1 Chronicles 5
2 Chronicles 5 unfolds with the event at its center: Solomon places the ark of God’s covenant inside the temple that Solomon has completed. After Solomon builds the temple and brings in all the furnishings, the elders and clan leaders of Israel gather in Jerusalem and carry the ark from the City of David. The priests and Levites carefully move every sacred item in the ark and the sanctuary, and the priests prepare themselves in a state of purification. Then the choirs play trumpets and instruments, singing to God, and as all the people become one in praise, a cloud fills the temple and the glory of God is revealed.
1verseThe sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; and the genealogy is not to be listed according to the birthright.
2verseFor Judah prevailed above his brothers, and from him came the prince; but the birthright was Joseph’s)—
3versethe sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
4verseThe sons of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,
5verseMicah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son,
6verseand Beerah his son, whom Tilgath Pilneser king of Assyria carried away captive. He was prince of the Reubenites.
7verseHis brothers by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was listed: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah,
8verseand Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who lived in Aroer, even to Nebo and Baal Meon;
9verseand he lived eastward even to the entrance of the wilderness from the river Euphrates, because their livestock were multiplied in the land of Gilead.
10verseIn the days of Saul, they made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand; and they lived in their tents throughout all the land east of Gilead.
11verseThe sons of Gad lived beside them in the land of Bashan to Salecah:
12verseJoel the chief, Shapham the second, Janai, and Shaphat in Bashan.
13verseTheir brothers of their fathers’ houses: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber, seven.
14verseThese were the sons of Abihail, the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz;
15verseAhi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of their fathers’ houses.
16verseThey lived in Gilead in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the pasture lands of Sharon as far as their borders.
17verseAll these were listed by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.
18verseThe sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, able to shoot with bow, and skillful in war, were forty-four thousand seven hundred sixty that were able to go out to war.
19verseThey made war with the Hagrites, with Jetur, and Naphish, and Nodab.
20verseThey were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them; for they cried to God in the battle, and he answered them because they put their trust in him.
21verseThey took away their livestock: of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred fifty thousand, and of donkeys two thousand, and of men one hundred thousand.
22verseFor many fell slain, because the war was of God. They lived in their place until the captivity.
23verseThe children of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land. They increased from Bashan to Baal Hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon.
24verseThese were the heads of their fathers’ houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel—mighty men of valor, famous men, heads of their fathers’ houses.
25verseThey trespassed against the God of their fathers, and played the prostitute after the gods of the peoples of the land whom God destroyed before them.
26verseSo the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath Pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried away the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and to the river of Gozan, to this day.
The Dedication of the Temple and the Presence of God
The core of this chapter is that the ark of God’s covenant was placed in the temple—the place that becomes the center of Israel’s people and the center of faith. The ark of the covenant symbolizes the covenant between God and Israel and serves as the point of orientation for the people’s life of faith. The climax of the temple dedication is the scene in which God’s glory (the Shekinah) fills the temple with the cloud. Even the priests cannot carry out their service because of that cloud; God’s holiness and presence are revealed in a visibly undeniable way. This symbolizes the moment when God Himself comes to the place where human effort has been completed, recognizes their worship, and responds to it.
Meditation Points
- You can see that God’s presence comes in the midst of prepared purity and worship where all the people become one.
- You can be reminded that worship and the temple are not merely a matter of form, but a place where God’s covenant and the people’s center are connected.
- When God’s glory comes, you can reflect on the sovereign presence that makes human beings naturally step back.
Apply It to Me
- As I look back to see whether I truly have God at the center of my life, I realize that like Solomon’s heart in carrying the ark of the covenant, my heart and life must also be prepared in purity.
- I need to ask myself whether the worship of individual believers and the faith community is not leaning toward mere form, but truly invites God’s presence.
- I meditate on the need for an attitude of setting aside my thoughts and plans in the presence of God and humbly seeking His will.
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