1 Kings 8:1-5 – Is God at the center of our lives?

The last we read of the Ark of the Covenant was in 1 Kings 3, where we were told that Solomon encountered the Lord in a life-changing dream. Verse 15 said that after the dream, he made a journey to the city of David where the Ark was housed and offered a burnt and peace offering.

Now that he had the temple built, 1 Kings 8:1 tells us that Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, the chiefs of the 12 tribes, and the heads of the clans of all the sons of Israel at Jerusalem for the purpose of bringing the Ark from Zion, the city of David to the temple at Mount Moriah. In addition to the leaders of the nation, tribes, and families, we are told in 1 Kings 8:2 that all the men of Israel also gathered for the occasion. This tells us that Solomon had a broad base of support from the leaders to the common people of Israel.    

In 1 Kings 6:38, we learned that the temple was completed on the eighth month, the month of Bul. But according to 1 Kings 8:1, Solomon only had the ark brought up to the temple in the month of Ethanium, the seventh month, which was 11 months later. Why did Solomon choose to bring the Ark only 11 months later? This was when the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacle would soon be celebrated. It was a significant feast, a time of national gathering. It was to commemorate the people of Israel's early wandering years from the wilderness into the promised land. It was to be a recollection of how God protected them and saw them through the journey. Solomon had strategically chosen this time of the nation’s celebration to bring the Ark to the temple to be housed permanently.   

First Kings 8:3-8 said that with the leadership assembled, the priests and the Levites carried the ark and the holy utensils of the tent to the temple. It was a grand occasion and the people celebrated. Verse 5 had this to say, “And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen they could not be counted or numbered.”

The Ark of the Covenant had been a symbol of God’s presence. It was the obvious and wise thing then for Solomon to want the Ark to be brought to the house there. What good would a temple be, without the presence of God? Similarly, what good would a church be without the presence of God’s Spirit? For that matter what good would worship be when God is absent?  To bring it closer home, what good would our living be without God being at the center of it all? Is God at the center of our lives? If not, what must we do? Make the necessary alignments, and make sure He is on the throne of our hearts!