God Is Our Fortress

To the choirmaster. Of ^athe Sons of Korah. According to ^bAlamoth.¹ A Song.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

1 ^jThen Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, ^kthe leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, ^lto bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of ^mthe city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at ⁿthe feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 And all the elders of Israel came, and ^othe priests took up the ark. 4 And they brought up the ark of the Lord, ^pthe tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, ^qsacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 6 ^rThen the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord ^sto its place in ^tthe inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 8 ^uAnd the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before ^tthe inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. 9 There was nothing in the ark except ^vthe two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where ^wthe Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, ^xa cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

22 Then Solomon ^mstood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and ⁿspread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, ^othere is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, ^pkeeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. ^eYou spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 25 Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ^q‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ 26 ^rNow therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, ^sheaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 ^tthat your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ^u‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

Solomon’s Benediction

54 ^uNow as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had ^vknelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. 55 And he stood and ^wblessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. ^xNot one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. ^yMay he not leave us or forsake us, 58 that he may ^zincline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. 59 Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, 60 that ^aall the peoples of the earth may know that ^bthe Lord is God; there is no other. 61 ^cLet your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon’s Sacrifices

62 ^dThen ^ethe king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. 63 Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.

Jesus, High Priest of a Better Covenant

1 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, ^uone who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in ^vthe true tent¹ that the Lord ^wset up, not man. 3 For ^xevery high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus ^yit is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve ^za copy and ^ashadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, ^b“See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But as it is, Christ² has obtained a ministry that is ^cas much more excellent than the old as ^dthe covenant ^ehe mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 ^fFor if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

8 For he finds fault with them when he says:³

13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And ^lwhat is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.