The Ark Arrives

If you have your Bible, 1 Kings chapter 8, and we're going to look at the arrival of the ark in the temple of the Lord God It's a fascinating study The Ark of the Covenant is the most prized piece of furniture. in the tabernacle and in the temple of God And it is the only original piece taken from the tabernacle and placed in the temple when Solomon does it in 1 Kings chapter 8 It's very significant Remember, David wanted in 2 Samuel 7 to find a house or build a house For the Ark of God The Ark of God, the Ark of the Covenant, was a symbol that represented the presence of God

Okay, the ark is not God, but it represented a symbol of the presence of God And David had the ark of God in a tent On Mount Zion in the city of Jerusalem And he wanted to build a house that would encompass the ark God And God told him, No, that's not going to happen Looked at that last week But instead, his son Solomon would build the house of the name of the Lord And that would be the place in which the Ark of the Covenant would be housed And it's in 1 Kings chapter 8 that that event takes place

Having finished the temple after seven years, And before the dedication of the temple, Solomon wants to move the Ark of the Covenant into that temple And the temple becomes, more so than the tabernacle, the essence of all of Judaism For the temple was a place of adoration It's a place of worship It's a place where the people of God would come together to worship the one true God Ever in 2 Kings or 2 Chronicles chapter 5, it is Solomon who says these words. 2 Chronicles 5, verse number 4

Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, dedicating it to Him, to burn fragrance incense Before him, and to set out the show continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on Sabbaths, and on new moons, and on the appointed feasts of the Lord our God This being required forever in Israel So the temple was a place of adoration But also it was a place of revel or manifestation It would be a place where God would reveal himself, manifest him in a unique and very special way. way

That's why the Bible talks about going to the house of the Lord and beholding the beauty of the Lord Because it would be the Lord God of Israel who would manifest himself in a very unique and special way The Bible says in Psalm 80, verse number 1, that it's the Lord who is enthroned above the cherubim The cherubim sat on top of the mercy seat, which was on top of the Ark of the Covenant And so it was a place that symbolized God's presence, but it was a place where God would reveal Himself in a very unique and special way

In fact, inside the Ark of the Covenant throughout the history of Israel were three things: the tablets of God, okay, the Ten Commandments As well as the rod that would bud, that was Aaron's rod that budded, as well as the jar of manna And all of them represented something about what God did in the history of Israel So everything about the Ark of the Covenant was about Symbolizing the presence of God among his people And that temple then became a place of re where God would reveal him in a very unique and special way

But on top of that, the temple was a place of provision. A place of provision because it was on the mercy seat where the blood was sprinkled That the people would have atonement made for their sins So there would be a provision of forgiveness for the people, a provision for them to be able to commune with the living God All that was very important to them And so outside of adoration and outside of revelation and outside of provision, the temple is also a place of anticipation

Because the nation of Israel anticipated the coming of a greater son of David, the Messiah who would come and rule and reign from Jerusalem, and he would rule from the throne of his father David And so it became a place of anticipation because they would know that they would live in anticipation of a coming sacrifice that would. wipe away all their sins Not just cover them for a year, but wipe them away completely So they lived in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah and everything about the temple and all the articles inside the temple all pointed to the arrival Of the coming Messiah

On top of that, the temple was a place of petition, supplic, intercess Why? Because it was called a house of prayer In fact, over in Isaiah chapter 56, verse number 7, it was called a house of prayer for all the Gentiles That's why the Lord condemned, while he was here on earth, the religious leaders because they had made his father's house a den of thieves, right? And it was supposed to be a house of prayer And at the end of his ministry, he no longer called it his father's house He called it your house Remember that? Your house is left to you desolate

It's no longer my father's house because the glory of the Lord has departed All right, because of the sins of my people Israel, therefore it's no longer my father's house, but it's your house But in spite of all of that, in spite of the uniqueness of adoration, the uniqueness and the specialness of petition and Provision and anticipation, all those things There was something unique about its distinction That the temple was a very distinct Place And it was a very unique opportunity for the people of God So you're already in 1 Kings 8

Let me read to you, verse number 1, for this is what it says. 1 Kings chapter 8, verse number 1 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 Now we're going to stop right there Because you need to understand the huge implications of verse number one of 1 Kings chapter 8 He talks about the city of David He talks about the Ark of the Covenant And he talks about Zion, Mount Zion

