Experiencing God's Presence and Glory

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, in 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 before the king at the feast that is in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark. And they brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the Levitical priests brought them up. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to their divisions, and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. II Chronicles 5:2-14 (English Standard Version, ESV)

Solomon and the people brought the Ark of the Covenant into the temple. The elders came and the Levites took up the ark, with the priests bringing it into it’s proper place, the Holy of Holies in the temple built by Solomon. The poles with which they carried the ark were so long that they could be seen from the Holy Place, which was just outside the Holy of Holies, on the outer side of the veil. These poles served as a reminder of how to carry the ark, by God’s prescribed order, with the priests and Levites bearing it on the poles. To us the ark represents God’s presence. We must carry His presence with a right heart and by His prescribed order.

They began to sing praise and thanksgiving to the Lord with instruments. The two tablets of Moses were contained in the ark, the Ten Commandments, or God’s written Word. So, as they honored God’s Word and worshiped the Lord, the glory filled the House. We see a pattern here in how to experience the presence and the glory of God. When we honor God’s written Word with a right heart and worship Him with singing, instruments, and so forth, God’s glory will fill our temple, which according to I Corinthians 3:16, is us.

According to I Peter 2:9, we are priests unto the Lord, so we are called to carry His presence and glory everywhere we go so others may experience God too. So, we see a divine pattern here in entering God’s presence and seeing His glory manifested. We must have a right heart, honor the Word, and worship Him to experience His presence and glory in our lives.