54,600 --> 00:50:56,320 was not in alignment with God's will. 884 00:50:57,920 --> 00:50:59,680 Too many people live by their emotions. 885 00:50:59,680 --> 00:51:01,400 Too many people live by what they feel. 886 00:51:01,760 --> 00:51:04,000 Too many people interpret what they feel to be God's will 887 00:51:05,000 --> 00:51:07,440 again. This is a call for wisdom. 888 00:51:07,960 --> 00:51:10,600 At the same time, again like in First Timothy three, he who 889 00:51:10,600 --> 00:51:14,160 desires the office of an overseer desires a noble thing. 890 00:51:14,200 --> 00:51:17,160 God can speak through your desires, but if you always think 891 00:51:17,160 --> 00:51:19,920 that everything you feel and long for is the will of God, 892 00:51:19,920 --> 00:51:22,840 you're in trouble. So what do I do? 893 00:51:22,840 --> 00:51:25,120 Will you take those desires, those plans, those dreams, those 894 00:51:25,120 --> 00:51:26,640 hopes? And you laid them at the feet of 895 00:51:26,640 --> 00:51:28,200 Lord saying, Lord, I desire this to you. 896 00:51:29,720 --> 00:51:31,800 Is this what you want? Is this you saying this is what 897 00:51:31,800 --> 00:51:35,280 you want me to do? If not, then Lord, make me 898 00:51:35,280 --> 00:51:37,320 sensitive enough to you to know that this is not from you. 899 00:51:37,600 --> 00:51:39,800 It's simple as that. You do your part and surrender 900 00:51:39,800 --> 00:51:41,600 to him in humility and he'll do his part. 901 00:51:41,760 --> 00:51:43,680 He's a big God. He knows how to lead your life. 902 00:51:45,320 --> 00:51:47,800 He knows how to clear the air. He knows how to subdue you and 903 00:51:47,800 --> 00:51:50,240 keeping you from making foolish mistakes even in the name of 904 00:51:50,240 --> 00:51:52,360 your feelings. Just surrender it to him, no 905 00:51:52,360 --> 00:51:53,880 matter how strong those feelings are. 906 00:51:54,080 --> 00:51:56,960 Learn to bring him to the Lord and let him clarify if this is 907 00:51:56,960 --> 00:52:00,880 from him or not. Do you want further proof of 908 00:52:00,880 --> 00:52:01,520 this? OK, fine. 909 00:52:01,520 --> 00:52:03,320 Let me give you a New Testament. Unless you beat me over the head 910 00:52:03,320 --> 00:52:04,400 and say, oh, you're Old Testament. 911 00:52:04,400 --> 00:52:07,880 OK, a New Testament. Was there a man who desire to do 912 00:52:07,880 --> 00:52:10,200 something very noble, very righteous, very holy, and the 913 00:52:10,200 --> 00:52:12,120 Lord said no on many examples. Let me give you one of the 914 00:52:12,120 --> 00:52:13,840 clearest ones. Go to Acts 16. 915 00:52:16,240 --> 00:52:17,600 Here's Paul. And what does Paul want to do? 916 00:52:17,600 --> 00:52:19,200 He wants to preach the gospel. He wants to. 917 00:52:19,200 --> 00:52:23,280 Fulfill the Great Commission verse six of Acts 16. 918 00:52:27,800 --> 00:52:30,840 In Acts 16, verse six we read and they went through the region 919 00:52:30,840 --> 00:52:35,280 of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy 920 00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:38,160 Spirit to speak the Word in Asia. 921 00:52:39,800 --> 00:52:41,520 Is it speaking the Word a good thing? 922 00:52:41,760 --> 00:52:45,640 Amen, isn't it? Preaching to the lost a 923 00:52:45,640 --> 00:52:49,520 wonderful thing, Amen. Isn't spreading the gospel to 924 00:52:49,520 --> 00:52:52,440 the nations the will of Christ one of his final commands before 925 00:52:52,440 --> 00:52:57,240 he sent it to Amen and yet? Here's Paul strategizing a 926 00:52:57,240 --> 00:53:00,320 brilliant man and realizing, OK, where do we need to go next? 927 00:53:00,320 --> 00:53:05,600 And he goes to this region and having been forbidden from the 928 00:53:05,600 --> 00:53:06,760 Holy Spirit. No. 929 00:53:09,040 --> 00:53:13,200 OK and so look at verse 7. And when they had come up to 930 00:53:13,840 --> 00:53:16,920 Meijia, they attempted to go into Bethenia, but the Spirit of 931 00:53:16,920 --> 00:53:21,160 Jesus did not allow them. No talk about patience. 