A DEDICATION. 1st Kings 8:1-21 When the ark was placed in “The Most Holy Place,” they did not draw out the staves. The temporary place of testimony in the Tabernacle was at an end, and the central place of worship was set up and able to be restored in the temple. But the ark is no longer there, and the staves being left in place indicated a future and, more important, a move where God will dwell with His people in perpetuity. The visible evidence of the cloud indicating God’s presence over the Tabernacle in the wilderness was now in the temple. God had arrived to give glory to the temple that far exceeded the glory of its architecture.
Dedicating a building does not affect or change its value in any way. It establishes in people's minds what the building's use is and sets it aside for that purpose. That affects what can be done there and what uses would be inappropriate. Solomon stated the real aspects of dedication when he addressed the people and said, "Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes, and to keep His commandments, as at this day."
God designed the Tabernacle to be a portable place for His presence to be seen by the children of Israel as they journeyed to Canaan. Now, there was a change because peace had come to the nation, and the temple was designed to be a permanent dwelling place for God's presence to be known by the people. The nation's representatives gathered in solidarity to bring the ark into the temple from its temporary place on Mt. Zion. Solomon waited to move the Tabernacle and all its furnishings to the temple until the Feast of Tabernacles had come. No longer were the people dwelling in tents, so the feast was when people gathered to remember where they came from and lived in temporary booths for a week. It was an appropriate time to conclude the Tabernacle gathering and establish temple worship.
The people of God today are on a temporary wilderness journey like "a pilgrim band in a foreign land who are marching from Calvary" to the place where we will "dwell in the house of the Lord forever." There is evidence of some kind when the Lord is present with His people. The work of the Holy Spirit cannot be disguised when God's people are in fellowship with Him and each other. There is a unity that is "good and pleasant." Also, when we worship and serve in unity, that is meaningful. When the Lord Jesus was here, He was "made flesh and 'tabernacled' among us." John wrote, "We beheld His glory ... full of grace and truth." God also dwells in the body of each believer, which is the "temple of the Holy Ghost." We can glorify God in our bodies and spirits, which are His.
At some time previously, Aaron's rod that budded and the pot of manna must have been taken out of the ark because, at this time, only the tables of stone were in it. The ark brought into the temple was a testimony to the presence of God there among His people. The carrying poles remained in the ark, signifying that the final move of the ark was still in the future. That was when it was taken into heaven, according to Revelation 11:19. That probably happened when the Israelites were taken as captives to Babylon.
The cloud that had symbolized the presence of the Lord in the Tabernacle for the five hundred previous years had now moved to and settled in the temple. Solomon realized that God dwelt in the temple and called everyone to understand that David's desire was fulfilled. A house for the Lord was now in place, and the glory of the Lord in the cloud made it plain that God had moved in. The reaffirmation of the covenant made between the Lord and Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David were seen in the "dark cloud" of the divine Presence.
The Lord Himself honored the obedience of Solomon, who faithfully finished building the temple that David had prepared for. What God promises is always done. He told David the house would be built by David's son, not him, and it happened just that way. The Lord did not choose a city to put His house in, but He chose a man with a heart for God to build it. Now, the work was done. A building wasn't what made the temple the dwelling place of God. It was why it was built and for whom. The people among whom God wanted to dwell and with whom He had made a covenant made that place a building set aside for God. The same glory that came upon that building could be removed if God moved out.
The presence and power of God today is not limited to a building, but "where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them." The Holy Spirit came upon those who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ on the Day of Pentecost and has been indwelling the church, which is His body, since that day. Those who are in Christ are to be faithful to Him if our lives are to be used by the Holy Spirit in worship and service for God.
Our buildings for church purposes are just that. The house of God is the people. In that place, we find spiritual leaders who go before the people of God to lead us in His ways. Buildings are not the focus of God's attention. His power and presence are not confined in any way to a structure. It is up to us, who are the "house of God," to commit ourselves to the work of the Lord and continue to build His house through faithful Gospel preaching and teaching of the word of God.
It happened before; it has happened again in the local assembly. The infinite God had chosen to dwell with men, with the temple as the symbol of God dwelling with His people and the cloud of glory testifying to that. Not that being confined within walls men made limited Him in any way or obligated Him to stay within them. Still, in an act of marvelous grace, He visibly manifested Himself in the cloud, which testified to His willingness to be in a consecrated place.
An assembly of believers gathering in the name and to the person of our Lord Jesus Christ is a temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells [1Co.3:16]. The purpose of a temple is to be a sacred dwelling place for God. Purity and sanctity are expected in the temple. Evidence of His presence in the temple and Tabernacle of the Old Testament was the visible symbol of the Shekinah in the temple. Now, the believers in the assembly are His temple and, as such, are sacred. The temple is devoted to His service and is the residence of the Holy Spirit. To violate that place in any way was a crime. The temple is the seat of His operations. We use the word “exercised” often as we seek to serve Him. It is where His influences are producing the fruit of the Spirit and where He guides and sustains His people. The leading of the Holy Spirit is an essential part of our priesthood in offering worship and sacrifices. The temple is where His people are dedicated and consecrated to Him: we are not our own. The temple is where His love is expressed through the interchange of His own and the use of the gifts He gives.
The house of God is to be a place for His people to meet Him and bring their offerings of appreciation and praises to sing. It is a center of worship for them, where they can come together and be occupied with their Lord God whenever they gather there. There, they would sense the value of having fellowship with God and each other. As the family of God, all the sisters and brothers, by faith in the Lord, come to give back to the Lord some of what God Himself gave them.
God has gifted each one in some unique fashion. The unity of those who gather to Him multiplies the value of each one when they offer as one the sacrifices of praise, thanksgiving, and our portion of that which God has given us. We publicly honor God there, as we should show those who look on. They should be able to see the reality and worth of worshiping the Father in spirit and truth. Though unseen by physical eyes, the evidence is clear; God’s presence is felt even when we are here as faith opens a clearer vision of our Lord. His glory is seen when we obey His Word and commit ourselves to Him in all we do and speak.