1 Kings 8:1-11

1 Kings 8:1-11

[1] Then Solomon  assembled  the elders  of Israel,  and all the heads  of the tribes,  the chief  of the fathers  of the children  of Israel,  unto king  Solomon  in Jerusalem,  that they might bring up  the ark  of the covenant  of the LORD  out of the city  of David,  which is Zion.  [2] And all the men  of Israel  assembled  themselves unto king  Solomon  at the feast  in the month  Ethanim,  which is the seventh  month.  [3] And all the elders  of Israel  came,  and the priests  took up  the ark.  [4] And they brought up  the ark  of the LORD,  and the tabernacle  of the congregation,  and all the holy  vessels  that were in the tabernacle,  even those did the priests  and the Levites  bring up.  [5] And king  Solomon,  and all the congregation  of Israel,  that were assembled  unto him, were with him before  the ark,  sacrificing  sheep  and oxen,  that could not be told  nor numbered  for multitude.  [6] And the priests  brought in  the ark  of the covenant  of the LORD  unto his place,  into the oracle  of the house,  to the most  place, even under the wings  of the cherubims.  [7] For the cherubims  spread forth  their two wings  over the place  of the ark,  and the cherubims  covered  the ark  and the staves  thereof above.  [8] And they drew out  the staves,  that the ends  of the staves  were seen out  in the holy  place before  the oracle,  and they were not seen  without:  and there they are unto this day.  [9] There was nothing in the ark  save  the two  tables  of stone,  which Moses  put  there at Horeb,  when the LORD  made  a covenant with the children  of Israel,  when they came out  of the land  of Egypt.  [10] And it came to pass, when the priests  were come out  of the holy  place, that the cloud  filled  the house  of the LORD,  [11] So that the priests  could  not stand  to minister  because  of the cloud:  for the glory  of the LORD  had filled  the house  of the LORD. 

What does 1 Kings 8:1-11 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The Israelites regarded the ark as the throne of Yahweh. It was the place where He manifested His presence in a localized way and where He received the blood that atoned for the Israelites" sins on the Day of Atonement. The ark had rested in David"s tabernacle in Zion since David had brought it from the house of Obed-edom ( 2 Samuel 6:17). It was the only item in the temple that was not new. Perhaps God did not change it to help the people realize that Hebrews , symbolized by the ark, had not changed. His person and methods of dealing with them at the mercy seat were the same as they had been.
The ceremony of installing the ark in Solomon"s temple took place during the Feast of Tabernacles. This was one of the feasts that the Mosaic Law specified that all Israelite males had to attend ( Leviticus 23:33-36). This feast was a commemoration of the Lord"s faithfulness during His people"s wilderness wanderings. It looked back to their slavery in Egypt and forward to their establishment in the Promised Land. The bringing of the ark into the temple symbolized the fulfillment of that hope. Evidently Solomon waited for this feast in order to celebrate the dedication of the temple, and used the months following the completion of construction to furnish it and to prepare for the celebration. [1]
What 1 Kings 8:3-8 picture is the symbolic enthronement of Yahweh as Israel"s King. Israel"s God now entered into His house. As mentioned above, the people did not regard the sovereignty of a human king as firmly established until he built a palace for himself. Now they saw the sovereignty of the divine King established over Israel. "To this day" ( 1 Kings 8:8) shows that the writer wrote this part of Kings before586 B.C. when the Babylonian army destroyed this temple.
The ark housed the tablets of the Decalogue (Ten Commandments; Hebrews 9:4). The sole presence of the Law in the ark reemphasized the importance of the Israelites submitting to the Mosaic Covenant, which these tablets represented. That obedience would be the key to Israel"s success ( Joshua 1:8). Formerly a pot of manna, symbolizing God"s faithful provision of the needs of His people, and Aaron"s rod that budded, symbolizing God"s confirmation of the Aaronic priesthood, had rested near the ark in the tabernacle.
The shekinah (from the Hebrew root translated "to dwell") cloud ( Exodus 19:9; Exodus 24:15-16), symbolic of Yahweh"s presence, filled the temple. It had also filled the tabernacle at its dedication ( Exodus 40:34-35). [2] The Israelites perceived that their God had come to dwell among them and to bless them with His presence. Even priestly ministry was impossible during this glorious revelation of Yahweh. All that the people could do was worship.