We read from 2 Chronicles 5:1.
And all the work that Solomon wrought for the house of the Lord was finished.
And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, even the silver, and the gold, and all the vessels, and put them among the treasures of the house of God.
Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers’ houses 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.
And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month.
And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.
And they brought up the ark, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent; these did the priests the Levites bring up.
And king Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be counted nor numbered for multitude.
And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto its place, into the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim.
For the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
And they drew out the staves, so 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.
There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.
And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place—for all the priests that were present had sanctified themselves, and did not keep their courses; also the Levites which were the singers, all of them, even Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, and their sons and their brethren, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets—
it came to pass, when 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 lovingkindness endureth for ever,”
that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
Let us read a little more, from 2 Chronicles 6:1.
Then spake Solomon, “The Lord hath said that He would dwell in the thick darkness.
But I have built Thee a house of habitation, and a place for Thee to dwell in for ever.”
And the king turned his face, and blessed all the assembly of Israel; and all the assembly of Israel stood.
And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel.”
And in 2 Chronicles 7:1:
Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house.
And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house.
And all the children of Israel looked on when the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord was upon the house; and they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and gave thanks unto the Lord, saying,
“For He is good; for His lovingkindness endureth for ever.”
I believe we are all familiar with how David had in his heart to build a house for the Lord. Even though he was not allowed to build that house, his very desire to build it pleased the Lord exceedingly. May we say that his very desire to build a house touched the Lord’s heart, because it was in the heart of the Lord to dwell among His people.
David was not allowed to build it. But because of his love for the house of the Lord, he prepared a great deal of material for the house. Out of his affection for the Lord, he set apart gold and refined silver for God’s house.
It was his son Solomon who built it. Wisdom built the house. Solomon spent seven years building the house of God. He spared nothing in building it.
Of course, he built it according to the pattern that was given to David by the Lord Himself. By His Spirit, the Lord drew the pattern for David, and David passed the pattern to Solomon. Solomon did everything according to the pattern that was given, and he spared nothing in building it.
Now, after seven years, the work was finished. And what did he do after the house was built? Oh, what happened after the house was finished? That is something we would like to share this afternoon.
Now, of course, I believe it is probably in most of your minds concerning that house which the Lord has just given to you. But remember: the house the Lord has just given to you is not the house of God. It is but a facility.
The Lord needs facilities. And because there is a need for facilities for the building of the house of God, that is the reason why the Lord gives you a physical house. That physical house is not the house of God. It never was, and it never will be. It is just a facility.
I hope that from the very beginning we do not make any mistake in this. You know, oftentimes we think of the church as a physical building, and we use the term so carelessly. We say, “We go to church,” and we mean that we go to a church building. “The church is at the square,” or, “The church is at the corner.” But that is just an expression. That is not the church.
The church is God’s people. Out of every nation, every tribe, every tongue, and every people, God calls them out and gathers them together unto that Name which is above every name. That is the house of God.
The house of God is not built with stones or with bricks. The house of God is built with living stones. As we come to the Lord, we all become living stones, being built up together into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
So, dear brothers and sisters, even though that house may be in our minds, do not make any mistake: that is not the house of God. That is just a facility, something to be used for the building of God’s house—for the building of God’s people, for the testimony of Jesus, and for the service of God, that His name may be exalted.
But even so, we would like to mention a few things. What will happen? What shall we do? What does the Lord expect of us if He gives us some kind of facility that can be used for His purpose?
Of course, here you find the dedication of the temple. In dedicating the temple, you will find that at least three things are mentioned.
It may surprise you to find that the first thing done for the house of God—the temple—was not the bringing of the ark into the temple. Now, we would think that certainly this would be the first thing to do. Why was the house built? It was built for the ark of the covenant of the Lord. So, after the house was finished, surely the first thing would be to bring in the ark. But no, that was not the first thing.
You find in 2 Chronicles 5:1:
And all the work that Solomon wrought for the house of the Lord was finished.
And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, even the silver, and the gold, and all the vessels, and put them among the treasures of the house of God.