What I want to do is give you a B study that will hopefully tie some things together for you So, that you understand more about the uniqueness and significance of the Temple of God, the Ark of God, and the unique location of where that is So, I want to put up for you a slide tonight, one that we've seen before, but I'm going to put up slide number one and show you just a couple of things So, if you could put that up for me, I'd appreciate it so we can be caught up together Are you guys good up there? We good Ah, you're good Okay, now see if're in the back, you can't see very well

That's unfortunate But if you're in the front, you can see better This is what it would look like during the time of King Solomon This is the city of David That's what it says in 1 Kings 8, verse number 1 That the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from the city of David, right, which is Mount Zion Very important Why? Because over time, all of this becomes Mount Zion All of this does Because this would be where the temple is located, Solomon's temple This would be the palace of King David, and where Solomon would live This would be the city of David

David would purchase the threshing floor of Aruna, the Jebus And that's the place, the location he was going to build the temple Why is this important? Because this is Mount Moriah But you'll notice that all of this is one large ascending hill In the Bible, two places, this is called the h of Oph The hill of Oph, which means a fortified risen area Twice that's used If you go to the next slide, go to the next slide for me if you would please This is the way it looks today Nothing like it looked back then, right? But this is the city of David right here Same location as the other place

This is the Temple Mount All right This is where the golden dome of the rock is This is the Temple Mount This is Mount Moriah But all of this is the ascent This is the hill of Eph This is 30 acres, the hill of Eph, called the city of David Also called Zion But all of this truly encompasses Moriah, and all of it encompasses Zion Now go back to slide number one, if you would please Now, why is that important? Well, the Bible tells us in 1 Kings chapter 8, verse number 1, that what Solomon is going to do is he's going to take the ark that's in a tent on the city of David

All right, and David wanted to build a house for the Ark of the Covenant, and God said no But he said his son would So his son did He built a temple right here on Mount Moriah on the threshing floor of Arunah, the Jeb, and he would move that tent, that ark, from this location to this location in 1 Kings chapter 8 Now, why is that important? Listen to Psalm 8 Psalm 8 How lovely are your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts, verse 1 My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God

The bird also has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young Even your altars, O Lord of hosts, my king and my God How blessed are those who dwell in your house They are Ever praising you So the psalmist is longing for the temple of God, the house of God And then it says in verse 10: For a day in your courts is better than a thousand outside We're saying about this on Sunday. I would rather stand at the threshold

Of the house of my God, or be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord, than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. I'd rather be in the lowliest place in the service of my God than in the loftiest place In the world And then he says, For the Lord God is a son and shield, and the Lord gives grace and glory The Lord God is a son and a shield. A son provider, a shield protector Only place in Scripture Where the Lord God of Israel is called a son, S- Okay? The Messiah in Malachi 4:2 Is called the Son, S-, of righteousness So the Lord God of Israel is called the Son

And the Messiah is called the Son Eshu of righteousness who will ar with healing in his wings to those who fear the Lord Why is that important? Well, if you got your Bible, turn with me to Psalm 50 Psalm 50 It will begin to tie this together for you The might one, God the Lord, has spoken and summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting Out of Zion, where is Zion? Zion is Where'd my picture go? Guys, you're killing me up there, man You're killing me Okay? Where is I? Here is Zion All right? Out of Zion The text says, the perfection of beauty God has shown forth

Now remember, we told you, this is Zion But all of this encompasses Zion once the temple is built Zion means to shine forth As def in Psalm 50, verse number 2, it is a shining forth Okay, it's a word that literally means sunny All right, now remember, the Lord God is a sun, S-U-, right? And out of Zion, the Lord will shine forth Now, why is that important? Now, you're going to have to walk this through with me You're not going be able to follow it and take all the notes you want to, but just write down the verses, and you can do a Bible study with it later

In Numbers 24, verse number 17, the Bible tells us that a star shall rise out of Jacob and a scepter from Judah That is the first prophecy about the Messiah as the Shining One Numbers: Telling us that the Messiah not only is a star, but he is a king because he holds a scepter We already know that Malachi 4 says that the Messiah is called the Son Eshu of right We also know that Luke chapter 1 tells us these words as Zach states them Luke chapter 1, verse number 7