932 00:53:21,640 --> 00:53:23,320 Traveling wasn't easy back then, by the way. 933 00:53:24,080 --> 00:53:25,680 You can't call an Uber. You can't take a flight? 934 00:53:25,920 --> 00:53:27,920 No. Very difficult. 935 00:53:28,120 --> 00:53:29,160 So they go here? No. 936 00:53:29,520 --> 00:53:32,680 How did the Lord make it known? It's debated, but it was clear 937 00:53:32,680 --> 00:53:35,040 enough for them to say the Lord doesn't want us here next door. 938 00:53:35,040 --> 00:53:36,160 No. Why? 939 00:53:36,160 --> 00:53:38,160 Because it wasn't the time for this region to receive the 940 00:53:38,160 --> 00:53:39,840 gospel. And there was a more pressing 941 00:53:39,840 --> 00:53:41,400 matter that needed to be attended to. 942 00:53:41,720 --> 00:53:46,440 There was a call from Macedonia. So here's another example of a 943 00:53:46,440 --> 00:53:49,760 good thing, a noble thing, a passionate pursuit. 944 00:53:50,000 --> 00:53:52,160 Being redirected by God, who is all knowing. 945 00:53:54,960 --> 00:53:59,760 And so this is a call for us to be prayerful, to be sensitive, 946 00:53:59,960 --> 00:54:04,280 to be seeking counsel, and to walk in the Spirit and ask the 947 00:54:04,280 --> 00:54:07,120 Lord to work with our feelings and to sober us if those 948 00:54:07,120 --> 00:54:09,920 feelings are not in alignment with His desires for our lives. 949 00:54:10,200 --> 00:54:14,160 Additionally, may I add that noticing in both David and 950 00:54:14,160 --> 00:54:18,200 Paul's examples, the Lord guides us not just through open doors, 951 00:54:18,200 --> 00:54:22,520 but closed doors. We're very simplistic in the way 952 00:54:22,520 --> 00:54:25,840 we view and even counsel people's leadership or God's 953 00:54:25,840 --> 00:54:30,400 leadership in people's lives. God can lead you through 954 00:54:30,400 --> 00:54:35,040 hindrance. Often times when we feel 955 00:54:35,040 --> 00:54:38,280 resistance, when we feel obstacles, we call a preming, 956 00:54:38,600 --> 00:54:41,440 OK, Satan is hindering us here. Let's pray. 957 00:54:41,720 --> 00:54:47,280 What if it's God? What if it's God doing a very 958 00:54:47,280 --> 00:54:50,400 wonderful job, keeping you from making a very foolish mistake in 959 00:54:50,400 --> 00:54:53,480 terms of timing, in terms of your resources, in terms of you 960 00:54:53,480 --> 00:54:55,720 getting in trouble if you go in that direction at this time? 961 00:54:58,080 --> 00:54:59,960 So how do we deal with this? Because Paul says to the 962 00:54:59,960 --> 00:55:01,960 Thessalonians that he tried to go through them, but Satan 963 00:55:01,960 --> 00:55:08,920 hindered him. The place of prayer, the place 964 00:55:08,920 --> 00:55:10,440 of being with spirit filled believers. 965 00:55:10,440 --> 00:55:13,360 The place of seeking counsel from spirit filled people. 966 00:55:13,480 --> 00:55:15,120 That's where you're and I are the safest. 967 00:55:16,640 --> 00:55:18,480 And so be encouraged. With this, you might have a 968 00:55:18,480 --> 00:55:20,520 strong desire, and that desire will not be realized. 