After the house was finished, the first thing Solomon did was to bring in the dedicated things that David his father had dedicated unto the Lord: gold, silver, and all the vessels. He put them among the treasures of the house of God.
If you turn to 1 Chronicles 29, you find David’s preparation for the building of the house.
And David the king said unto all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.
Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the brass for the things of brass, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, stones for inlaying, and of divers colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.
Moreover also, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, seeing that I have a treasure of mine own of gold and silver, I give it unto the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house:
even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, wherewith to overlay the walls of the houses;
of gold for the things of gold, and of silver for the things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. Who then offereth willingly to consecrate himself this day unto the Lord?”
You will find that David, in preparing for the building of the house, prepared so much material: gold, silver, iron, brass, stones, marble—everything that he could think of. Out of the spoils of his victories, he set apart these things for the Lord. Out of his own property, he set apart these things for the Lord, because he loved the Lord.
When Solomon built the house, it was built with such gold and silver and stones. We might think that certainly, in building that house, Solomon and his father David must have exhausted all their resources.
But now, even after all the work was finished, there were still dedicated things that David had dedicated unto the Lord. There was still gold and silver and vessels of all kinds to be put into the house, so that the house would not be a poor house or an empty house.
Isn’t that tremendous, dear brothers and sisters?
What is the meaning of dedicated things? In the case of the children of Israel, when they dedicated anything to the Lord, they might dedicate a lamb to the Lord. They might dedicate a bird to the Lord. They might dedicate a house to the Lord. They might dedicate a field to the Lord. Some might dedicate themselves to the Lord, to be a Nazarite for a certain number of days.
They dedicated these things to the Lord. In other words, out of what the Lord had given them, because they were constrained by God’s love and loved the Lord so much, they set apart some of the things the Lord had given them to be used exclusively for the Lord.
Now, that is what the children of Israel did. But what does the Lord expect of us today, brothers and sisters? What will that building be if there are no dedicated things to fill it? It will be an empty house. It will be a poor house. It will never serve God’s purpose.
If the house is to be used of the Lord for His glory and for His purpose, there must be dedication. In other words, those who are going to use that house, those who are going to use the building, must go in with a heart of dedication.
Brothers and sisters, are we a dedicated people? God does not require us to fill that place with gold and silver. No. God requires us to fill that place with dedication. That is to say, as we go to occupy the house, are we as those dedicated things?
It is not a matter of setting that house or building apart. You know, sometimes we have that kind of feeling: “Well, that is God’s house. It is holy. It is a sanctuary.”
I remember during the war, when I was in Singapore. We were bombed day and night by the Japanese. And bombs do not have any eyes, so they fall all over.
One morning, I remember, a young brother came to me very early. You could see that he was panic-stricken. He said, “Brother, have you heard that a bomb had fallen into a church?”
Yes, a bomb had fallen right through the roof of a church building. And he said, “Now, if a bomb will fall into a church building, where is our protection? This is God’s house. God should protect the place. That is where we go when there is bombing.”
Oh, brothers and sisters, do we all more or less have that kind of sentimentality or mentality? We think, “Oh, that is a holy building. That is the church. That is a sanctuary. Surely God will protect that building.” There seems to be a kind of magic in it.
Brothers and sisters, not at all. It is just a building.
What really needs to be dedicated is ourselves. If the Lord gives us better facilities to serve His purpose, we need to rededicate ourselves for the use of better facilities. Otherwise, it will be a poor house. It will not serve any purpose.
Dear brothers and sisters, I do believe that we have dedicated ourselves to the Lord once before. But in view of our larger facilities, it requires a deeper dedication.
Before we go to occupy the place, one thing is necessary: we need to be those dedicated things brought into the house—gold, silver, and vessels of all kinds.
Gold represents the nature of God. Silver represents the redemption of Christ Jesus. Vessels represent the finished work of the Holy Spirit. So here you find what God requires of us: that there may be such an abundance of dedication.
There may be gold and silver and vessels—whatever God has wrought in our lives, whatever is of Christ, whatever is the result of His redemption, whatever is the patient work of the Holy Spirit. Brothers and sisters, these are the things that have to be brought in.
