II Chronicles 5:1 "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."

Once the Temple of God was finished, Solomon gathered all the things that David had dedicated to the house of God, and all the instruments and the gold and silver vessels from the tabernacle, and he put all these things into the Temple. Most of these items that had been with the tabernacle since the time of the wilderness, and they were gathered with all the things and instruments and furniture that Solomon built, and these would be used in the place of worship and communing with YHVH the heavenly Father.

II Chronicles 5:2 "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."

Remember that during the reign of king Solomon, Israel was still made up of all the tribes of Jacob. Solomon gave the call to all the elders of the tribes of Israel to assemble in Jerusalem. This was going to be a great feast day, and the day that the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord would be moved into its new home; the Temple of God. The Ark of the Covenant was given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, two years after the Israelites were out of Egypt. The Ark of the Covenant was the place where God communed with His people, as the Israelites traveled to the Promise land. It has been about 500 years from when God first spoke to them, to this moment when the ark of the covenant enters into the Temple of God. The "City of David which is Zion, is also the city of Jerusalem.

Think back of those many things that have happened on this mount Moriah where the Temple stands; from the time that Abraham was going to offer his son Isaac to God, as recorded in Genesis 22:1 - 19 even to today.

Genesis 22:1, 2 "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, "Abraham:" and he said, "Behold, here I am." [1] "And He said, "Take now this son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." [2]

God was testing Abraham, for he was an old man at this time, and waited many years for a son from Sarah. Abraham loved his son, yet he was willing to present him as an offering to God, if God wanted it that way. Abraham was obedient to God's will.

Genesis 22:3 "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him."

This event took place about 1870 B.C.. Nine hundred years before this moment in time when Solomon had finished this grand Temple unto the Lord. This place of worship is also at this location where our Lord Jesus Christ would ascend up this hill to be crucified. Our Lord Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on that Roman cross for the sins of you and I and each person that will come to Him by faith in repentance, and come under the shed blood of Christ. Even today there are three different religious of the world that are fighting over this location, as it is the holy place for each of them. When we believe this, and take it by faith, it become the reason that all of our prayers to our heavenly Father are "in Jesus name".

II Chronicles 5:3 "Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month."

This feast was at the feast of the trumpets, at the end of September by our calendar year. The year of the Israelites started when the earth entered the Spring Vernal Equinox, when the days and nights are equal, and this day would also establish all the feast days, counting from this established first day of the year. The Passover would be the night of the fourteenth day, Pentecost the fiftieth day, and the feast of Trumps at the end of the seventh month. This date in the seventh month is also the day that the feast that Solomon called would start. The celebration would begin when all the people had assembled and the Levites would bring up the ark of the covenant from the Tabernacle, and place it in the house of God, the Temple.

II Chronicles 5:4 "And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark."

II Chronicles 5:5 "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."

Its moving day, and there is plenty of help bringing the massive amounts of gold and silver vessels. The first item to enter into the Holy Temple was the ark of the covenant, to be placed in the Holy of holies. Then all the beautiful tables and other instruments were moved into this massive golden structure. Item by item, as each priest had their assigned duty, the people were assembled to watch as each item was brought into their new house of Worship. This truly was one time when all Israel stood in praise of out heavenly Father. The Tabernacle was the tent that all worship was conducted through up to this point in time, and now the tabernacle will be done away with, and worship will be within the Temple of God.

II Chronicles 5:6 "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."

Think of the many animals, sheep and oxen that were sacrificed on that day for the sins of the people, as the people were making themselves right with YHVH our heavenly Father. What a glorious way to have this feast day begin. Today of course, we do not offer animal sacrifices for our sins, because this all ended at the cross of Jesus Christ. It ended that moment that Jesus gave up the ghost, and entered into that three days in the tomb. When Jesus came out of the tomb victorious over death, He became our Passover for one and all times.

I Corinthians 5:6, 7 "Your glorying is not good, Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?" [6] "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." [7]

I Corinthians 5:8 "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Jesus Christ today is our Passover, and each time we break bread and take the cup, we do this in remembrance of that perfect sacrifice that our Lord gave for us, once for all times.

