2 Chronicles Chapter 5
The Ark Is Brought to the Temple
A. The Finished Temple
1. Second Chronicles 5:1, Completion of the Work
Second Chronicles 5:1, KJV
“Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated, and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.”
The text declares that all the work Solomon undertook for the house of the Lord was finished. This moment marked the high point of Solomon’s reign and his greatest earthly achievement. From the beginning of his kingship Solomon devoted himself to the task entrusted to him by God and by his father David. Years of preparation, labor, craftsmanship, and coordination now culminated in the completed temple standing as the covenant center of Israel’s national worship.
Solomon then brought into the temple all the items his father David had dedicated. This reminds us that David played a foundational role in the temple’s existence. He gathered materials, designed many of the furnishings, and set aside vast treasures for the construction. First Chronicles 29:2–3, KJV, records David’s devotion, “Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God.” The temple thus bore the fingerprints of both father and son, yet ultimately it stood as the work of the Lord.
Solomon placed the dedicated items in the treasuries of the house of God. These treasuries would function both as repositories for holy items and as storehouses for future service and sacrifice. Everything was consecrated to God and used only for His glory.
2. Second Chronicles 5:2–5, The Furniture of the Temple Is Brought In Before the Assembled Nation
Second Chronicles 5:2–5, KJV
“Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark. And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up.”
Solomon assembled the elders, the tribal heads, and the chief fathers of Israel. He did not treat this moment as an ordinary ceremony. The installation of the ark in the temple was the theological center of the entire building project. The ark was the symbol of God’s covenant presence, the place of atonement, and the testimony of the Law. For such an occasion Solomon gathered the nation’s leadership so that the act would be performed publicly, solemnly, and with national unity.
This gathering occurred during the feast in the seventh month, almost certainly the Feast of Tabernacles, a feast associated with rejoicing over God’s provision and presence. It was fitting to dedicate the temple during a feast that celebrated God dwelling with His people.
The Levites took up the ark according to the Law. Solomon honored the Mosaic pattern by giving proper roles to priests and Levites. God’s work must be done God’s way. The ark was never to be carried on a cart or touched by unauthorized hands. Numbers 4:15, KJV, warns, “But they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.” Solomon’s obedience avoided the errors that marked earlier mishandlings of the ark.
The priests and Levites also brought up the tabernacle of meeting and all the holy vessels within it. This symbolized continuity. Israel was not abandoning the covenant worship of the tabernacle but transferring its sacred elements into the greater, permanent house God had ordained. God was the same God. The covenant was the same covenant. The place of His presence had changed, but His character and promises had not.
3. Second Chronicles 5:6–10, The Ark Comes into the Most Holy Place of the Temple
Second Chronicles 5:6–10, KJV
“Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.”
a. Sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude
As the ark was brought to the temple, Solomon and the assembled congregation offered sacrifices too numerous to count. This overwhelming number reflected the magnitude of the moment. The ark represented the very presence of God, and Solomon honored God with an offering befitting His glory. The abundance of sacrifices points to the truth that approaching a holy God requires atonement. The theological principle is consistent with Hebrews 9:22, KJV, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood.” Solomon understood that the greatest event in Israel’s worship life demanded the greatest sacrifices.
b. Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD
The temple was not truly complete until the ark was placed in the Most Holy Place. The ark was the central, indispensable item of Israel’s worship because it symbolized God’s throne on earth. The mercy seat upon the ark’s lid was the place where atonement blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement. Without the ark, the temple was only an empty building. With the ark, the dwelling of God among His people was complete.
The Levites and priests carried the ark properly, in obedience to the Law. Exodus 25:14–15, KJV, required, “And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.” The contrast with earlier failures, such as Uzzah touching the ark in Second Samuel 6:6–7, highlights Solomon’s careful commitment to God’s commands.
c. Under the wings of the cherubim
The cherubim inside the Most Holy Place extended their wings over the ark and overshadowed it. This imagery reflected the heavenly throne room where cherubim surround the presence of God. The tabernacle had woven cherubim within the veil and the inner curtains, and Solomon continued that pattern on a grander scale. The ark was positioned beneath these golden guardians, symbolizing that God Himself enthroned between the cherubim now dwelt in His permanent house.
The statement “And there it is unto this day” indicates that the chronicler copied earlier source material. Payne notes that Ezra quoted from a source written before Jerusalem’s destruction in 586 B.C. By Ezra’s time the ark had long vanished. This detail establishes the historical reliability of the chronicler’s sources.
d. Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb
Originally the ark contained three items. Exodus 16:33, KJV, records the golden pot of manna. Numbers 17:10, KJV, records Aaron’s rod that budded. And Exodus 25:16, KJV, records the tablets of the covenant. By Solomon’s time only the tablets remained. Scripture does not record what became of the golden pot or Aaron’s rod, but their absence highlights that the ark was now focused solely on the foundational covenant God made with Israel at Sinai.