If these are not brought in, that house will be a poor house. It will not serve God’s purpose. Are we ready for that?
Before we can bring the ark of the covenant into the house, these dedicated things must be there first. Before we can expect the presence of the Lord, there must be that love and dedication of our lives to the Lord. That is the first thing.
After these things were there, then, of course, came the main thing—the most important thing. Even though it may not have been the first thing done, it was certainly the most important thing: the ark of the covenant of God.
David loved the Lord, and because he loved the Lord, he inquired where the ark of the Lord was. While he was still a fugitive, he discovered that it was hidden in the forest at Kiriath-jearim. It was almost forgotten.
But as soon as David ascended to the throne, the first thing he did was to take Jerusalem, and the second thing he did was to bring the ark from Kiriath-jearim to Mount Zion, to the city of David.
So the ark of the covenant of the Lord was on Zion, but the temple was built on Mount Moriah. Therefore, King Solomon brought the ark out of Mount Zion to Mount Moriah, to the temple of God.
He did not make the same mistake as his father did. Do you remember when David brought the ark out of Kiriath-jearim? He followed the way of the Philistines. He put the ark on a new cart drawn by oxen.
When the oxen stumbled, the ark began to fall. Uzzah stretched out his arm, and the Lord smote him to death. David was angry and afraid.
So the ark went to the house of Obed-edom for several months, until David began to see his mistake. Then the ark was brought to Mount Zion. But here you find that Solomon did not make that mistake.
The priests bore the ark on their shoulders. They brought it out of Mount Zion and into the temple on Mount Moriah.
They put the ark into the holiest of all. You remember that when Solomon built the holiest of all, there was absolutely nothing in it. But he made two cherubim of gigantic size. Their wings stretched all across the room of the holiest of all.
So, when the ark was brought in, it was placed before the two cherubim. Here you find four cherubim: two on the mercy seat and two standing in the holiest of all. And they drew out the staves of the ark.
In other words, now the ark of God had come into rest. There was no need for the ark to travel anymore. God had come into His rest.
When they put the ark there and came out, oh, how they lifted up their voices and praised the Lord. The trumpeters and singers were of one voice. When that voice went up, the house was filled with a cloud.
The priests could not stand to do their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.
Now, of course, we know that the ark of the covenant of the Lord represents the presence of the Lord. God dwelt above the ark, upon the mercy seat, between the two cherubim. So the ark always represents the presence of the Lord.
This temple was built to house the ark of the Lord. Even though in the temple there were other things, such as the brazen altar, the brazen laver for washing, the golden candlesticks, the table of shewbread, and the golden altar of incense, these were secondary things.
The primary thing for which the house was built was to house the ark of the covenant of the Lord. In other words, this house was built for God, and therefore His presence was the purpose and meaning of the house.
If the ark was not brought into the house, you could bring anything and everything into it. You might have the brazen altar. You might even have the golden altar of incense. But if the ark was not brought in, then the house did not serve its purpose. The house would have no meaning at all.
The house was for the ark of the Lord, that God might come into rest among His people. That was the purpose.
When they brought the ark into the temple and drew out the staves, then the cloud filled the temple. Of course, the cloud speaks of the glory of the Lord. The ark speaks of the fact of His presence; the cloud speaks of the consciousness, or manifestation, of His presence.
This temple of Solomon was dedicated to the Lord. After the ark was brought in, the fact of the presence of the Lord was established. Then the manifestation of His presence came. That was why the house was filled with the cloud.
But later on, you remember, the ark disappeared. When the temple at Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians, the ark simply disappeared.
When the Jewish remnant returned from captivity to rebuild the temple, there was no ark. Behind the veil there was nothing. There was not anything there.
When the temple rebuilt by the remnant was finished, there was no cloud, no fire, and no glory of the Lord. How important it is that there must be the ark there. Because the ark is there, there will be the cloud—the glory of the Lord.
