2 Chronicles 5

1 So all the work Solomon did for the Lord's temple was completed. Then Solomon brought the consecrated things of his father David-the silver, the gold, and all the utensils-and put them in the treasuries of God's temple.^[a]

Preparations for the Temple Dedication

2 At that time Solomon assembled at Jerusalem the elders of Israel-all the tribal heads, the ancestral chiefs of the Israelites-in order to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up from the city of David, that is, Zion.

3 So all the men of Israel were assembled in the king's presence at the festival; this was in the seventh month.^[b]

4 All the elders of Israel came, and the Levites picked up the ark.

5 They brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and the holy utensils that were in the tent. The priests and the Levites brought them up.

6 King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel who had gathered around him were in front of the ark sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted or numbered because there were so many.

7 The priests brought the ark of the Lord's covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.^[c]

8 And the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark so that the cherubim formed a cover above the ark and its poles.

9 The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place^[d] in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen from outside; they are there to this very day.

10 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had put [in it] at Horeb,^[e][f]where the Lord had made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.

11 When the priests came out of the holy place-for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves regardless of their tour of duty^[g]-

12 the Levitical singers of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, and of their sons and their relatives, dressed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps and lyres, were standing east of the altar, and with them were 120 priests blowing trumpets.

13 The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the Lord with one voice. They raised [their] voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments, in praise to the Lord: For He is good; His faithful love endures forever; the temple, the Lord's temple, was filled with a cloud.^[h]

14 And because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the Lord filled God's temple.^[i]

2 Chronicles 5 Commentary

Chapter 5

The ark placed in the temple. (1-10) The temple filled with glory. (11-14)

Verses 1-10 The ark was a type of Christ, and, as such, a token of the presence of God. That gracious promise, Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world, does, in effect, bring the ark into our religious assemblies, if we by faith and prayer plead that promise; and this we should be most earnest for. When Christ is formed in a soul, the law written in the heart, the ark of the covenant settled there, so that it becomes the temple of the Holy Ghost, there is true satisfaction in that soul.

Verses 11-14 God took possession of the temple; he filled it with a cloud. Thus he signified his acceptance of this temple, to be the same to him that the tabernacle of Moses was, and assured his people that he would be the same in it. Would we have God dwell in our hearts, we must leave room for him; every thing else must give way. The Word was made flesh; and when he comes to his temple, like a refiner's fire, who may abide the day of his coming? May he prepare us for that day.

Footnotes

• [a]. 1 Kg 7:48-51
• [b]. September-October
• [c]. 2 Ch 3:10; 2 Sm 6:2-17
• [d]. Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read the ark; 1 Kg 8:8
• [e]. Sinai
• [f]. Dt 10:5
• [g]. Lit themselves; there was no maintaining of divisions
• [h]. Ex 40:34-35; Lv 16:2; Nm 9:15-16
• [i]. 1 Kg 8:1-11

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 5 & 6

The words with which chapter five begins are the same with 1Ki 7:51, and what is contained in that and chapter six is much the same with 1Ki 8:1-66 on which see the notes; the blessing of Solomon on the people of Israel, which is there, is here omitted, and two verses are here added, much the same with Ps 132:8-10.

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