THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
In the Vatican Sept. this chapter commences: And it came to pass when Solomon had made an end of building the house of the Lord, and his own house, after twenty years, then Solomon, &c.; but no other authority sustains the addition. Eleven months elapsed between the completion of the Temple and its dedication; it being finished in the eighth month (chap. 1 Kings 6:38), and opened in the seventh month of the following year (1 Kings 8:2). This delay was solely for the arrival of the Feast of Tabernacles, in the Jubilee Year, which happened the year ensuing. The commemoration of the nation having dwelt in booths in the wilderness (Feast of Tabernacles) was a fitting occasion for the consecration of the first permanent House of Jehovah; and their being assembled in large numbers gave a public dignity to the august event.
1 Kings 8:1. Then Solomon assembled—The representatives of the nation were, by royal edict, summoned to their place in the procession which should attend the removal of the Ark into the Temple. The order would be: the king elders of the people, priests bearing the Ark. Levites carrying the vessels. Progress must have been very deliberate for along the line priests were stationed with sacrifices and the procession paused while they were at intervals offered.
1 Kings 8:4. The Tabernacle of the congregation—This אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד was the tent in which the Ark rested at Gibeon (cf. 1 Chronicles 16:8-9; 1 Chronicles 21:29; 2 Chronicles 1:3), the original Mosaic tabernacle, in distinction from David’s tabernacle for the Ark (cf. 2 Samuel 6:17; 1 Chronicles 15:1).
1 Kings 8:5. Before the Ark, sacrificing—The procession having reached the temple, the ark was laid down in the outer court. and a great sacrifice offered; then it was borne by the priests into the Oracle, and placed under the wings of the cherubim. Note: There were cherubim fixed upon the ark originally (Exodus 37:7-9); these, therefore, remained, and the colossal כְרזּבים of Solomon extended their wings over all.
1 Kings 8:9. Nothing in the ark, etc.—In Hebrews 9:4 “the golden pot with manna and Aaron’s rod” are mentioned in addition; but these were never in the ark, only “laid before the Lord” (Exodus 16:33; Numbers 17:10). 1 Kings 8:10-11. Cloud filled the house, … glory of the Lord filled the house—This “cloud” was not wholly dense darkness (as some suggest), but possibly dark clouds surrounding a resplendent glory; for when Aaron entered the holiest of the tabernacle the smoke of incense rolled itself around him, enveloping him as in a cloud, thus softening the overmastering splendour of the כְּבוֹד יְהֹוָה (Leviticus 16:13). The כּבוֹד of the O. T. answers to the δόζα of the N. T.
HOMILETICS OF 1 Kings 8:1-9
THE CHURCH THE SACRED DEPOSITORY OF THE DIVINE WORD
As the Tabernacle in the wilderness was solemnly consecrated to the worship of Jehovah (Exodus 40; Numbers 8), so now must the grander house which is to supersede and supplant the tattered relics of the old system be dedicated with becoming solemnities to the same lofty purpose. And as Moses, the inspired servant of Jehovah, faithful in all his house (Numbers 12:7), was the chosen one to consecrate the tabernacle, so Solomon, the Divinely chosen King in Zion (1 Chronicles 28:6), in whose person the Hebrew monarchy at this time reached the highest summit of its glory, was the only proper person to consecrate the Temple. No priest could perform this holy service as properly as he. No other person in the realm had concentrated in himself at that time such sanctity, exaltation, and power. He was the type of that greater Solomon who is now silently building His spiritual Temple, and will Himself presently, at the time appointed, fill and hallow it with a cloud of glory that shall never pass away. The first step in the august ceremony was the removal of the ark from the tabernacle of David on Mount Zion to the Most Holy Place in the new Temple on Mount Moriah. And here the thought is suggested—that as the ark contained the tables of the Law, so the church is the sacred depository of the Divine Word.
I. The Divine Word is the irresistible rallying cry of a whole nation (1 Kings 8:1-2). The fiery cross of the Scottish Highlanders, or the gory morsels of the slaughtered oxen distributed throughout the coasts of Israel by the warlike Saul, were not more potent in mustering the militant hosts of the nation, than was the mention of the ark of God in gathering the Hebrew people to one common centre. The leading men of the nation at once obeyed the summons (1 Kings 8:1). The elders included, more particularly, the chosen representatives of the nation; the heads of the tribes were the leading and most influential individuals; and the chiefs, or princes, of the fathers, were the most distinguished and saintly old men of the nation, whose presence and approbation were indispensable at so important an event as the dedication of the Temple. “Nothing can be nobler than to see a whole nation, from the highest to the lowest, gathered in unity round its holiest possession.” It is the Word of God that makes the most profound impression on the national heart, and that shapes and determines the national destiny.
