If you visit Jerusalem you might be surprised by how close it’s most important landmarks are to each other. The Temple Mount is the most prominent landmark and it is less than a mile from the Mount of Olives. When Jesus knelt to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane he could see the temple gleaming just across the way.

The Temple Mount is also less than a mile from Mount Zion where King David and King Solomon built their palaces. The day that King Solomon summoned Israel to observe the installation of the Ark of the Covenant in the new temple, they probably lined the entire route in a solid mass of people. They worshiped God by sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they couldn’t be counted.

And then they turned their faces toward the temple on the hill, and made their way toward it for the first time as a worshiping congregation.

Moving the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant

The ark had been kept safe in the City of David for most of the past forty years. It was sheltered in a tent David made for it when he brought it up from the house of Obed-Edom. Levites ministered at the ark and people came there to worship. But no one had physically touched it since the priest Uzzah put his hand on it and died.

Along with the ark, Solomon brought the tabernacle and its sacred furnishings up from the high place in Gibeon. These had been used in worship since Moses dedicated them at Mount Sinai 470 years earlier. Now that the ark had a permanent home, the tent of meeting was retired, but its gold furnishings were added to the temple treasury.

The priests carried the ark on long poles into the Most Holy Place and placed it beneath the wings of the golden cherubim. They left the poles in place and when they backed out of the Holiest Place and into the Holy Place, the ends of the long poles were visible.

The Contents of the Ark

When Moses closed the lid of the ark and placed it in the tabernacle’s Holy of Holies, it contained three items: The stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, a golden jar of manna, and Aaron’s staff which had budded (Hebrews 9:4). By the time Solomon moved the ark into the temple, only the stone tablets remained inside.

It’s hard to say when the jar of manna and Aaron’s staff were removed, but we know that some curious people at Beth-Shemesh died when they looked inside the ark after the Philistines returned it to Israel.

“God struck down some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they looked into the ark of the LORD. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the LORD had dealt them.” 1 Samuel 6:19

The Bible doesn’t say, but it’s possible that the jar and staff were taken out of the ark and passed around, leading to the guilt of those seventy people.

The Lord Comes to the Temple

“When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.” 1 Kings 8:10-11

“Then Solomon said, ‘The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.’” 2 Chronicles 6:1

God was back at home among his people.

Israel’s Wait Was Over

Israel had waited hundreds of years for a permanent place to worship. Now God put his seal of approval on the temple in Jerusalem by bringing his glorious presence there. Moses told them God would do this.

“Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name—there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord. And there rejoice before the Lord your God . . .  Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.” Deuteronomy 12:11-14

The temple became the center of Israel’s religious life that day and it remained central until seventy years after Jesus came.

Solomon Blesses the People

The people of Israel stood behind Solomon as he took in the stunning glory of God in the temple. Then he turned around and blessed them.

“Then he said, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’” 1 Kings 8:15-16

The king, together with his people, saw God fulfill the promises he made to Israel when they left Egypt. Even better, it had happened in their lifetime thanks to the promise God made to King David.

Solomon Dedicates the Temple

Solomon moved across the portico and stood before the altar of sacrifice where he humbly acknowledged the greatness and glory of God.

“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below – you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way . . . But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” 1 Kings 8:23, 27

There was a reason Solomon chose to stand before the altar to make his prayer of dedication. The altar was the place people confessed their sins and made atonement offerings before seeking God’s favor. Solomon was deeply aware of his people’s propensity to sin. Standing before God’s radiant holiness, Solomon wanted to intercede for them.

“Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ . . . Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear forgive.” 1 Kings 8:28-30

Solomon’s prayer showed Israel how to approach God. They needed to confess their sins and be forgiven before they worshiped or asked for what they needed. He mentioned many different circumstances that would bring Israel before God in prayer and in each one he acknowledged their utter dependency upon God’s mercy.

One People Under God

If ever there was a nation that was truly under God, it was Israel on this day. They were God’s chosen people and God had just proved that he was with them by filling their new temple with his glory.

“For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance, just as you declared through your servant Moses when you Sovereign Lord, brought our ancestors out of Egypt.” 1 Kings 8:53

Yet, their king humbled himself and confessed that they were still sinners. He saw troubles that lay ahead for them and knew they were going to need God’s help to survive.

Sometimes Israel was going to face hard times because of their sins. Other times they were going to be invaded by pestilence, disease, or enemy nations. Solomon prayed that God would always help them and that when they repented for their sins he would forgive them.

Solomon also foresaw that foreigners would come to Israel from distant lands to find God. The Law of Moses made provision for strangers to be welcomed in Israel, so Solomon asked the Lord to listen to them just as he listened to the Israelites. Solomon knew that being born in Israel was not superior to being born anywhere else. God’s people were those who sought him with all their hearts, regardless of their nationality.

You Are Included

Read through Solomon’s prayer carefully, because you are included in it.

You probably weren’t born in Israel. But no matter where you were born, King Solomon prayed for you three thousand years ago, and God is still answering his prayers on your behalf.