His Glorious Presence

One Year Bible (June 11)

I Kings 8:1-66

“His Glorious Presence”

Did you know that at today’s prices Solomon’s Temple would be worth FIVE BILLION DOLLARS!

Expensive cedar, cypress, and costly stones lined the entire temple. It was such a magnificent structure that it was famous and glorious throughout the world. (I Chron. 22:5)

But, what is “The Temple of God” without “The Presence of God”?

I Kings 8:9-10 tells us what happens when The Ark of the Covenant is finally brought home to rest in the Temple. The “Holy of Holies” had been empty until this happened.

Let’s take a closer look at Possession, Power, and Presence in relationship to The Ark of the Covenant.

First, what did The Ark of the Covenant POSSESS? That is a very interesting discussion… We will look at what was “Mentioned” and what is “Missing”.

The Ark of the Covenant was a box of acacia wood overlaid with gold both inside and outside. It was portable and traveled as the centerpiece of the Tabernacle. It had a golden cover called “The Mercy Seat” with golden angel (cherubim) statues above. It was the place that God chose to meet with His people. (Exodus 25:22)

In today’s passage we are told, “Nothing was in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed there at Mount Sinai where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel as they were leaving the land of Egypt.” (I Kings 8:9)

This is of interest because we are told when they traveled with the Tabernacle that Aaron’s staff and a jar of manna were included with The Ark of the Covenant. “Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing some manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant with the Ten Commandments written on them.” (Hebrews 9:3-4)

These items were kept in the Ark during its “traveling days” with the Tabernacle. Either they were taken out when the Philistines captured the Ark, (Remember the boils that came their way?), or they were now stored in the Temple but not kept in the Ark by Solomon’s directive. I Kings 8:51 and I Kings 9:4 tell us that Solomon brought all of the silver, gold, and other ‘utensils” stored by his father David as treasures into the Temple. I Kings 9:4 tells us that the Priests and Levites carried all these things into the Temple along with the Tabernacle.

Secondly, let’s look at the POWER associated with The Ark of the Covenant. Here is just one example of the BLESSING that came with the presence of the Ark. “And the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the LORD BLESSED OBED-Edom and all his house.” (2 Samuel 6:7)

On the other hand, perhaps you remember what happened when it was in the wrong hands…The Philistines captured THE ARK and were given a plague of “BOILS”. They couldn’t send a peace offering and THE ARK back quick enough!!

Then, there was Uzziah who stuck out his hand to steady the Ark when David was trying to move it home. BAAMMMM… That was a bad move! This made David angry and God angry as well.

The Ark of the Covenant definitely holds a POWER that we can not comprehend with our human minds. Can we touch electricity or radiation and live?

How does the POWER of GOD compare to our human energy?

Well, HIS POWER resided in the Ark of the Covenant, and human mankind was not able to gaze upon, touch, or comprehend the power of THE ONE WHO HOLDS THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE IN HIS HANDS!

The Temple has been empty and devoid of POWER, but look what happens after the priests and Levites brought the Ark into the Temple. “As the priests CAME OUT of the inner sanctuary, a CLOUD filled the Temple of the Lord. The Priests could not continue their work because the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple.” (I Kings 8: 10)

All of Solomon’s wealth and riches could not begin to make the Temple SHINE until God’s Glorious Presence SHOWED UP!

All of our best efforts, hard work, and possessions can not stand before a Holy God either. It was not what “Solomon Built”. It was about what “God Inhabited”!

What HE INHABITS is... the PRAISE of HIS PEOPLE!!

It has always been about HIS GREAT POWER and HIS GLORIOUS PRESENCE!

“O the glory of Your presence. We, Your temple give You rev’rence… As we glory in Your embrace, As Your presence now fills this place.” (Steven Fry