514
August 1927
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
ments in the chanting of such Psalms as the 47th, 97th, 98th and 107th. Into the holy place (oracle—v. 6) the priests bore the ark, depositing it beneath the wings of the cherubim, the place of rest. “They drew out the staves” (v. 8), a: sign that it was no more to go out. These were the long handles by which the ark had been borne to and fro in the many journeys of the Israelites. All that was in the ark were the tables of stone (v. 9). Here we see for the last time these venerable fragments of the rock of Sinai. They disappeared, as did the ark, when Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, The covenant which these stones" recorded, was, according .to Jere miah (3 1 :32-33), only to be superseded by the law written on the heart. The great moral principles of these command ments could not be lost, and by the Spirit of God they are to this day embedded in the hearts of all true believers under Grace. Complete and beautiful stood the Tem ple. Priests and King had performed their parts. In its place within the veil, the ark rested, with the sacred law within and the cherubim’s outspreading wings above. Priests and people, in unison with many instruments, had lifted up their voices in praise and thanksgiving to God. It only remained for God to give some; token that He accepted His house. “And it came to pass when the priests w ere come out o f the holy place that the cloud filled the house o f the Lord . . . . fo r the glory o f the Lord had filled the house o f the Lord” (v. 11). What a thrill must have gone through every heart as the shekinah cloud was seen descending and then entering the Temple! As it rested over the ark, the priests saw it brighten into such a con centrated glow that they were forced to retire. This, since the days of the Tabernacle, had been the symbol of God’s manifest, personal presence. In the days of wilder ness journeyings, the pillar of cloud and fire had given the Israelites assurance by day and night that God Himself was with them. This visible token again assured the people that God had accepted and consecrated the Temple. What means all this to us? John tells us (John 12:41) that Isaiah in his refer ences to this same glory of the Lord (ch. 6) had in mind our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus he distinctly affirms that Christ is the Jehovah of the Israelites, the mani fest Glory of God. What light does this throw upon the transcendent spectacles of the transfigur ation on the mount, and the ascension, where our Lord was manifested in the midst of inscrutable light? The New Testament is filled with the glory of God in Jesus Christ, and closes with the vision of the Son of man, the Lamb that was slain, as the center and source of all di vine glory, dominion and blessedness. Was God enthroned upon the mercy seat, dwelling among his people ? He came later and dwelt among His people in the person of His glorious Son. "We beheld H is glory ”- says John, “the glory as o f the only begotten o f the Father.” The church that gives Him His Scrip tural place, never lacks for tokens of the divine presence. If a church is cold, formal and dead, it is because it has pushed Christ outside. The glory of the house has departed.
All the outward glory of the old dis pensation is nothing in comparison with the; glory of this dispensation of Grace. “F o r i f that which is done away was glo rious,” wrote Paul, “much more that which remaineth is glorious” (2 Cor. 3:11). We need not seek now the Temple of Jeru salem to find His glory, for in Christ, all who from the heart believe, may have the Spirit dwelling within, wherever they may be, and by the Spirit may be changed into His image “from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). The chapter proceeds with the account of Solomon’s fitting- words of dedication and his prayer of unexampled sublimity, which should be carefully read. This prayer begins with adoration and is sat urated with those other essential ele ments of Spirit-taught prayer:—medita tion, thanksgiving, petition, intercession, confession and pleading of the promises! Study this prayer and mark these dif ferent elements. The character o f the dedication brings before us the main purpose, not only of the Temple, but of the church of today, which has succeeded to its place. It is its internal use that counts, hot its ex ternal costliness. The church is to be essentially a house of prayer, for the worship and praise of God, who has made Himself known to us through Jesus Christ. As the Temple was then the resting place of the ark, so the church today must be the sacred depository of God’s Word, or utterly fail of its mission. They who would grow in grace and in the knowl edge of Him, must love the habitation of God’s house. Those are indeed to be pitied who cannot find a church where the pure gospel is preached and where God’s presence is manifest. P ith and P oint Many a church that has all the para phernalia, has never brought up the ark (v. 4). All cost and pains are lost on stately structures unless God owns them by His presence. It is a great thing when a nation’s ruler can lead in prayer (v. 22). " The divine presence beautifies the church more than the gold of its decora tions or the softness of its stained wind ows. „ Men may dedicate, but God alone can consecrate. Unless the divine Word finds its home in the holiest place of the church, the church is little more than a second-rate club house. The ruler who ignores religious prin ciple, has ignored the mightiest force for good in a nation. —o— S uggestive Q uestions Who is the great Antitype of the Tem ple? (Jn. 1:14; 2:19-21; Matt. 12:6.) What other New Testament antitype do we have for the temple? (Eph. 2:20- 22 .) Where was the first appearance of the glory cloud? (V. 10; cp. Ex. 13:20-22.) What had happened to the tabernacle when it was finished according to God’s Word? (Ex. 40:34-35.) What abiding and surpassing privilege does every New Testament believer have? (2 Cor. 3:18; 4 :6 ; Jn. 1:14.) What visible and transcending mani
festation of glory will be the next in God’s order? (Rev. 21:11, 23, 24.) Was Solomon’s prayer on the ground of the sacrificial blood? (V. 22; cp. Heb. 9:22; 10:19-20.) What is the longest recorded prayer in the Bible? —o— G olden T ext I llustration “I was glad when they said unto me, L et us go into the house o f the Lord” (Psa. 122:1). Some ,time ago “The Sunday School Times” told how one day a serious fire broke out in Moody Church in Chicago. A student in the Bible Institute building nearby attempted to awaken her room mate. “Get up,” she said, “the Moody Church is on fire j ” The drowsy student only replied: “That’s nothing: it’s always on fire.” That is a great testimony for a church, and it is to the services of such a church that God’s child always looks forward. Can we say of a church from which God’s presence has apparently de parted—“I was giad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” ? •—o—- 'T* HE dedication of the Temple occurred in the fall, at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. This occasion was most solemn because of the concurrence of the God of Israel. At this season, ac cording to the Mosaic requirement, all the males had to be present at the place where God placed His name, as also- at the other two national annual feasts. At this season especially were they reminded of the wonderful provisions which God made for them during the times of test ings. As a rule, times of trial and test ing are not welcomed by the children of God, but if one has faith to see the pres ence of God in his life, such times are most blessed. God had many lessons to teach Israel and the best place for this instruction was in the desolate, howling wilderness. The one great lesson towering above all others was that “Man doth not live by bread alone but by every w ord that pro- ceedeth out o f the mouth o f God." The Israelites had gone down into Egypt as a small family, or tribe, but during their stay of 215 years in the Nile Valley (the first 215 years of the 430 from the promise to the giving of the law was spent by the patriarchs in Canaan, as anyone can learn who will make the simple calculation with the chronological data found in the Book of Genesis) they had grown into a small nation which was estimated at from two and a half to three millions. There in the fertile valley, which did not depend upon the showers from heaven, but upon the inundation of the Nile for its crops, they have not learned the great les son of trust in God upon Whom man is utterly dependent. Hence, before the con quest of the land it was necessary for this joyful feast, rich in memory of God’s protecting care dur ing t h e wilderness wanderings, with the dedication of t h i s most w o n d e r f u l house of God whose ritualistic service and elaborate symbolism bespoke the glory of
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