I Kings 8, II Chronicles 6
From Solomon's Scrolls
I sent messengers to all corners of Israel, summoning the elders of Israel, all the heads of tribes, and the chiefs of the Israelite families. They were to attend the bringing up of the ark of the Lord's covenant from Zion, the City of David and the placement in the new temple. They all arrived in time for the festival in the seventh month.
The Levites picked up the ark and all the sacred furnishings from the tent of meeting, the place where the priests held worship for the Lord before the temple was finished. The people and I went before the ark, offering sacrifices to the Lord the God of Israel.
The Levites carried the ark to its place in the Most Holy Place and set it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The priests then backed away from the area.
The Levites who were musicians started the celebration. One hundred and twenty priests sounded trumpets. And the singers joined in unison, as one magnificent voice to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Oh, if you could only hear the sound! Then the cymbals and other instruments joined and the people sang:
"He is good
His love endures forever."
As the voices rang into the air a cloud filled the temple. The priests could not see what they were doing because the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God. How our hearts were stirred.
At the end of the song I stepped to the platform before the people and said:
And then I blessed the people:
“Blessed be God, the God of Israel, who spoke personally to my father David. Now he has kept the promise he made when he said, ‘From the day I brought my people Israel from Egypt, I haven’t set apart one city among the tribes of Israel to build a Temple to fix my Name there. But I did choose David to rule my people Israel.’
“My father David had it in his heart to build a Temple honoring the Name of God, the God of Israel. But God told him ‘It was good that you wanted to build a Temple in my honor—most commendable! But you are not the one to do it—your son will build it to honor my Name.’
“God has done what he said he would do: I have succeeded David my father and ruled over Israel just as God promised; and now I’ve built a Temple to honor God, the God of Israel, and I’ve secured a place for the Chest that holds the covenant of God, the covenant that he made with our ancestors when he brought them up from the land of Egypt.”
The celebration continues next time. Come back and sing with us.
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photos courtesy of visualbiblealive.com
1. Who did Solomon invite to the celebration?
2. What was the celebration for?
3. What did the Levites do?
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