That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
See now, I dwell in an house of cedar. The palace which Hiram had sent men and materials to build in Jerusalem had been finished. It was magnificent for that ago, though made wholly of wood: houses in warm countries not being required to possess the solidity and thickness of walls which are requisite for dwellings in regions exposed to rain and cold. Cedar was a rare, valuable, and durable timber. The elegance and splendour of his own royal mansion, contrasted with the mean and temporary tabernacle in which the ark of God was placed, distressed the pious mind of David. To him it appeared that some other provision should now be made for the ordinances of the national religion than had hitherto existed. He felt that although a moveable sanctuary might have comported with the migratory life of the Hebrews in the desert, it was altogether unsuitable in their settled state of society; and he proposed to erect, not only a more permanent edifice, but one characterizied by all the external splendour and sumptuous style of decorations which wealth and art could supply.