Because of the tender mercy of our God with which the sun rise from on high will visit us, who's that? That's the Messiah to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death that guide our feet into the way of peace So Zach, the father of John the Baptist, tells us about the sunrise from on high Taken from Numbers:, about a star that will rise out of Jacob Knowing that Zion means to shine forth And so there is a shining that happens when the light of the world ar In Bethlehem Now, note this: it's important to realize that the Bible speaks of the Magi

In Matthew 2, verse number 2, when they go to the king in Jerusalem and they say, What? We have seen his star We have followed his star So they know because of Daniel the prophet Because David your prophet taught their fathers and their grandfathers about Numbers:, how a star shall rise out of Jacob, who will be a king because of a scepter There, they know that the star is a king But the star was a unique star, not a normal star, because it would move and it would take them Some 700 miles from Persia, because they were Persian kings, to the place in Jerusalem

And we know that at the eve or the night of the birth of Christ, that the glory of the Lord shone all around the shepherds, right? And what is the glory of the Lord? It's the manifestation, it's the presence of God manifested In light, because the Messiah is the light of the world, he is the star, he is the shining one, he is the son of right All that to say, Peter says these words in 2 Peter chapter 2, 2 Peter chapter 2, verse number 19 He says, so we have the prophetic word made sure, to which you do well to pay attention, as to a lamp shining in a dark place

What's that? The prophetic word is more sure because it is a lamp into my feet and a light into my path Remember, that's what God's word is And it is a lamp and a light, right? And our Lord is light, and our Lord is the incarnate word He is the word from the very beginning, right? So the word of God is light as God Himself is light And then He says this Until the day dawns and the morning st rises in your hearts Who is the morning star? Book of Revelation, second chapter, tells us who the morning star is

When the Lord writes to the church of Thyat, talking about the over in verse number 26, he says to those who overcome, verse 28, I will give him the m star In other words, they will possess the Messiah him Jesus says in Revelation 22, verse number 16, that he is the bright And morning star Okay? You with me so far? Don't want to lose you Giving you a lot of verses, a lot of things to think about But to show you that Zion means to shine forth, all right, and it's the shining forth of the majesty from Zion That attracts the people of God to this place Now, listen to what Psalm 48 says

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, His holy mount What is the holy mountain? Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the great king God in her palaces has made himself known as a Stronghold Okay? So the psalmist talks about Mount Zion He talks about Mount Zion being the holy mountain of God Why is that important? Because the Holy Mountain of God is where Solomon's temple is And where is that built on? It's called Moriah How do we know that? Well, we looked at it last week

Over in 2 Chronicles chapter 3, verse number 1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah You with me so far? So from the Holy Mount Which is Mount Moriah, which is where the Temple Mount is today, okay, is the shining forth of the Messiah Why is that important? It's important simply because the phrase holy mountain or mountain of God Used 18 times in the Old Testament. 16 of the 18 times It refers to that area right there without question Okay? 18 times used in the Old Testament, 16 of the 18 times, it refers to that place right there

Right? What does Moriah mean? You remember? Foreseen by God, right? Take it from Genesis chapter 22 Where Abraham would take his son Isaac and sacrifice him on Mount Moriah Right? Or take him there to do that, but God stopped him The angel of the Lord stopped him Because the Lord would provide him as lamb on Mount Moriah So, if you go to slide number two with me for a second, I'll show you something, and that is Slide number two Ah, there you go This is Mount Moriah, City of David, on the other side of Mount Moriah Is still Moriah, but it's a place called Gog, where the Messiah was crucified

So go back with me if you would to slide number one Okay? So if you go back to slide number one Mount Moriah is right here. 18 times used in the Old Testament, the holy mountain of God It is Mount Zion to show you that Zion, the city of David, becomes all of this, inclusive, whence the temple is built on top of Mount Moriah Because it's all a part of the hill of Eth, which is the ascent that leads up to Mount Moriah The other two times the mountain of God is used Only two other times Book of Ezekiel, 28th chapter, which tells us that the mountain of God is the garden of Eden

And that's one way to show you that this location right here is the original Garden of Eden It began there When Christ came, he came there, and at the end, it all ends there Why? Because that's the way God designed it All this in one verse in 1 Kings chapter 8, verse number 1, about Mount Zion So Solomon's going to take the ark