969 00:55:20,560 --> 00:55:23,040 Maybe not realized at all, maybe not realized at this time. 970 00:55:23,520 --> 00:55:25,240 God is no less leading you there than He is. 971 00:55:25,240 --> 00:55:28,720 If He gave you what you desired, you might be thinking, the way 972 00:55:28,720 --> 00:55:30,320 God is going to answer is going to open this door. 973 00:55:30,480 --> 00:55:33,560 God can slam the door shut in your face, and it's just as an 974 00:55:33,560 --> 00:55:35,440 act of mercy. As though he had opened the door 975 00:55:35,440 --> 00:55:39,360 for you to walk through. Open your mind. 976 00:55:39,360 --> 00:55:42,760 Expand the breath of your understanding how God leads and 977 00:55:42,760 --> 00:55:45,600 shepherds his sheep. And realize that his Nos are 978 00:55:45,600 --> 00:55:47,160 just as good as his yeses. And you? 979 00:55:49,000 --> 00:55:51,120 Know what's so fascinating? If I was Paul, at least we have 980 00:55:51,120 --> 00:55:52,400 no indication that Paul felt this way. 981 00:55:52,400 --> 00:55:53,920 But if I was Paul, I'd be very puzzled. 982 00:55:55,080 --> 00:55:56,640 I'd be puzzled by this. OK, go here. 983 00:55:56,640 --> 00:55:57,600 Nope. Go here. 984 00:55:57,600 --> 00:55:58,920 Nope. It's like what's going on? 985 00:55:59,480 --> 00:56:03,080 And the leadership of God can be puzzling in our lives, but it's 986 00:56:03,080 --> 00:56:07,760 never void of purpose. He's never forgetful. 987 00:56:07,960 --> 00:56:10,960 He with all the millions of children that he has in the 988 00:56:10,960 --> 00:56:14,240 world, he's never overwhelmed. I get overwhelmed when I have so 989 00:56:14,240 --> 00:56:17,520 many emails to answer that week. I get Frank, oh, I got to do 990 00:56:17,520 --> 00:56:18,560 this. It just messes up with my 991 00:56:18,560 --> 00:56:20,760 routine. But God is not like me. 992 00:56:20,760 --> 00:56:22,360 He's not like you. Thank God for that. 993 00:56:23,040 --> 00:56:24,680 He's not overwhelmed. He doesn't break out in the 994 00:56:24,680 --> 00:56:26,680 sweat when all these needs come to him. 995 00:56:26,680 --> 00:56:29,920 At the same time effortless. You know, he's writing a million 996 00:56:29,920 --> 00:56:31,960 stories right now, and it's just nothing to him. 997 00:56:33,080 --> 00:56:36,040 You know, he's providentially putting pieces in the lives of 998 00:56:36,040 --> 00:56:37,720 every single one of his children. 999 00:56:39,600 --> 00:56:43,760 And he's enjoying it. This is the God you and I serve, 1000 00:56:45,200 --> 00:56:47,200 so be careful. Bring that passion to the feet 1001 00:56:47,200 --> 00:56:48,600 of Jesus. Say, Lord, is this your will? 1002 00:56:49,840 --> 00:56:53,960 And be careful when you see circumstances that don't seem to 1003 00:56:53,960 --> 00:56:56,760 fit with your timeline or your script. 1004 00:56:57,360 --> 00:57:00,400 Realize that God is a better story writer than you are. 1005 00:57:01,840 --> 00:57:03,080 Let's come back and finish first. 1006 00:57:03,080 --> 00:57:09,760 Kings 8 verse 20 Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that 1007 00:57:09,760 --> 00:57:13,640 he made, For I have risen in the place of David my father, and 1008 00:57:13,640 --> 00:57:16,640 sit on the throne of Israel as the Lord promised. 1009 00:57:16,920 --> 00:57:19,680 And I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of 1010 00:57:19,680 --> 00:57:21,760 Israel. And there I have provided a 1011 00:57:21,760 --> 00:57:25,000 place for the ark in which is the covenant of the Lord that He 1012 00:57:25,000 --> 00:57:28,520 made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of 1013 00:57:28,520 --> 00:57:31,400 Egypt. And for the rest of this chapter 1014 00:57:31,400 --> 00:57:36,160 Solomon is going to pray a very, very long prayer, with several 1015 00:57:36,160 --> 00:57:38,000 requests in the subject of our study. 