1 Kings 8:1

Solomon assembled. The account of the rites connected with the dedication of the Temple constitutes one of the outstanding chapters of the Bible. The narrative is one of great beauty and deep spiritual significance. In it leaders of the church have found words of inspiration and encouragement throughout the centuries for the consecration of houses of worship. This chapter stands in remarkable contrast with the preceding one. There we find the formal and technical details having to do with the material things of the Temple. Here we enter into the deeper significance of the things having to do with the house of God — we come into contact with God Himself. Both chapters have their part in giving us a true and complete picture of the Temple and its significance, and neither would be complete without the other.

Solomon is the important personage leading out in the various activities connected with the dedication of the Temple. His kingly majesty is conspicuous. But he seems to be more than a mere king, engaged only in the secular affairs of state. He is engaged now in a distinctly religious service for God. Such a service would not at all serve to lessen his royal dignity but to enhance it. He performs the functions that as king we would expect of him, and more. He calls together the leaders of the nation and directs in the arrangements made. But having done that, it might be expected that the priests would take over and lead out in the distinctly religious functions. But that is not the case. It is the king who consecrates the sanctuary, who offers the dedicatory prayer, who admonishes the people to be faithful to God, and who pronounces upon them the divine blessing.

Solomon provided exactly the type of spiritual leadership that God asks from those who are appointed to act as leaders in His work. Unfortunately this leadership continued but for a brief period. The one upon whose head rested such unequaled concentration of temporal and spiritual dignity before long fell victim to the temptation of self-idolatry. In a short time humility, devotion, and obedience gave way to pride, ambition, and indulgence, and gifts once employed for the glory of God were perverted to selfish purposes and worldly ambition, with the result that he who had been so highly honored with tokens of divine favor degenerated into an oppressive tyrant whose kingdom broke apart at his death. Israel, following his example, lost the secret of finding peace and riches on earth, and the once flourishing theocracy became a corrupt and desolate ruin.

Heads of the tribes. In the bringing up of the ark to Mt. Moriah, all the leaders of Israel were to have a part. There must have been a great concourse of people, elders, heads of tribes, and chiefs of the fathers, for at the time that David brought forth the ark of God “that dwelleth between the cherubims,” out of the house of Abinadab, to bring it to the City of David, the “chosen men of Israel” employed numbered 30,000 (2 Sam. 6:1–5).

The ark. Foremost among the services of dedication was the bringing up of the ark from the City of David to its new home in the most holy place of the Temple. The transfer of the ark by David from the house of Obed-edom to the tabernacle that he had made for it in his own city, was an occasion of great joy as well as solemnity (2 Sam. 6:12-19). The ark containing the two tables of the law was the most important item in the sanctuary.