2 Chronicles 5 Study Notes

5:1 David might have been disappointed if he had known that many of the valuable objects he commissioned for the temple (1Ch 28:12-18; 29:2-5) were relegated to the temple treasuries by Solomon.

5:2 The temple would serve as the only place of worship for all twelve tribes (Dt 12:14). Therefore, it was appropriate for Solomon to have representatives of all the tribes present for the dedication ceremony. The most important aspect of this celebration was moving the ark of the covenant from the tent where David had stored it into the temple.

5:3 Solomon arranged for the temple dedication to occur during the festival (probably the Festival of Shelters). All Israelite men were supposed to be in Jerusalem for this celebration, now that a central sanctuary had been built (Ex 23:17; Lv 23:39-43). A large crowd of worshipers would thus take ownership of the temple right from the start.

5:4-6 This procession of the ark covered only a small distance, since it was moved from one part of Jerusalem to another. Simultaneously, a much longer procession carried the entire tabernacle (tent of meeting) from Gibeon up to Jerusalem, where it became integrated into the temple structure. The ark was carried by the proper people, the Levites, and in the proper manner, as they threaded two poles through grommets on the ark and then hoisted it on their shoulders.

5:7-9 More than a century earlier, the ark had been in the most holy place of the tabernacle. After that it had changed locations several times, but it had never been returned to its prescribed location in the tabernacle. Now finally the ark of the covenant resumed its proper place in the most holy place. Once the ark was in its proper place, it was situated in such a way that the cherubim (3:10-13) created the impression of guarding the ark with their wings. The poles were too long to be confined to the most holy place, so they jutted out into the temple. In the day the Chronicler wrote these words, the ark was no longer in the temple, but the poles were, presumably as a symbol of the missing ark.

5:10 By this time only the two tablets with the commandments were in the ark, but at one time it contained two other objects—a pot of manna and Aaron’s rod that had sprouted miraculously (Heb 9:4).

5:11 Solomon followed David’s plan for the division of the priests into different shifts, but all of the priests participated in the dedication service.

5:12-13 The descendants of the three chief musicians—Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun—who had been divided between the tent of the ark in Jerusalem and the tabernacle in Gibeon were now reunited. Together with their clans, they started to make music. Everyone joined together in praising God because the temple was an expression of God’s goodness and love for his people.

5:14 God approved of what the people had done, and he displayed his approval by revealing his glory through a cloud that filled the temple. There are three points of significance to the cloud and the momentary stoppage it forced on all activities. (1) It shows that God was pleased with the work the people had done. (2) It was a reminder that God’s presence among his people is ultimately the focal point, not the many activities that the people carry out in worshiping God. (3) It brought the exodus to conclusion. Nearly 500 years earlier, the Israelites had followed God from point to point as they crisscrossed the desert for forty years (1Kg 6:1). During that time, God had shown himself as a cloud during the day and as a pillar of fire at night (Ex 13:21-22), always moving ahead of the people. Now, with the land possessed in its entirety and the temple in place, the conquest had finally been finished; the cloud came to rest inside the sanctuary.