1016 00:57:38,000 --> 00:57:41,760 Next week will be what these requests mean for us, and some 1017 00:57:41,760 --> 00:57:44,440 wonderful lessons about what we should do in prayer. 1018 00:57:45,440 --> 00:57:56,800 Let's pray. It is indeed our delight, Lord, 1019 00:57:58,840 --> 00:58:01,520 to be sanctified by the truth. Your word is truth. 1020 00:58:04,520 --> 00:58:06,440 Thank. You, for manifesting your glory 1021 00:58:06,440 --> 00:58:09,560 through this chapter. Thank you for teaching and 1022 00:58:09,560 --> 00:58:12,080 instructing us about who you are. 1023 00:58:13,640 --> 00:58:16,640 Lord, may we be a people with a greater zeal and curiosity to 1024 00:58:16,640 --> 00:58:19,720 look into the things of the mystery of the Gospel and to 1025 00:58:19,720 --> 00:58:24,680 realize that the Church is no small thing but a trophy case of 1026 00:58:24,680 --> 00:58:28,600 your grace. May not the angels and the 1027 00:58:28,600 --> 00:58:35,160 creatures of another world outdo us in the pursuit of knowing 1028 00:58:35,160 --> 00:58:39,360 your truth more and understanding your character and 1029 00:58:39,360 --> 00:58:43,840 how you relate to us? Lord, every person here has a 1030 00:58:43,840 --> 00:58:48,680 different background. Every person here is enduring or 1031 00:58:48,680 --> 00:58:52,320 enjoying a season that's different than the other. 1032 00:58:53,400 --> 00:58:56,080 But, Lord, may we be reminded by the simple truth that you are in 1033 00:58:56,080 --> 00:59:01,480 control and that your will takes priority over our desires, and 1034 00:59:01,480 --> 00:59:05,120 that, Lord, your leadership is greater than how we could 1035 00:59:05,120 --> 00:59:07,160 conjure up a plan for our own lives. 1036 00:59:08,680 --> 00:59:12,440 Lord, thank you that there's a day coming where the Greater Ark 1037 00:59:12,440 --> 00:59:18,480 of the Covenant will make his way to Jerusalem, and we will 1038 00:59:18,480 --> 00:59:23,880 rule and reign with him and we will know His presence forever. 1039 00:59:24,440 --> 00:59:27,440 And you will fashion us with bodies unlike the priest who 1040 00:59:27,440 --> 00:59:30,160 could not be in the same presence of that glory. 1041 00:59:30,400 --> 00:59:34,320 We will be able to register, receive, enjoy and drink every 1042 00:59:34,320 --> 00:59:40,120 drop of your brilliance and holiness for ages unending Glory 1043 00:59:40,120 --> 00:59:44,800 be to the Father. Glory be to the Son, Glory be to 1044 00:59:44,800 --> 00:59:47,240 the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name we pray. 1045 00:59:47,720 --> 00:59:48,920 Amen. Amen. 1046 00:59:49,480 --> 00:59:52,760 Hey, if you were touched by this Bible study and you feel that it 1047 00:59:52,760 --> 00:59:56,080 is necessary for you to not stand but to just be in a place 1048 00:59:56,080 --> 00:59:58,960 of quiet prayer and to talk to the Lord, you do that. 1049 00:59:58,960 --> 01:00:01,200 You're not forced to stand. But if you want to stand in 1050 01:00:01,200 --> 01:00:03,200 honor of the Lord and sing to him, you can stand. 1051 01:00:03,200 --> 01:00:05,640 At this moment. All I ask is that you respond to 1052 01:00:05,640 --> 01:00:07,320 the Bible study in one way or another. 1053 01:00:07,520 --> 01:00:10,240 That could be by singing or that can be by saying, Lord, thank 1054 01:00:10,240 --> 01:00:13,000 you. You spoke to my heart or Lord 1055 01:00:13,320 --> 01:00:14,400 throughout the whole Bible study. 1056 01:00:14,400 --> 01:00:16,800 My heart was dry. I don't want to leave here Dry 1057 01:00:16,800 --> 01:00:18,840 touch my heart. You just commune with the God 1058 01:00:18,840 --> 01:00:21,120 that you just heard about, and he will honor that. 1059 01:00:21,840 --> 01:00:23,000 Whenever you're ready, please.