1 Kings 8:1

1 Kings 8:1 says, Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.  After the Temple was completed, Solomon assembled all the heads of the tribes of Judah to bring the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to the Temple.  Wherever we may have been worshipping before we accepted Christ, we now should gather at the foot of the cross.  Verse two adds, And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.  All the men of Israel gathered for a feast, and we should gather together to worship God today and to feast on His word.  Verse three continues, And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.  The elders of Israel came there, and the priests took up the Ark.  Then, only the priests could move the Ark, but today, as followers of Christ, we are all a part of the priesthood of God, and there is nothing about the salvation of Christ that is off limits to us.  Verse four states, Altogether they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.  The people worked together in bring the Ark and the holy vessels that were in the Tabernacle to the Temple.  We as Christians need to work together today to bring the gospel to the world.  Verse five adds, And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.  Solomon and all the congregation of Israel sacrificed an uncountable number of sheep and oxen before the Ark.  The only sacrifice that we can offer to Christ today that really matters is ourselves.  Verse six continues, And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.  The Ark of the Covenant was placed in the oracle, the most holy place in the Temple under the wings of the cherubim.  We need to have Jesus in our heart, which then becomes the most holy place in our life.  Everything we do must be centered on Jesus Christ.  Verse seven says, For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.  The cherubim then covered the Ark and the staves used to transport it.  The Ark of the Covenant was separated from most people, but the gospel is available to all, and instead of keeping it away from the world, we are commanded to share it with everyone we meet.  Verse eight adds, And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.  The staves were drawn out, since the Ark would not be moving.  Likewise, Jesus Christ came to bring salvation to all who put their faith in Him, and this way to salvation will never move.  He is the only way.  Verse nine continues, There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.  All that was in the Ark of the Covenant was the two stone tablets that God wrote His law on for Moses.  We need nothing other than Jesus Christ to have salvation today, and when we accept Him as our personal Savior and Lord, His word is written in our hearts.  Verse ten states, And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,  When the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud representing God's presence filled the Temple.  Since our body is Temple of the Holy Spirit as followers of Christ, our hearts should be filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit, Who is the One Who signifies God's presence in our life.  Verse eleven adds, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.  The priests could minister to the people from the Temple, because it was filled with the glory of God.  We, on the other hand, should minister to people around us because we are filled with the Holy Spirit.