The episode takes a closer look at the dramatic moment when the Ark of the Covenant is brought to its new home, under the wings of cherubim, inside the most holy place of the temple. Feel the tension and anticipation as Solomon and the people of Israel gather to celebrate this significant spiritual event. The presence of the cloud, signifying the glory of the Lord, overwhelms all who witness it, offering a moving reflection on divine presence and the human pursuit to honor God.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
SPEAKER 02 :
Today we are in 2 Chronicles, and we’re going to cover three short chapters, chapters 3, 4, and 5. We’ll listen to our guest reader, Senator Kevin Grantham, read the 17 verses of chapter 3, the 22 verses of chapter 4, and the 14 verses of chapter 5. 2 Chronicles 3
SPEAKER 01 :
Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Oman the Jebusite. He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. These are Solomon’s measurements for building the house of God. The length in cubits of the old standard was 60 cubits, and the breadth 20 cubits. The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was 20 cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and its height was 120 cubits. He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold. The nave he lined with cypress and covered it with fine gold and made palms and chains on it. He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold of parvayim. So he lined the house with gold, its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors, and he carved cherubim on the walls. and he made the most holy place. Its length, corresponding to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and its breadth was twenty cubits. He overlaid it with six hundred talents of fine gold. The weight of gold for the nails was fifty shekels, and he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. In the most holy place he made two cherubim of wood, and overlaid them with gold. The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits, One wing of the one of five cubits touched the wall of the house, and its other wing of five cubits touched the wing of the other cherub. And of this cherub one wing of five cubits touched the wall of the house, and the other wing also of five cubits was joined to the wing of the first cherub. The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits.” The cherubim stood on their feet, facing the nave, and he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and he worked cherubim on it. In front of the house he made two pillars, thirty-five cubits high, with the capital of five cubits on the top of each. He made chains like a necklace and put them on the tops of the pillars. And he made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north. That on the south he called Jachin, and that on the north Boaz. 2 Chronicles 4 He made an altar of bronze twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. Under it were figures of gourds for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. Its thickness was a hand-breadth, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held three thousand baths. He also made ten basins in which to wash, and set five on the south side, and five on the north side. In these they were to rinse off what was used for the burnt offering, and the sea was for the priests to watch in. He made ten golden lampstands as prescribed and set them in the temple, five on the south side, five on the north. He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. And he made a hundred basins of gold. He made the court of the priests and the great court and the doors for the court and overlaid their doors with bronze. And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house. Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God, the two pillars, the bowls, and the two capitals on the top of the pillars, and the two lattice works to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, and the 400 pomegranates for the two lattice works, two rows of pomegranates for each lattice work to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars. He made the stands also, and the basins on the stands, and the one sea and the twelve oxen underneath it, the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all the equipment for these Huramabi made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord. In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zerodah. Solomon made all these things in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze was not sought. So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God, the golden altar, the tables for the bread of the presence, the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold to burn before the inner sanctuary as prescribed. The flowers, the lamps, and the tongs appear as gold. The snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and firepans appear gold, and the sockets of the temple. For the inner doors to the most holy place and for the doors of the nave of the temple were of gold. 2 Chronicles 5 Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, and stored the silver, the gold, and all the vessels in the treasuries of the house of God. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the feast that is in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark, and they brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent. The Levitical priests brought them up. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who had assembled before him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary. But they could not be seen from outside, and they are there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the holy place, for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves without regard to their divisions, and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters. The house, the house of the Lord, was filled with the cloud. so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
SPEAKER 02 :
What a moment! The house of the Lord was filled with the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. Let’s go back to the beginning of these readings today. Chapter 3 of 2 Chronicles, verse 1. Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to David his father at the place that David had appointed on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. On this verse, my English Standard Version Study Bible has a very interesting footnote. It says Mount Zion is identified here with Mount Moriah, where Abraham was commanded to offer Isaac. Chapters 3 and 4 provide the details of the building of this great, great temple, a house for the Lord, as built by King Solomon. Let’s flip over to chapter 5, verse 1. Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished. Once the temple of God was finished, the next thing that had to occur was to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the temple. Solomon assembles the elders and the leaders of Jerusalem. Verse 2. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel in Jerusalem, to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. The Levites took up the Ark. the Levitical priests brought them up and King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who had assembled before him were before the ark sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. What a procession. What a celebration. Kind of reminds us of back in 1 Chronicles, when David tried to bring up the Ark of the Covenant as well. Verse 7 of chapter 5, Then the priest brought the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place. And what did the Ark of the Covenant contain? verse 10 tells us there was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that moses put there at horeb where the lord made a covenant with the people of israel when they came out of egypt my footnote from my english standard version study bible concerning verse 10 is interesting the ark had once contained the jar of manna and aaron’s rod but now held only the two tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Once the Ark of the Covenant was placed in the temple of God in the most holy place, then there was a celebration of singing and song and clanging of cymbals and praises to God. In the midst of that, God appears. The house of the Lord was filled with the cloud so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud. for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. What a moment, not only for the history of Israel, but for the history of the world. The presence of God touched the earth. Father, as we visualize this moment, there’s not much we can say. We, like those priests, would simply be in awe. Oh, to see the glory of God. Back in chapter 2, Solomon declared, The house that I am to build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Father, your glory filled the temple. Someday, we too will see your glory, your permanent residence in heaven. Hallelujah! Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. You have probably noticed I refer to my personal Bible reading journals in AdBible. I took an Honors English class in high school and learned about journaling. I kept a journal in high school probably related to that class, and then I quit. For some reason, I started journaling my Bible reading about 10 years later. I don’t know why I decided to journal my Bible reading, but my first journal is dated 1983. Back then, I bought spiral-bound notebooks from a retail store. Nothing fancy. But when I started the Ezra Project, I decided to publish Bible reading journals. You can find two of them on our website at ezraproject.net. Why journal? It will change the way you read the Bible. If you struggle with your daily quiet time, try it. If you know you’re going to write something down after you read, you will pay more attention to what you’re reading. It can be as simple as your favorite verse in the passage or the major point you got out of the passage. You decide. It’s your journal. And it’s not a personal journal. It’s a Bible reading journal. So you shouldn’t have to worry about someone finding it and reading it. I wanted to print a bumper sticker once called Real Men Journal. I figured it would look good on the back of the pickup trucks. Well, you know, I never printed it because I knew it wouldn’t sell. But get an Ezra Project Bible reading journal at EzraProject.net. I know you’re going to enjoy it.
