The
Ark and the Temple; 1 Kings 8:1-11
One
of the great studies in Scripture is the presence of God in relation to the
human race, from the garden of Eden where God was walking with Adam and Eve in
the cool of the day in Genesis 2 all the way to the end of Revelation 21 where
there is no temple and God is living on the earth with man—Father, Son
and Holy Spirit—and this is the eternal future plan. So from beginning to
end we see God with man and we go through various stages. One of the most
important of these is in the temple in the Old Testament because it is there
that God dwells in the midst of His people Israel, first in the tabernacle and
then in the temple itself.
What
we have seen is that Solomon has gained control of the empire that David had
established, and once he has organised things, his structures, divides the
kingdom into various administrative districts, gets his key people in place,
then he turns his attention to two major construction projects. The first was
the building of the temple and then the building of his own
palace. It takes almost twenty years to complete both of these projects. In 1
Kings 8:1 about eleven months has gone by since the completion of the temple.
He waits eleven months until he comes to the right feast day before he
dedicates the temple. He makes sure that it is done at the right time. There
are some tremendous lessons in chapter eight, one of which has to do with
worship: the protocol of worship, the importance of doing everything in a
certain kind of appropriate way because we are not coming to worship somebody
who just lives next door, somebody who is on the same level that we are.
What
we see in this whole episode with the ark being brought into the temple and all
of the pomp and circumstance that is associated with it is that it is not pomp
and circumstance and ceremony for the sake of pomp and circumstance and
ceremony. A lot of people whenever they see certain kinds of ceremony, certain
kinds of formal national ceremonies that involve heads of state, don’t
understand where all of that protocol comes from and why it is important. And
if they do that for a head of state then of course they would do that for God
who is the creator God of the universe. So behind the protocol there are the
details of the Law of Moses. There is the law related to the ark
of the covenant and its transportation and care. There are laws related
to the priesthood, laws related to the basic structure of the tabernacle and
the temple, but based on that framework we see that there is a room for
initiative on the part of the individual to develop worship apart from divine
revelation; not a contrasted one, but what is meant is that when we go into the
Old Testament and look at Exodus and the Mosaic Law we see the detailed
descriptions for how everything in the tabernacle has to be constructed. David
did the same thing. Apparently he had been given revelation from God about how
the different aspects of the temple were to be constructed, and it gets into
certain levels of minutia; not every single thing but it is more than just a
general idea of having a nice building. The building has specific dimensions
and there are certain kinds of fabric the cloth has to be made out of, and
certain colours of thread that have to be used for embroidering the cherubim
onto the veil. There are certain kinds of wood that are supposed to be used and
the gold is then laid over the wood. So there are these specific details that
are given because these elements are all intended to communicate something. Not
even Moses or David or the priests understood how every detail would foreshadow
something in the person and work of Christ. Once it came to the incarnation
then some things probably became very clear and their significance was clear, but
what we come away with is that there is something very important about how
people worship.
Notice,
there were all those details on the Old Testament related to the construction
of the tabernacle, the uniforms of the priests, every detail, but there is no
instruction on writing hymns, writing music, on how the choirs or the
orchestras that they had would be put together. This is developed once there is
function in a general framework and is an outgrowth of that as there is focus
on the Lord. So there is room for development within the boundaries that are
clearly set by the ritual of the Old Testament.
The
other thing that we will see in this chapter is looking at Solomon’s prayer of
dedication that begins in verse 22. It is based on Scripture. The whole prayer
is a tremendous example of how a believer can meditate on revealed promises and
principles in God’s Word and then letting the Word of God be
the structure and the vocabulary of the prayers that we pray to God. And in
that it is a tremendous example of the faith-rest drill, because what Solomon
is doing in this prayer is going back to what God said and promised, both in
terms of discipline and in terms of blessing in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy
28-30. He is restating that back to God, claiming those promises and holding
God to them. So as we go through that prayer it is a tremendous example of how
to pray, a tremendous example of how to work through the faith-rest drill.
