Contemplative Bible Reading

1 Kings 6:1 (New International Version)

¹ In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the LORD.

Here, Solomon begins building the Temple in Jerusalem. It took a while to build the Temple. Then,

1 Kings 8:3-6 (New International Version)

³ When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, ⁴ and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, ⁵ and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.  ⁶ The priests then brought the ark of the LORD’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.

the priests bring the ark of the Lord into the Temple.

Pause for a moment. God’s people are 480 years out of the captivity in Egypt. They built the ark soon after leaving Egypt. The ark of the Lord is 480 years old. It is still in good enough shape to be carried about. That was built to last. And, oh by the way, it was built to God’s specifications.