II. The Divine Word is the infallible directory in all true worship.
1. It recognises the office of sacred persons (1 Kings 8:3-4). The priests and the Levites are mentioned indiscriminately. The parallel passage in the Chronicles says that “the Levites took up the ark;” but there is no contradiction in this, for all priests were Levites, though all Levites were not priests. Priests bore the ark across the Jordan and around Jericho (Joshua 3:6; Joshua 6:6). These persons were specially set apart to this sacred work, according to the requirements of the law (Numbers 4:15; Deuteronomy 31:9). Inattention to the divinely prescribed order was followed by fatal results (compare 2 Samuel 6:1-7; 1 Chronicles 15:12-13). To be bearers of the Word of God, to set up the mercy seat in the sanctuary, and to point perishing sinners to the sprinkled blood, is the office and the glory of God’s ministers. Office has nothing sacred in itself, apart from the faithful performance of the duties it involves, and the irreproachable moral character of the person appointed to it. Priestly assumption is the most unwarrantable, and, in the sight of God, the most abhorrent.
2. It limits the significance of sacred things (1 Kings 8:4). It would appear that on this great inauguration day two imposing processions were formed: the one coming from the height of Gibeon, bearing aloft the sacred tent and the holy vessels of the old pastoral worship, now to be disused for ever—the ancient brazen altar, the candlestick, the table of shew-bread, and also the brazen serpent. This procession was joined on Mount Zion by a still more imposing and stately one, bearing the ark of acacia-wood, covered with its two small winged figures—the one relic that was to unite the old and new together. Much has been made of these sacred vessels, until they have been raised into objects of idolatry. Starting with a certain modicum of truth, the enthusiastic lover of types and figures has wandered into regions unheard of and untrod before, and discovered hidden meanings and mysterious premonitions which the obvious use and commonsense teaching of the symbols utterly failed to convey. By a careful comparison of the Word of God we are taught the true significance and appropriate use of these sacred things, and of all external aids in the acceptable worship of God.
3. It authorizes the exercise of sacred acts (1 Kings 8:5). The removal of the ark was celebrated by sacrifices of “sheep and oxen that could not be numbered for multitude.” The road, according to Josephus, was flooded with streams of blood. The air was darkened and scented with the clouds of incense; the songs and dances were unintermitted. No worship can be acceptable to God apart from sacrifice. The Divine Word is most explicit on this point (compare Leviticus 1:2; Leviticus 3:2; Leviticus 3:7; Genesis 8:20; Genesis 22:7; Exodus 18:12; Exodus 40:29; Numbers 28:10; Numbers 28:14; 1 Kings 3:4; Psalms 51:16; Psalms 51:19; Isaiah 40:16; Hebrews 10:6-8, &c.). The vilest sinner can now approach God through the ever-efficacious sacrifice of His Son. Every act of genuine worship involves sacrifice. Our whole self, and the best of everything we have, should be freely sacrificed to Him who gave Himself for us.
III. The Divine Word finds its permanent home in the holiest place of the Church. 1. There it is securely guarded (1 Kings 8:6-7). The ancient lid of the ark formed by the two small cherubim of beaten gold was removed, and a new one, without them, was substituted to fit its new abode. On a rough unhewn projection of the rock the ark was thrust in and placed lengthways, under the shadow of the outspread wings of the two gigantic cherubim which were waiting, like two watchful and stalwart guardians, to receive and evermore protect the precious treasure. “The Word of the Lord is under Divine protection; the angels are its guardians and watchers; it can neither be destroyed by human power, nor is it aided or protected by men.” The holiest church is the most faithful custodian of the Word, and the holiest heart is its safest and most beauteous shrine.
2. There it is intended to remain (1 Kings 8:8). When the ark moved within the veil to be seen no more, the retiring priests, as a sign that it had at length reached “the place of its rest,” and was not to be carried about any more, drew forth from it the staves or handles on which they had borne it to and fro; and, although the staves themselves remained within the veil, the ends could just be seen protruding through the door, in token that its long wanderings were over; or, as Keil puts it, their ends could be observed from the sanctuary by the elevations on the vail, which might be seen from the sanctuary itself, but not without. They remained long afterwards, even to the later days of the monarchy, and formed a lane to guide the steps of the Chief Priest as he entered in the darkness. The Word of God has found its permanent home in His church, and the history of the two are inseparably bound together. Not long ago there was discovered among the hardened lava of Pompeii the form of a human body, with all the features singularly perfect and strikingly beautiful, and the expression as of one who was sleeping a pleasant and placid sleep. The burning flood, which carried death in its impetuous flow, and the cold entombment of eighteen hundred years, had not availed to destroy the imperishable lineaments. So the church may be exposed to the fiery persecution of her cruellest enemies, or buried under the cold neglect of her professed friends; but cast in the mould of the undying and unchanging Word of God, she retains her indestructible image, with every line and feature of perfection distinctly marked, and, when ages have rolled away, will stand forth to an astonished world in all her peerless beauty and greatness.