This
chapter starts off after Solomon has completed the temple, and it is time now
to bring the ark of the covenant up from the city of
David which is in Zion. 1 Kings 8:1 NASB “Then Solomon assembled the
elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’
{households} of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up
the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the city of David, which is Zion.” The city of David
is a rather small city. The term Zion as we read in different places in
Scriptures kind of moves around. Once the temple is built on the temple mount
then the temple mount becomes Mount Zion. But Zion also is a term that in some
places is used to refer to the whole city. Later as the city expands the ridge
which is to the west of the old city of David is then called Mount Zion. So we
have to pay attention to the context and the historical period as to just
exactly what is being referred to as Mount Zion. What is referred to in 1 Kings
8 when David had brought the ark into the city it is located somewhere in the
old city of David and is not up on the temple mount because of all the
construction that is going to take place there and which has taken place there.
The
significance of the ark of the covenant and why this
is important. The ark of the covenant is first
constructed by the Israelites at Mount Sinai and this is described in Exodus
25:10-22. Because of its close association with God it is referred to as the
ark of God 34 times in the Old Testaments. Because it is related to the Mosaic
covenant, one copy of which is stored inside the box, it is referred to 31
times as the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. So the emphasis here is on the presence
of God. The Psalms frequently talk about how God is enthroned upon the wings of
the cherub, and this is pictured as the throne of God upon earth. Solomon
refers to this in his prayer. Exodus 25:10 NASB “They shall
construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, and one and a half
cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.” That would be about 45 inches
long and 27 inches wide and 27 inches high. It was made of acacia wood and
overlaid with gold. The wood represented the humanity of Christ, the gold the
deity of Christ. Everything in the tabernacle says something about the person
or the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything about the ark is specified in
the Mosaic Law.
Exodus
25:8 NASB “Let them construct a sanctuary for Me,
that I may dwell among them.” This word “sanctuary” comes from the same root
that holiness comes from; it has to do with that which is set apart. This is a
key concept in worship, a key concept in the Christian life. The Hebrew word qadosh
has to do with that which is set apart for the purpose of God. There is
something distinct about this area because it is for the worship and the
service of the Lord. It is not something that is every-day so we don’t treat it
with the same level of informality or casualness that we treat everything else.
The tent of meeting and all of the instruments there are all qadosh,
sanctified as unto the Lord, because it is here, Exodus 25:22 NASB
“There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the
two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about
all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.”
The
next point deals with the things that were placed in the ark: the tables of the
Law, Aaron’s rod that budded, and then a golden jar that contained manna. Upon
Moses’ order after the rebellion at Meribah Aaron was instructed to put two
quarts of manna in a jar and place it before the testimony in the tabernacle as
a memorial to God’s provision. Hebrews 9:4 adds that this jar rested inside of
the ark, so perhaps there was a time when it was kept in the ark and another
before the ark. In 1 Kings 8:9 NASB “There was nothing in the ark
except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb,
where the LORD made a
covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.”
Apparently the manna and Aaron’s rod had been lost.
There
were specific regulations in the Mosaic Law regarding travel with the ark.
These are given in Numbers 4:5, 6; Deuteronomy 10:8; 31:25. It was to be
covered in a specific way. Only Levites could carry the ark. They weren’t to
touch the ark; they were to take the poles that were permanently kept through
the rings on the ark and carry it by means of them. When travelling through the
wilderness the ark always went before the people. God always went before the
people. The pillar of cloud by day and the fire by night indicated His
presence.
When
they entered into the land (Joshua 3:6-17) the priests took the ark and walked
toward the river Jordan. At that time it was in the spring and a very broad
river. They had to walk right to the edge while the water was still rushing by
and they were going to take that true step of faith, putting out their foot,
and as their foot lowered the water lowered. When the foot hit the ground the
ground was dry and the river wasn’t running anymore. So it was a test of their
faith and trust in God to do exactly what He said, to walk by faith and not by
sight. They were also told in Joshua chapter three that the body of the
Israelites were not to come within 2000 cubits (3,500 feet) of the ark of the covenant. So the ark was to go first into the
river, cross the river and come out the other side before the body of the
Israelites would then follow.
What
happened to the ark during the conquest? The only time that it is mentioned per se in the
rest of the book of Joshua is when they marched around the walls of Jericho. That
is the last time the ark is specifically mentioned in Joshua. At the time of
Solomon 444 years have gone by since they entered into the land, so what had
been going on with the ark?
From
the period of the Judges to Samuel the ark is located at the city of Bethel
which was situated about 30 north of Jerusalem. The tabernacle was there and
this is where people came to sacrifice and where they celebrated the feasts.
