1 Kings 8:3-13

3 When all the older leaders of Israel arrived, the priests lifted up the Ark.

4 They carried the Ark of the Lord, the Meeting Tent, and the holy utensils; the priests and the Levites brought them up.

5 King Solomon and all the Israelites gathered before the Ark and sacrificed so many sheep and cattle no one could count them all.

6 Then the priests put the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord in its place inside the Most Holy Place in the Temple, under the wings of the golden creatures.

7 The wings of these creatures were spread out over the place for the Ark, covering it and its carrying poles.

8 The carrying poles were so long that anyone standing in the Holy Place in front of the Most Holy Place could see the ends of the poles, but no one could see them from outside the Holy Place. The poles are still there today.

9 The only things inside the Ark were two stone tabletsn that Moses had put in the Ark at Mount Sinai. That was where the Lord made his agreement with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

10 When the priests left the Holy Place, a cloud filled the Temple of the Lord.

11 The priests could not continue their work, because the Temple was filled with the glory of the Lord.

12 Then Solomon said, "The Lord said he would live in a dark cloud.

13 Lord, I have truly built a wonderful Temple for you -- a place for you to live forever."

1 Kings 8:3-13 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 8

This chapter gives an account of the introduction of the ark into the temple, 1Ki 8:1-9 of the glory of the Lord filling it, 1Ki 8:10,11 of a speech Solomon made to the people concerning the building of the temple, and how he came to be engaged in it, 1Ki 8:12-21, of a prayer of his he put up on this occasion, requesting, that what supplications soever were made at any time, or on any account, by Israelites or strangers, might be accepted by the Lord, 1Ki 8:22-53, and of his blessing the people of Israel at the close of it, with some useful exhortations, 1Ki 8:54-61, and of the great number of sacrifices offered up by him, and the feast he made for the people, upon which he dismissed them, 1Ki 8:62-66.