God Is Our Fortress

To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. ^gAccording to Alamoth.¹ A Song.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

1 ^yThen Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord ^zout of the city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the ^afeast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 And all the elders of Israel came, and ^bthe priests took up the ark. 4 And they brought up the ark of the Lord, the ^ctent 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, ^dsacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the ^einner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim ^fspread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its ^gpoles. 8 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there ^hto this day. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the ⁱtwo tablets of stone that Moses ^jput there at Horeb, ^kwhere the 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, ^la 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 ^zThen Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, ^athere is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, ^bkeeping 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. You 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 ^cwhat you have promised him, saying, ‘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 ^das you have walked before me.’ 26 Now 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, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; ^ehow 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 that your ^feyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ^g‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers ^htoward 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 ^aNow as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. 55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be the Lord who has given ^brest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. ^cNot one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 57 The Lord our God be ^dwith us, as he was with our fathers. May he not ^eleave us or forsake us, 58 that he may ^fincline our hearts to him, to ^gwalk 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 ^hthat all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; ⁱthere is no other. 61 Let your heart therefore be ^jwholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon’s Sacrifices

62 ^kThen the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. 63 Solomon offered as ^lpeace offerings to the Lord ^m22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel ⁿdedicated 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, one who is ^eseated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the ^ftrue ^gtent¹ that the Lord set up, ^hnot man. 3 For ⁱevery high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it 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 a ^jcopy and ^kshadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, ^l“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 as much more excellent than the old as the ^mcovenant he ⁿmediates is ^obetter, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For ^pif 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 what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.