From a tent on the city of David on Zion, move it to the temple. which is the holy mountain of God, which is Mount Moriah, one and the same, so that all becomes Zion, and all becomes a shining forth of the splendor and beauty and majesty Of the king from the temple which was built to house the Ark of the Covenant, which symbolizes the presence of the living God So, what is Mount Zion? What is Zion? Well, I'm here to tell you that Zion is in Scripture The most unique and significant place on the planet Zion A word used a hundred and f-four times in scripture Okay? So it 's pretty paramount

It's pretty important And so what is Zion? Is Zion just a city of David? No, but it does encompass that Is Zion just the city of David plus the tip of Mount Aria or Mount Moriah? Yes, but it's more than that What is Zion? If he's going to take the Ark of the Covenant, Solomon is, and he's going to take it from the city of David up to the temple Which all becomes the city of David eventually, right? Becomes the city of peace, Jerusalem What is it about Zion that's so significant? But let me tell you, by the way, this is all introduction We haven't got the outline yet

Okay? Zion is a specific hill It's a specific hill, the hill of Eth It is the ascent, because all this is an upward slope, it is an ascent up to the top of Mount Moriah, okay? So it is a specific hill that's referred to in Scripture In fact, in Psalm 2, this is how It's referred to Psalm 2 verse number 6 But as for me, I have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain So Zion is this and that Zion is the holy mountain of God So the Lord in prophecy is speaking about his Messiah, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who will come and say, I have installed my king

On Mount Zion, in the place of the shining forth on the holy mountain of God, because from the holy mountain of God, God will shine forth See that? It is a spe hill in sc Okay? Knowing that, it is a sacred m in Scripture. A sacred mountain Okay, where the Messiah will be placed, according to the book of Micah, the fourth chapter, which says, Micah 4, verse number 1, these words And it will come about in the last day that the mountain of the house of the Lord, where's that? The mountain of the house of the Lord, right there, okay, will be established at the chief of the mountains

The chief of the mountains It will be raised above the hills Now remember, Mount Moriah is surrounded by hills Okay, you have a valley here, which is the Kid Valley You have a valley here, which is called the Central Valley And I 'll show you the third valley in a moment, but you have hills surrounding this all around here This is north, this is south Okay? And so during the time of the tribulation, there's going to be one common thing that happens all the time, and that is earthquakes And during those earthquakes, This mountain here will rise high and above all the other mountains

This over here is Gethsemane. the Mount of Olives on this side, but this mount here will rise above them all, according to the prophecy of Micah chapter 4 And it says, it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it Many nations will come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, right? And to the house of the God of Jacob, that we may teach us, or that he may May teach us about his ways and that we may walk in his paths For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the Lord. from Jerusalem

Okay, so from Zion, which means to shine forth, will come the word of the Lord, which by the way is a lamp and a light So all of that's just going to shine forth from the temple Mount where the temple, Zechariah 6. 1, will be built by the Messiah himself The fourth temple will be built by him And therefore, he will rule and reign on this planet as promised To his father David in the Davidic covenant So, this is a specific hill It is a sacred mountain where Messiah will come and rule and reign During this time after the tribulation Also, it's a significant city Zion is just not a hill

Zion is just not a mountain, although it's called the holy mountain of God, it's called the hill of Oph It is a significant city Because it's called in 1 Kings 8:1, the city of David We just read it earlier Psalm 48 is called the city of our God In Isaiah 52:1, it's called the Holy City In Isaiah 1, it's called the faithful city of the righteous In Zechariah 8, it's called the city of truth In Psalm 51, it's called Jerusalem In Psalm 76, It's identified with the tribe of Judah So, this is just not any c This is the city of truth The city of the righteous, the city of God, the holy city

That's what Zion is So, when you read 1 Kings 8, verse number 1, and it says, Well, he took the ark of the covenant of God from the city of David, which is Zion, and you can go on to verse 2 without understanding what Zion is Because you need to understand Zion not only because of what it was, but because of what it will be when Messiah comes And the significance of Zion, the holy mountain of God, as it pertains to the most expensive piece of real estate on the planet, and why it's so unique It's because of what happened there in the very beginning in Genesis chapter 1, 2, and 3

