Bible Commentaries
2 Chronicles 5

Verses 1-14

Chapter 5

And all of the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month ( 2 Chronicles 5:1-3 ).

Which would be, then, the feast of trumpets.

And the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up. And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be counted because of the number of them, the multitude of them. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the holy of holies of the house, under the wings of the cherubims: For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves from the ark. And there was nothing in the ark except the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt ( 2 Chronicles 5:4-10 ).

Now, originally, when Moses set up this little Ark of the Covenant, they put not only the two tables of stone upon which God had inscribed the Ten Commandments, but they also had the rod of Aaron that budded, and they also had a jar of manna. But at this point, of course, the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines and passed around. And so, at this point, all that was in the Ark of the Covenant, according to the record, was just the two tables of stone.

I've often thought how exciting it would be if they could discover again the Ark of the Covenant someplace. This little box made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And if the two tables of stone upon which God inscribed the law were still in them, what an archaeological find that would be. I'm sure that God has kept it lost, because what a relic this would become, and people would soon be worshipping it. And so God, I'm sure, deliberately just kept this thing hidden and uncovered by man, lest man would make some kind of an idol out of it.

Now it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and they were not at that time waiting for their courses: And the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brothers, being arrayed in white linen, and having the cymbals and the psalteries and the harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests who were sounding with trumpets:) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God ( 2 Chronicles 5:11-14 ).

What a momentous occasion this must have been. The people of Israel gathered here at this fabulously, beautiful temple overlaid with gold. It's now complete. Beautiful work, the carvings and all. And so they bring the Ark of the Covenant from the tent into the holy of holies within this temple. And they pull out the staves and they set it in its place between the cherubim. Then the priests, some of them with the instruments of psalteries, others with harps. A hundred and twenty of them with trumpets. Plus, David had appointed a couple thousand as singers. And they all began to just worship God in the song, in the music. And as it came to this great crescendo, as the sound of the trumpets and the voices blended as one voice of praise and thanksgiving unto God, the cloud of God's glory that was the sign of God's presence among the children of Israel in the wilderness came down and it filled the temple. And the priests, because of the glory of God's presence, couldn't even stand, but just lay there in the glory of God's presence. What a beautiful sight. A bunch of fanatics. "