Hebrews 10:9, 10 "Then said He, "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God." He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second." [9] "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." [10]

The purpose of our Lord Jesus Christ coming to this earth through the womb of woman, of the virgin Mary, was to establish the second. The second is our salvation through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The "first" spoken of here was under the Law, and through the blood ordinances of the animal sacrifices. Those animal sacrifices were temporary, for that year, but as stated here, the second under the blood of Christ, sets us apart for one and all times.

II Chronicles 5:7 "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:"

From Deuteronomy 17:9, we see the distinction of the priests from the Levite priests, that would be scattered amongst all the tribes. This is why it refers to "the priests and the Levites". The priests at the Tabernacle, and later to serve at the Temple of God, were to give service at the altar, and within the Temple of God. The tribal priests gave aid and comfort not in Jerusalem, but in the community in the location that each was assigned. Sort of like a local pastor's duties of today.

II Chronicles 5:8 "For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark and the staves thereof above."

II Chronicles 5:9 "And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day."

This verse is a copy of I Kings 8:6,7 , however it was an addendum by Ezra or a scribe after the captivity, for it is not applicable to "the day" of the writer that is writing it, as may be seen in II Chronicles 36:22, 23.

II Chronicles 5:10 "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."

This "nothing in the ark save" speaks of the ark as it was housed in the Tabernacle, and not the Temple. I Kings 8:9 "There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they come out of the land of Egypt."

II Chronicles 5:11 "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:"

All of the priests at this time were sanctified and could come into the holy place and serve. This service was not by course at this time.

II Chronicles 5:12 "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:)"

"Juduthun" was one of three directors of the Temple worship, and he was a descendant of Merari; and also known by the name of "Ethan". The name means "to give thanks, or to confess". This person Jeduthun is also talked about in Psalms 39, 62, and 77; which are the Psalms to give thanks and confess for our sins.

II Chronicles 5:13 "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 music, 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;"

Think back now to Exodus 16 :10 that time when Aaron stood before the congregation, that the Tabernacle was completed and the congregation gathered to hear Aaron's words from God. This was in the second year of the journey out of Egypt, and the way to the promise land.

Exodus 16:9, 10 "And Moses spake unto Aaron, "Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, come near before the Lord: for He hath heard your murmurings.'" [9] "And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud." [10]

So just as God appeared in the cloud to their fathers back in the wilderness, He appeared to the tribes here at the time of the opening of the Temple of God. This was a time of praise and thankfulness to God for all His blessings, for the "glory and presence of the Lord is with all the People".

II Chronicles 5:14 "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."

It is plain to see why the priests could not stand in the presence of the Lord presenting himself to the People. Remember back when Moses and the Israelites finished their task of building the Tabernacle, with all the instruments and funiture that went into that house of the congregation?

Exodus 40:33 "And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work."

Here in our studies in II Chronicles 5, the Temple of the house of the Lord has just been finished, just as in Moses day with the Tabernacle.

Exodus 40:34 "Then aq cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle." [34] "And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." [35]

Then all work stopped, and the focus was on the glory of God, the work was finished, and the praise was all that was left to do at that moment in time. God was with the people, and His presence was felt by all. When the Temple of God of these end times is finished, and that last elect soul has been sealed they there will be a pause also, and the Word of God will be mute amongst those that were not sealed, for at that moment in time Satan will have his five months before our Lord returns to end this earth age of flesh man. The Temple of this day is made up of the body of many believers in Christ, that have repented of their sins, washed themselves of their sins in the blood of Christ through repentance, and by faith entered into that Body of believers.

The believers are not conformed to this world age, but are transformed by the renewing of their minds, that each of us may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God through our lives. As a believer, each of us has a service to give, and that service is spelled out in Romans 12:1; "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present you bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." That time is coming soon, what the service required of God's elect is very specific, as spelled out in Mark 13:11. That requirement of service that God expects of us is each of allowing the Holy Spirit of God to speak through us when we are called up before the rulers and leaders and kings of this earth age.

Mark 13:11 "But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost [Spirit]."

In Moses' day, or in Solomon's day, or in these end times, there is a time when God does the speaking, and men and women listen. In our end times, that speaking will be done through you, not some cloud, but you are not to even think of that moment in time, for don't mumble up the pure words of the Spirit of God, just be obedient to God's direction. Our Lord has a Will, and a Way, and we are not to stand blocking that way, but to be used at that hour to speak the words that God places in you and my mouth. What a thrill that will be.