2 Chronicles 5

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Dave Burnette's Commentary

2 Chronicles Chapter 5

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Ezra

Date Penned: (430 BC)

Overview: A History of God's Chosen People (c 1-36)

Theme: The reign of Solomon (c 1-9)

Message: Solomon Dedicates the Temple (v 1-17)

2 Chronicles 5 Commentary

(5:1) The Significance of the Temple - Why is there so much emphasis on the temple in the Old Testament? (1) It was a symbol of religious authority. The temple was God's way of centralizing worship at Jerusalem in order to ensure that his people would worship him only through many generations. (2) It was a symbol of God's holiness. The temple's beautiful atmosphere inspired respect and awe for God; it was the setting for many of the great visions of the prophets.(3) It was a symbol of God's covenant with Israel. The temple kept the people focused upon God's law--it housed the tablets of the Ten Commandments--rather than on the kings' exploits. It was a place where God was especially present with his people. (4) It was a symbol of forgiveness. The temple's design, furniture, and customs were great object lessons for all the people, reminding them of the seriousness of sin, the penalty that sin incurred, and their need of forgiveness. (5) It prepared the people for the Messiah. In the New Testament, Jesus said he had come to fulfill the law, not abolish it. Hebrews 8:1-2 and 9;1-12 use temple customs to explain what Christ did when he died

for us. (6) It was a testimony to the effort and creativity of humans made in God's image. Inspired by the beauty of God's character, people devoted themselves to high achievements in engineering, science, and art in

order to praise him. (7) It was a place of prayer. At the temple, people could spend time in prayer to God.

(5:1-3) The Construction of the Temple - The temple took seven years to build. First Kings 6:38 says that the temple was completed in the eighth month (called Bul in the Hebrew calendar, probably November on our calendar) of Solomon's eleventh year as king

(959 BC). Because 2 Chronicles 5:3 states that the dedication ceremonies were held in the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar (early autumn), they must have occurred either one month before or eleven months after the temple's completion.

(5:2) A Place for the Ark During Construction - This was a special tent David had set up to house the ark of God (2 Samuel 6:17). It was not the original tabernacle that Moses had built in the wilderness. The wilderness tabernacle still stood at Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39).

(5:3) The Feast of Tabernacles - The feast held in the seventh month was the Feast of Tabernacles, celebrating God's protection of the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness and lived in tents or makeshift shelters before entering the Promised Land. The purpose of this annual feast was to renew Israel's commitment to God and the people's trust in his guidance and protection. The feast beautifully coincided with the dedication of the temple. As the people remembered the wanderings in the wilderness when their ancestors had lived in tents, they were even more thankful for the permanence of this glorious temple.

(5:7-12) God Accepted the New Home of the Ark - The priests came out of the holy place after having placed the ark in the most holy place of the temple. The holy place was the outer room, where the shewbread, the altar of incense, and the candlestick were kept. Ordinarily the most holy place could be entered only once a year by the high priest on the Day of Atonement. On this unique occasion, however, several priests had to enter the most holy place in order to carry the ark to its new resting place. The Levites praised God when these priests emerged from the holy place because they then knew that God had accepted this new home for the ark (5:13).

(5:9) God's Inspired Word - Under God's inspiration, some books of the Bible were compiled and edited from other sources. Because 1 and 2 Chronicles cover many centuries, they were compiled from several sources by a single person. The portion of the verse that reads "there it is unto this day" (see also 1 Kings 8:8) was taken from material written before Judah's exile in 586 BC. Although 1 and 2 Chronicles were compiled after the Exile and after Solomon's temple had been destroyed, the writer thought it best to leave this phrase in the narrative.

(5:13) Honoring God - The first service at the temple began with honoring God and acknowledging his presence and goodness. In the same way, our worship should begin by acknowledging God's love. Praise God first; then you will be prepared to present your needs to him. Recalling God's love and thanking him for his mercy will inspire you to worship him daily. Psalm 107 is an example of how the psalmist recalled God's faithful love for his people.

Dave Burnette's Life Application
The Indwelling Holy Spirit

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we Continue in the book of 2 Chronicles with Chapter 5 and we see the completion of the Temple, Solomon dedicating the Temple, and the Ark of the Covenant being placed in the Temple. What catches my eye is when the Ark was placed in the temple, the temple filled with smoke as a sign of God's presence and acceptance. In making application we see that when we repent of our sins and ask Jesus to save us - that same presence of the Lord (that filled the temple) now fills our Body which is - the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Peace of God that flooded the temple is the same peace of God that floods our soul and we know that we have been redeemed. How about you? Have you been saved and experienced the presence of the Lord in you heart? If not, would you be saved today? Let us learn from our text today and the example of the Temple being filled with smoke to realize the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit that happens when we are saved.

2 Chronicles 5

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2 Chronicles 5

¹Thus 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.

²Then 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.

³Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month.

⁴And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.

⁵And 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.

⁶Also 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.

⁷And 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:

⁸For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

⁹And 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.

¹⁰There 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.

¹¹And 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:

¹²Also 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:)

¹³It 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 musick, 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;

¹⁴So 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.

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