The temple in the time of our Lord Jesus was the temple rebuilt by the Jewish remnant and enlarged by Herod. For forty-six years he enlarged the temple and adorned it with precious stones. But the problem was that there was no ark there. There was no glory there.
The Lord Himself was the temple, the real temple, and the glory of God was in Him. You remember John says, “We beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father.”
He was the real temple, not that physical temple on Mount Moriah.
Today, dear brothers and sisters, God does not dwell in any physical building. No. Today, His house is His people.
What will be the meaning of our coming together? What will be the purpose of our meeting together in that building if we do not have the presence of the Lord?
There is nothing more important than the fact of His presence. Brothers and sisters, if His presence is with us, then His glory will be manifested. If His presence is not with us, then there will be no cloud, no fire, and no glory.
I sometimes think, what is the difference between being religious and being spiritual? By all outward appearance, you cannot distinguish what is religious and what is spiritual. You cannot.
Several years ago, I was in Manila, Philippines. One day a few of us went to a mountain for a little getaway. While we were on that mountain, we saw a little chapel, so we went into it.
When we entered the chapel, I noticed that at the front there were a few white statues kneeling there. When I looked more attentively, I found that these were not statues. They were sisters—nuns. They were dressed in white, kneeling there praying, and you could not see any movement at all.
My first reaction was, “How spiritual!” But was that spiritual? Or was that religious? You cannot see the difference. How do you know what is spiritual and what is religious?
In the whole Bible, there is only one place where the word religion is used. Do you know where it is? James, that is right. In the letter of James. True religion is true spirituality.
But unfortunately, we can be very religious, and yet it is not spirituality. Now, what is the difference? What makes the difference between religious and spiritual? The presence of the Lord.
If the Lord is in it, it is spiritual. If the Lord is not in it, it is religious. If it is religious, it is bondage. If it is spiritual, it is liberty. That makes all the difference: the presence of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, let us remember from the very beginning that what we desire is nothing but His presence. We do not care for anything else. If only His presence is there, that is what we desire.
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.
—Matthew 18:20
In other words, if two or three are gathered together unto His name, it is not merely a matter of calling or using His name. In Matthew, you find people saying, “Lord, Lord. Did we not cast out demons in Thy name? Did we not prophesy in Thy name?” But the Lord said, “I never knew you. I do not approve of you.”
What do you mean by being gathered together unto His name? It means that if we gather together under His headship, if we put ourselves under His authority, then we are gathered together unto His name.
If we gather together unto His name, we bring the ark into the house of our God. And if the ark is in the house, there will be glory, there will be cloud, there will be fire—the manifestation of His presence.
So this is the second thing I would like to remind you of, brothers and sisters: we need to look to the Lord that His glory may be manifested. The manifestation of His glory is the result of His presence.
It is very difficult to explain what glory is. No one has ever seen God, because He is invisible. God is Spirit. He is invisible. But whenever God is seen, it is glory. In other words, what you see is not God Himself; it is His glory.
When the invisible God becomes visible, that is glory. You see glory.
Brother T. Austin-Sparks had a very good definition of glory. He said, “Whenever God is satisfied, glory appears.”
Will God really come into rest among His people? The staves were taken out. No more traveling, because God was satisfied. God said, “I will rest here. I am going to stay. I am not going to move around anymore.”
Is this what we desire of the Lord—that He may come into rest among His people? If we want Him to come into rest, we must satisfy Him. Unless He is satisfied, He cannot come into rest.
Now, thirdly, you find that Solomon, in dedicating that house, did three things.
Number one, he praised the Lord. You see, in 2 Chronicles 6:4, he said:
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel.
He blessed the Lord. He blessed the Lord. Now, of course, the word blessing, or blessed, has several meanings. The first meaning of blessing is to praise—to praise the Lord.
The second meaning, of course, is when you bless a person. In Hebrews it says, “The less is blessed of the better.” Now, that is not the meaning when it is applied to God. It is another meaning: to give a benediction to somebody else.
But here, when Solomon blessed the Lord, it meant that he was praising the Lord. He was making God happy.