What was built there, where the Lord came back to and where he ended up at the end to rule and reign from the city of David on Mount Moriah, which is called Zion in the city of truth, the city of our great God Not only that, Zion also refers to a select group of people Did you know that? Zion is just not a city Zion is just not a mountain Zion is more than just a specific hill Zion is a group of people That's very important to understand that It says over in the book of Psalm 13, verse number 13, these words For the Lord has chos Zion He has desired it for his habitation

That 's not the worst I want to use. I 'm sorry. I want to use Isaiah 49, my bad Isaiah 49, verse number 14 But Zion said, How does a hill speak? It doesn't How does the mountain speak? It doesn't How does a city speak? It doesn't But a people, they do speak But Zion said, The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me And the Lord responds, Can a woman forget her nursing child? Have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands Your walls are continually before me

Over in Isaiah 51, verse number 16, it says these words: Isaiah 51:1. I have put my words in your mouth, and have covered you with the shadow of my hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, You are my people So, Zion refers to a specific group of people, and that is a people who have committed themselves to the Messiah of Israel and recognize that he is their sole redeemer So you and I can actually say that we are the people of Zion Look what it says over in Isaiah 62 Isaiah chapter 62. 62 verse number 11, I believe it is

Behold, the Lord is proclaimed to the end of the earth Say to the daughter of Zion, Lo, your salvation comes Behold, his reward is with him and his recompense before him Will call them the holy people, or yeah, the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, and you will be called sought out, a city not forsaken So the people is called a redeemed people See that? So Zion is more than a mountain and a hill and a city Zion is a people, a people that understand the Messiah as their Redeemer On top of that, you must understand this about Zion, that Zion refers to a special place

Where the Lord Himself actually does dwell In other words, it's not that the Lord did dwell there It's not that the Lord will dwell there, but it's actually a place where the Lord presently does dwe In fact, the Bible says in Psalm 89, 89, verse number 2, that the Lord loves the gates Of Zion more than all the other dwelling places of Jacob He loves the gates of Zion You know, it doesn't say that God loves any other place in the world Only this place And why does he do that? Because this is the place he actually does dwell In fact, the Bible says

The book of Isaiah, the eighth chapter, these words, the eighteenth verse The Lord of hosts who dwells on M Zion And then over in Isaiah chapter 18, verse number 7 It says, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, even Mount Zion, even Mount Zion Listen to Psalm 9 Psalm 9, verse 11 Sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion Now, go to picture number three, please, if you would Okay? Picture number three We told you, we show this to you before You have The city of David Okay? This is the way it looked during the time of Christ This is the city of David Okay This is the Temple Mount

This is Gog All this is one mount called Mount Moriah The place foreseen by God All right? So when David conquered the city of David from the Jebus, this was the city of David This city of David is surrounded by the Kid Valley, the Central Valley, and the Hinnom Valley In fact, all of Moriah is surrounded by three valleys And you know this if you've been here long enough, that these three valleys form the Hebrew letter Shin Which represents Shadd When it says the place of the name, it literally means the place of the name What name? The name of the Lord, Shaddai, the God Almighty

He put this Hebrew letter in the valleys surrounding Mount Moriah This, remember, this was a place Foreseen by God So, way back in Genesis 22, God says to Abraham, Take now your son, your only son, the one son that you love Okay? And you take him to a place that I will show you And Abraham brought him to Moriah Because everything here was foreseen by God in eternity past, because this is where everything began This is the original Garden of Eden This is where the Son of God will be crucified on Mount Moriah at Gagatha And this is where the Son of Man will return, set up his throne on

The threshing floor of Ar, the Jebus, where the son of David, the king of Israel, will rule and reign forever and ever and ever And from there he will shine forth Because Zion means to shine forth See that? Just kind of tied all in a beau for you Take you, transport you to the land of Israel Till you see why this is so significant So, when the Bible says something and gives you a word or a phrase, it wants you to understand there's more to it than just a cursory reading of the text And so, go back to slide number one, if you would, please

What happens, according to 1 Kings chapter 8, it's Solomon Who takes from the city of David the ark that's in the tent on Mount Zion, moves it to the temple on this day in 1 Kings chapter 8 And the reason all that's happening is because that ark symbolizes the presence of the living God It is not the presence of God, but it does symbolize that So now when we come to 1 Kings chapter 8, now we're ready to tackle the text in the last 10 minutes that we have Okay? So let me take you through Number one, the organization Number two, the procession Number three, take you through the installation