There is only one reference in Judges to the ark.
By
Samuel’s time the ark has been moved north to the village of Shiloh. We only
know this because of the incident that occurs in 1 Samuel chapter four when the
ark was captured by the Philistines—1 Samuel 4:3 where the people were
trying to use the ark like a good luck charm. Then the ark is taken by the
Philistines in 1 Samuel 5:1ff. Now the Philistines took the ark of God and
brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to
the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. When the Ashdodites arose early
the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the
ark of the LORD.
So
they took Dagon and set him in his place again. But when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon
had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. And the head
of Dagon and both the palms of his hands {were} cut off on the threshold; only
the trunk of Dagon was left to him.” What God is showing in the first instance
is that He and He alone is worthy of worship and all of these false gods will
eventually bow down to Him. In the second instance what He is showing is that
the false gods of the Philistines specifically can’t think and can’t act. The
people were somewhat upset and the verse 6 says that the hand of the Lord was
heavy upon them. Nine times in this section the writer uses this phrase “the
hand of the Lord,” and it is a figure of speech for the power of God. The
people recognised that the negative circumstances they were experiences came
directly from God. [6] “Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor all who
enter Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. Now
the hand of the LORD was heavy on
the Ashdodites, and He ravaged them and smote them
with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories.” What
most scholars believe is that this was an outbreak of bubonic plague which was
divinely instigated. This would be supported by the fact that when the
Philistines eventually send the ark back they make these little golden tumors to imitate the tumors that
they had, and golden mice. Rodents, of course, have flees that spread bubonic
plague.
The
ark goes from Ashdod to Gath to Ekron, and at Ekron the people are quite dismayed that they now have the ark of the covenant, and they believe that the God of Israel
is going to kill them. They have a convocation of all
the five lords of the Philistines and implore them to send the ark back to
Israel. So they are going to return the ark, and the total we are told in 6:1
was that it was in the land of the Philistines for six years.
There
are three principles that we learn from this.
1.
God is never defeated. God is in control. The Israelites
were defeated because of their carnality, but God wasn’t defeated. So God was
demonstrating by what he is doing among the Philistines that He is very much
alive, very much involved, very powerful, and that He wasn’t defeated, only the
Jews were defeated. God’s people, because of sin, may be defeated.
2.
God is greater than anything in history. Whatever is thrown
against Him by whatever system, by whatever civilisation, by whatever
philosophical system, God is always greater.
3.
God doesn’t need man to protect or defend Him.
Then
the Philistines decide to make a test just in case this isn’t really a
supernatural thing. So they make a new cart and take two milch cows, cows not
trained to pull a cart. So when two of them are taken that have never been
hitched together the normal tendency is going to be for one to go one way and
the other another way. To complicate matters they have calves that haven’t been
weaned, so they want to go back to the calves. Instead, they work in perfect
harmony and they take the cart with the ark to Beth-shemesh
where the people rejoice to see the ark returned. 1 Samuel 6:13 NASB
“Now {the people of} Beth-shemesh were reaping their
wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and
were glad to see {it.}… [15] The Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the box
that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large
stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt
offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to the LORD.” Notice that
they made sure that Levites handled the ark; they did it according to
appropriate protocol.
1
Sam 6:19, 20 NASB “He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck
down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck the
people with a great slaughter. The men of Beth-shemesh
said, ‘Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall He
go up from us?’” It is thought that there is a textual problem here and that
the number is really 70 men. The Beth-shemites are
then quite fearful so they send the ark to Kiriath-jearim.
The ark stays there until David comes to get the ark in 2 Samuel 6:6, 7. It is
during this time that various Psalms are written and we see the beginning of
choirs and the orchestras and the singing of songs in relation to the ark and
the enthronement of God upon the ark. That is our connection to the doctrine of
worship. It is after three months that David then transports the ark to Mount
Zion—Psalm 3:4; 9:11; 2 Samuel 7. The ark stays there even though during
the Absolom revolt Abiathar
wants to take the ark with David, but David insists that it stays there. It
stays on Mount Zion near where the temple will be, though the altar and the
tabernacle are north at Gibeon. When the temple is completed—1 Kings
8:1—Solomon transfers the ark from the city of Zion up to the temple
mount.