The presence of the tablets testified that God’s relationship with Israel was rooted in His revealed Word. The ark was not magical. It was holy because it contained the testimony of God’s covenant law.
e. When the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they had come out of Egypt
The reference to the Exodus is theologically significant. Nearly five centuries had passed since Israel left Egypt, and now the nation stood in a permanent land with a permanent temple. The wilderness years were marked by tents, including the tent of God’s dwelling. Now God’s house was a permanent structure, symbolizing stability, fulfillment, and covenant rest.
The temple therefore represents the culmination of the Exodus journey. God delivered His people from slavery to bring them into a place of inheritance and to dwell among them. Exodus 29:45–46, KJV, expresses this purpose clearly,
“And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them.”
That promise found its fullest Old Testament expression when the ark entered the Most Holy Place of Solomon’s temple. The presence of God, the covenant law, the sacrificial system, and the people of Israel were now united in one ordained location.
B. The Glory of God Fills the Temple
1. Second Chronicles 5:11–12, The Praise of the Levites at the Installation of the Ark
Second Chronicles 5:11–12, KJV
“And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course. Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets.”
All the priests present sanctified themselves, setting aside their normal rotational schedule. Under ordinary circumstances the priesthood served according to divisions established by David in First Chronicles 24, but this moment was far from ordinary. The ark of the covenant was being placed in the Most Holy Place of the newly built temple. Such an event demanded the full participation of Israel’s consecrated servants.
The Levites who were designated as singers stood on the east side of the altar, clothed in white linen. The lineages of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun formed the core of the temple choir, along with their sons and brethren. Their instruments included cymbals, harps, and psalteries. A hundred and twenty priests stood with trumpets. White garments symbolized purity and holiness, showing that praise must come from hearts and lives set apart unto the Lord.
The focus of the day was the Lord Himself, not Solomon, not David, and not even the great assembly. God alone was to be magnified. The worship, music, and ceremony all pointed upward to the holiness and glory of God who now filled His house.
2. Second Chronicles 5:13–14, The Cloud of God’s Glory Fills the Temple
Second Chronicles 5:13–14, KJV
“It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord. And when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever. That then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord. So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.”
The Levites and priests praised the Lord with complete unity. Their music and voices blended into one sound of thanksgiving as they declared the eternal mercy of the Lord. This unity in worship formed the immediate context in which the glory of God descended. The house of the Lord was filled with a cloud, the visible manifestation of His presence.
This cloud is the same divine cloud seen throughout Scripture.
Exodus 13:21–22, KJV, the pillar of cloud guided Israel.
Exodus 16:10, KJV, God appeared to Israel in the cloud.
Exodus 19:9, KJV, the Lord met Moses in the cloud.
Exodus 24:15–18, the cloud covered Sinai.
Numbers 11:25, the cloud signified God’s presence with the elders.
Numbers 12:5, the cloud descended when the Lord spoke.
Numbers 16:42, the cloud revealed the glory of the Lord.
Exodus 33:9–10, the cloud stood at the door of the tabernacle.
Leviticus 16:2, KJV, God appeared “in the cloud upon the mercy seat.”
Ezekiel 10:4, KJV, the glory cloud filled the temple in prophetic vision.
Luke 1:35, KJV, the Holy Ghost overshadowed Mary with the divine cloud.
Luke 9:34–35, KJV, the cloud enveloped Christ at His transfiguration.
Acts 1:9, KJV, Christ ascended into the cloud of divine glory.
Luke 21:27, KJV, Christ returns “in a cloud with power and great glory.”
Revelation 1:7, KJV, Christ comes “with clouds” and every eye shall see Him.
The Shekinah cloud was the visible radiance of God’s presence. The Lord filled His house so fully that the priests could not continue their service. God Himself took over the temple. Human activity ceased in the presence of divine majesty.
i. The glory came in the context of unified praise
Spurgeon notes that God pours out His glory when His people praise Him. Praise invites the presence of God, while complaint and self focus grieve His Spirit. Where there is united exaltation of the Lord, His glory is near.
ii. Work done in God’s order leads to God’s presence
Morgan observes that divinely ordered work, offered in worship, brings the blessing of God. The temple was built according to God’s pattern. The ark was moved according to God’s law. Worship was offered according to God’s command. God honored this obedience with His presence.
b. So that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud
The weight of God’s glory made continued service impossible. The presence of God overshadowed every human plan, ritual, and agenda. The temple existed for God’s glory, not for human ceremony. Selman notes that once God filled His house, all human activity halted. The temple served as a reminder that God alone receives honor, and worship is about His presence, not human performance.
i. Christ is greater than the glory cloud
Trapp remarks that when Christ Himself came, the Levitical ministry ceased. The cloud was glorious, yet Christ is the fullness of God’s glory incarnate. John 1:14, KJV, declares, “And we beheld his glory.”
ii. Where God is, man is forgotten
Spurgeon emphasizes that when the presence of God fills a place, attention is drawn away from ministers and placed entirely on the Lord. The more the glory of Christ is manifest, the less men think of the instruments He uses.
