Chronological Bible Study – June 13

What I Noticed Today (1 Kings 8; 2 Chronicles 5)

1 Kings 8

In verses 1-9, Solomon brought all the leaders of Israel together for the dedication of the temple of the Lord in the seventh month at the Festival of the Harvest (aka Booths or Tabernacles, Exodus 23:16).

• The priests carried the Ark and the temple utensils from the Tent of Meeting to the Temple.
• The Ark was placed inside the inner sanctuary (Holy of Holies) beneath the wings of the cherubim.

The Temple was a place of God’s glory. Solomon began the process of bringing the Ark into the temple. The Levites brought the ark up out of the tent and installed it in the temple in the inner sanctuary, in the Holy of Holies. When the priests left the Holy place, the glory of God filled the whole house of the Lord (1 Kings 8:10).

The Temple was a place of testimony. The Ark represented the covenant promise God made with the people of Israel (1 Kings 8:21). The Ark was a symbol of all that God had done in bringing the people out of Egypt, through the desert, and into the Promised Land.

The Temple was a place of witness to the world. Solomon, knowing that foreigners would hear about the Lord’s house and come, asked the Lord to hear the prayers of all those who came before the temple and called on His name. He prayed that all the people of the world would come to know that the Temple is called by His name (1 Kings 8:41-43).

The Temple was a place of blessing and sacrifice. Solomon blessed the Lord for fulfilling all His promises to the people of Israel and called on God to bless the people as they walked faithfully with Him, walking in his statutes, and keeping His commandments. Solomon sacrificed peace offerings of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep (1 Kings 8:54-62).

In verses 64-66, Solomon consecrated the courtyard in front of the Lord’s temple with burnt, grain, and fellowship offerings.

• The people throughout Israel celebrated the consecration of the temple of the Lord for 14 days. On the fifteenth day, Solomon sent everyone home rejoicing in what the Lord had done for His people.

Some thoughts for additional consideration:

• Our bodies are just bodies until God breathes life into us. We are just people until we accept Christ, then we are children of God, and His Spirit lives in us. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:9 that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. With that in mind, I ask myself is my body a place of God’s glory, am I a testimony, am I a witness to the world, am I a place of blessing and sacrifice? These are important questions worthy of daily reflection.

2 Chronicles 5

2 Chronicles 5 describes Solomon gathering all the elders and leaders of Israel to bring the Ark of the Covenant and install it in the temple.

In verse 1, Solomon had all the consecrated elements of the Lord’s temple that had been made and had them placed in the temple treasury.

In verses 2-14, Solomon assembled all the leaders of Israel in Jerusalem to witness bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the Lord’s Temple.

• The Levites carried the Ark and all the temple furnishings and placed them inside the temple.
• Solomon and the people sacrificed animals to dedicate the temple.
• Musicians sang praises of thanksgiving to the Lord.
• When everything was in place, the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Tomorrow: 2 Chronicles 6-7; Psalm 136