How can we make God happy? By praising Him. By recalling what He has done for us, how good He is, and how faithful He is. When we recall these things and bless Him for these things, we glorify Him and make Him happy. That is the meaning of blessing.
What is the house of God? The house of God is a house of praises. In the house of God there should be praises day and night. You find how David set apart the Levites, the singers, and their praise ascended unto God day and night without ending.
That is what the house of God is. Solomon dedicated this house with praises, and this house was dedicated for praises. So praises continued in the house without ceasing. That glorifies God.
What we should desire before the Lord is that we may be a people who praise Him, who bless Him, who make Him happy, satisfy Him, and glorify Him. May there be more praises unto Him—ceaseless praise to the Lord.
Number two, Solomon not only blessed the Lord; he prayed to God. In 2 Chronicles 6, you find a record of his prayer. He prayed, “Answer, Lord.”
In 2 Chronicles 6:18-21, Solomon prayed:
But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house which I have builded!
Yet have Thou respect unto the prayer of Thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which Thy servant prayeth before Thee;
that Thine eyes may be open toward this house day and night, even toward the place whereof Thou hast said that Thou wouldest put Thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which Thy servant shall pray toward this place.
And hearken Thou to the supplications of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yea, hear Thou from Thy dwelling-place, even from heaven; and when Thou hearest, forgive.
It is a house of prayer. The house of God is a house of prayer—a house of prayer for all nations, a house of prayer for all occasions, and a house of prayer for all people.
Prayer should ascend to God from that house. Because the name of the Lord is there, His ear and His eyes are there. Therefore, He will hear. He will forgive. He will also judge.
Not only those who belong to Him, but even the nations—when they hear the name of the Lord and pray toward this house—God will hear them too.
So, brothers and sisters, as we come together to be God’s house, may there not only be praises unto Him, but may there also be prayer—not just for ourselves.
Yes, we need to pray for ourselves. We need to ask for forgiveness. We need to ask, even sometimes, to see God’s judgment. But we need to pray for all nations. If they do not know how to pray, then we should pray for them. It is a house of prayer for all nations.
How sad that when our Lord Jesus was on earth, He had to say, “You make My Father’s house a house of merchandise,” and, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but ye make it a den of robbers.” But the house of God is a house of prayer.
As long as the house exists, prayer continues.
Thirdly, Solomon and the children of Israel offered sacrifices without number. In 2 Chronicles 7:12, you find:
And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, “I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to Myself for a house of sacrifice.”
The house of God is a house of sacrifice. Now, brothers and sisters, do not forget that. It is a house where we offer spiritual sacrifices.
That is to say, we offer to God the Christ whom He has so bountifully given to us. As we give back the Christ that He has given to us, we pour ourselves out upon Him as a drink offering. So it is to be a house of sacrifice.
Not to sacrifice once, but it begins with sacrifice and continues with sacrifice. It is a house of sacrifice. May we give back to God the Christ that He has given to us. And when we give back the Christ He has given to us, we pour ourselves out upon Him too.
I do believe that if this is the way we start, then we shall see that this is only the beginning.
Oftentimes, when we are thinking of doing certain things, and by the grace of God that thing is done, then we sit back and say, “It is finished.” Unless we see that it is just the beginning, we shall not go on. It is just the beginning.
Oh, brothers and sisters, you do not know what God will do. Nobody knows. You do not know whether He has more facilities, whether He has more hearts, more dedication, more praise, more prayer, and more sacrifice.
Who can limit God as to what He can do for the glory of His own Son? So let us look forward to it, not as the end, but as the beginning. May the Lord prepare our hearts for the future.
Oh, heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou art the One who is from everlasting to everlasting. There is no beginning and there is no end with Thee.
O Lord, we pray that Thou wilt deliver us from any thought that we have come to the end. But, Lord, we pray that we may always see that Thou hast far more to do with us, in us, and through us, for Thy own purpose.
We pray that we may rededicate ourselves to Thee, that Thou mayest have a greater place in our lives and that we may be of greater service to Thy purpose. To Thee be all the praise and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.