7The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 8The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. 9These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 10There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
11The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. 13The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:
“He is good;
his love endures forever.”
Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, 14and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God. (2 Chronicles 5)
Thoughts: One of the most amazing things Solomon did was build the Temple. It was magnificent- one of the wonders of the world. The shekinah glory filled the Temple to confirm that God had accepted the sacrifice of their labor. This was the same cloud that was with the Israelites when they left Egypt. It was the same glory on Sinai when Moses received the Ten Commandments. It was the same glory that filled the Tabernacle, and the same glory around Jesus at the transfiguration, and when he ascended to heaven. God came in response to their gift, their praises, and their worship. So God still comes when we give ourselves to Him.
Prayer: Lord, may your presence be with me as I give myself to you.