And number four, the celebration Okay? So, we read verse number one He's taking the ark, and all the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at the feast in the Mount of Eth, which is the seventh month Now, why is that important? Anybody know why that's important? It's the Feast of Tabernacles Right? The temple's done Solomon, great leader that he is Is going to plan the time in which he's going to move that ark to the temple He is going to do it in the seventh month of the year Which is the month in which they celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles Right? The Feast of Tabernacles

The Feast that celebrates God tabernacling among His people, dwelling among His people during their wilderness wanderings So, if I'm a Jew, what do I do? I go out in my backyard and I build a tent. I live in the tent for a week in anticipation of the Messiah who's going to come And dwell among his people and always provide and protect them Remember, the Lord God is a son and a shield, he is a provider and a protector As the nation of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, okay, there was a tabernacle that they would pick up and move with them

In that tabernacle was the Ark of the Coven That tabernacle is a phrase that means dwelling place Interestingly, in John chapter 1, it says, and the word became flesh and tabernacled among us In other words, when the Messiah came, he dwelt among us He tabernacled among us The tabernacle would be that which would house the cloud of God, with inside that cloud was the actual presence Of God Himself manifested in light How do we know that? Leviticus 16, verse number 2, where God says, I am in the cloud Okay? Very important to our text here in 1 Kings chapter 8

And so, what he is saying is that when the Lord God of Israel came down to earth, he tabernacle, he literally, the Lord God pitched his tent among his people So when they celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, they pitch their tents in their backyard to celebrate the Dwelling of God among his people, providing and protecting them during their wilderness wanderings, that would anticipate his final coming, the Messiah, who, when he comes, will actually dwell in their presence And provide for them and protect them because he is a sun and a shield

He is Zion, the one that shines forth and the protector of his people See that? You don't see it Ah, you will Read on Okay, so this is the organization St was a magnificent leader And I wish there were more books written about Solomon's leadership because he was a great leader He was a man who could organize, administrate, dictate, follow through He was magnificent And so part of this was the organization of moving this ark so that everything runs specifically according to detail And so, from the organization, you had the procession, which begins in verse number 3

Then, all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark They brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils which were in the tent Okay, that was all the utensils that were in the tent that they would bring and they would put in the treasuries in the temple Because what Sol did is he rebuilt everything except the Ark of the Covenant Okay? The Ark of the Covenant would remain the same And they would place it in the temple of God King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled to him

Were with them before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered There was a great procession, and in that procession was the sacrifice of the people To their God Verse 6: And the priests brought the Ark of the Covenant to the Lord to its place Very important Because the first time David tried to bring the ark back to the city of Jerusalem, they brought it the wrong way Uzz reached over to keep it from falling He died because he did it the wrong way There 's a specific way God said to carry the ark Very specific instructions

If you don't do it my way, you'll die So now, when David brought the ark finally to the city of David, he did it the right way with the priests, with the poles Taken in the proper way And now they're doing the same thing here They're moving it in the proper manner into the inner sanctuary of the house, verse 6, to the most holy place under the wings of the cherubim For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a cover Over the ark and its poles from above

But the poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary, and they could not be seen outside They are there to this day And there was nothing in the ark except 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 What's missing? Aaron's rod that budded in the jar of man

Why are they missing? Where do they go? How come they're not there? Why are just the tablets of stone there? Well, if you read Numbers chapter 16, Exodus chapter 17, you will note that the jar of manna that was placed in the Ark of the Covenant As well as Aaron's rod that butted, were placed there after Israel rebelled against God They rebelled against God because they were hungry They had left the land What were they going to do? How was God going to provide for them? And what did God provide? Manna What is manna? Translation, what is it? Nobody really knows what it is

It's called what is it, right? And God provided in a supernatural way bread from heaven, which would be used, by the way, right, of the Messiah Who said in John chapter 6 that God provided bread for Moses and the children of Israel? He goes, But I am the bread that comes down out of heaven, I am the bread of life, right? But that was born out of Israel's rebellion against God We'll say it was true in the book of Exodus, the 17th chapter, when Israel rebelled against the priesthood of Aaron