3. There it is the most highly prized treasure. “There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone” (1 Kings 8:9). When the old lid of the ark was taken off before it disappeared within the vail, and before the new covering was fixed on, the interior of the ark was seen by Israelitish eyes for the first time for more than four centuries, perhaps for the last time for ever. The pot of manna, the rod of Aaron, and the golden censer, which were said to be laid up within it, or beside it, were gone—lost, it may be, in the Philistine captivity. Nothing remained but the two granite blocks from Mount Sinai, graven with the ten commandments. But these were of unspeakable value and unmistakable significance. “The ark of the covenant was the root and kernel of the whole sanctuary: it contained the moral law, at once the original document and pledge of the covenant, through which, and in consequence of which, Jehovah was to dwell in the midst of His people. We have, in the New Covenant, not only the Law, but the Gospel, which is everlasting. Where His Word is, there the Lord dwells and is enthroned; it is the soul of every House of God, and, indeed, gives it its consecration.”
LESSONS:—
1. The Word of God should be fervently loved.
2. Diligently studied.
3. Jealously guarded.
4. Faithfully obeyed.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1 Kings 8:1. Solomon decked and garnished his temple before he prayed in it; so, saith one, before thou prayest prepare thy heart, which is the true temple of Him who is greater than Solomon. And as that woman who sought her groat swept the whole house, so when thou seekest anything of God, sweep the whole house of thy heart; sweep it by repentance, wash the pavement of it with tears, beautify it with holiness, perfume it with prayers, deck it with humility, hang it with sincerity.—Trapp.
—There seems to be a contrast here between the more popular proceedings of David, who, when he brought up the ark to Mount Zion, “gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand,” and the statelier, more aristocratic system of his son, who, born in the purple, conducts himself in a loftier way, merely summoning the chief men as representatives of the nation. The rest of the people “assembled themselves” (1 Kings 8:2), and were mere spectators of the ceremony.
1 Kings 8:1-4. Religion the mightiest force in the nation.
1. It is the source and safeguard of regal authority. The ruler who ignores the religious principle has no guarantee for a sound and permanent government. Stronger than the sword, or the schemes of statecraft, or the popular cry of the hour, is the deep-rooted religious life of the people.
2. It commands the homage and allegiance of all ranks and conditions. All that is venerable in age, ripe in wisdom and counsel, brilliant in genius, vigorous and daring in manhood, or blooming and hopeful in youth, respond at once to its irresistible call (1 Kings 8:1-2).
3. It commemorates and consecrates great national blessings (1 Kings 8:2). “The feast in the month Ethanim “was the Feast of Tabernacles. Ethanim is defined as “the month of flowing streams,” and corresponded with our October; it also signifies ripeness or strength. Solomon finished the Temple in the eighth month, but waited till the seventh month of the next year for the dedication, that it might be coincident with the Feast of Tabernacles. This feast was designed for a thanksgiving and rejoicing over the fruits of the harvest (Exodus 23:16; Deuteronomy 16:13); and also for a commemoration of the time when Israel dwelt in booths in the desert (Leviticus 23:43) It was therefore fitting to associate the dedication of the temple with this important feast, for the ark that had dwelt in a tabernacle and been carried to and fro for five hundred years was now to enter into its place of rest (compare 1 Chronicles 28:2; 2 Chronicles 6:41). And so the holy house, begun in the month of flowers and finished in the month of garnered fruits, was appropriately consecrated in the month of thanksgiving.
4. It venerates the most sacred objects (1 Kings 8:4). The ark, the tabernacle, and the holy vessels had been associated with the most eventful eras in the history of the Israelites, in defeat and victory, in distress and joy. Sacred relics, while unworthy of idolatry in themselves, are often reminders of privileges and blessing in the past which the grateful soul would not willingly forget.
1 Kings 8:4. The tabernacle of the congregation, made by Moses, hitherto transportative and for many years severed from the ark, was now to be re-united and settled in the temple; as the saints, here tossed up and down, shall one day be in heaven, that habitation of God’s holiness. Though neither the tabernacle, nor its holy vessels, were applied to any use in the temple, their sacred character made it fitting that they should be deposited within its precincts. Most probably they were placed in the treasury.
1 Kings 8:5. Sacrifice the essence of acceptable worship.
1. Was instituted in the earliest times.
2. Has been practised in some form by all nations in all ages.
3. Was most perfectly exemplified in the sufferings and death of the Son of God.
4. Is illustrated in generous gifts for religious purposes.
5. Demands the whole life and service of the individual believer.
1 Kings 8:6-8. The ark an emblem of the human heart.
1. As vivifying and adorning the most splendid creation of human genius.
2. As the hiding place for the Divine Word (Psalms 119:11).
3. As having affinity with angelical life.
4. As it exercises itself in showing mercy.
5. As it is the shrine of Divinest manifestations.
1 Kings 8:9. “There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone.” The imperishable nature of the Divine Word.
1. It is superior to its most magnificent surroundings.
2. It remains when other precious things are lost.
3. It survives the wreck and ruin of the mightiest empires.
4. It is not in the power of men or devils to destroy it.
5. It will endure when earth and sea and stars have vanished.