And so what God did was had all the leaders of the tribes bring their staffs, and the staff that would bud would be the priestly tribe of Israel And Aaron's staff butted, Aaron's rod butt He was the rightful leader of the priestly tribe And God did that out of The rebellion of Israel against Aaron's leadership as priest over Israel But now the nation is at peace Now, the nation is not rebelling against God All the nation needs to know is that the law of God Needs to be obeyed And the law of God is the only thing left in the Ark of the Covenant Now you have your answer

So it says in verse 10, It happened that when the priests came into the holy place, okay, the cloud filled the house of the Lord So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud For the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord This is so unique You have The organization, you had the procession, you had the installation of the ark into the Holy of Holies under the wings of the cherubim Then you had the celebration Look over at 2 Chronicles chapter 5 for a second. 2 Chronicles chapter 5 We got 10 minutes

Got to go quick. 2 Chronicles 5, verse number 11 says: When the priest came forth from the holy place, for all the priests Who were present had sanctified themselves without regard to divisions, and all the Levitical singers, As, Heman, Jed, and the sons of kinsmen clothed in fine linens, with cymbals of harps and lyers, standing east of the altar, and with them one hundred and 20 priests blowing trumpets Wow, that's a loud noise

In unison, when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets And cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord, saying, He indeed is good, and his loving kind is everlasting, then the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud For the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord Notice when and then

When they sang, when they lifted their voices, when they in one accord sang praises to God, when they recognized that He was good, when they recognized the loving kind of God, then the glory of the Lord Came down in the cloud You see that? When, then? Because God inhabits the praises of his people Psalm 22:3 Ever heard that verse before? God inhabits the praises of his people When they recognized the goodness of God, when they recognized the mercy of God, when they sang in un with one voice to glorify God, what happened? The cloud came down The glory of the Lord came down

And, remember Leviticus 16:2? God says, I am in the cloud. I'm in the cloud, but you can't see me Because if you see me, I got to kill you Because I dwell in unapproachable light So I encase myself in a cloud and I will come down And he encompassed the temple The presence of God came down at that time because of the celebration of the people of God And God would remain In that place, the place where he dwells, the place where his name is This is a very significant time Sol is going to dedicate the temple, and our next time together, we'll talk about his dedication of the temple

Okay, but all this had to happen before that Isn't it interesting? This phrase here says In unison, when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord That verse is used in the New Testament In the book of Romans, the fifteenth chapter, where it says So that with one accord, you as a church may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ You see, they gave glory to God They recognized the God of glory They recognized that God was good in all that He had done

And they would dwell in safety and peace for 40 years under Solomon's leadership The man of peace Because Solomon was a type of Christ who was the prince of peace And when the Messiah comes, there'll be total peace upon the earth For a thousand years as he rules and reigns from the city of David, which is Jerusalem Which is Mount Zion, which is located on Mount Moriah, which originally is called the Holy Mountain of God It's all one in the same This becomes a very significant portion of scripture as it pertains to not only what happened, but what will happen when Messiah comes again

It's important for us to realize that as Israel with one voice glorified the Lord, so we too glorify the Lord This building, as we said last time, is just a building This is not the house of the name of the Lord Solomon built that house Okay? That was a specific house on a specific location This is a building We are now the temple of the Holy Spirit of God, right? And we, because we are each a temple of the Spirit of God, each of us need to live lives in such a way that we honor the Lord and glorify His name So that we all come together to sing praises to His name, to lift His name on high

We do it with a pure heart and a clear conscience because we've confessed our sins and we're right before the living God That we might be able to understand how it is God manifests Himself, the glory of the Lord, manifests Himself among the people of God when we live lives that bring glory to His name May God give us the strength and the grace and mercy to accomplish that Let's pray together Father, we thank you for tonight The time that we have together is short, but it's great We're grateful for the opportunity to look at Scripture

And our prayer, Lord, is that we would be able to understand these verses. I'm sure there are many of us who have questions about the things that we said tonight May we be good students of the scriptures To learn the Bible, to understand the Bible That Lord, we would be able to speak to others this truth and lead them to understand the Lord God of Israel We love you, Lord We thank you for our time In Jesus' name, amen.