1 Kings 8:21, commentary and pictures

Solomon set apart a place in the Most Holy Place of the temple for the ark that held the covenant made with the fathers at the Exodus. That covenant kept with the ark is the Ten Commandments, for the ark contained only the two tablets of stone (1 Kings 8:9). Beside the ark, in a separate receptacle on its right side where it could be reached as the authentic copy, lay the book of the law as a witness, and this difference of place proves the distinction between the moral law and the ceremonial law. The commandments are the commanded terms and conditions underlying the mutual agreement written in the book, required under the old covenant and written on the heart under the new, while those who held the decalogue itself to be the old Exodus covenant teach that it has vanished away under the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-32; Hebrews 8:8-9). The temple and its service are a pattern of the heavenly temple toward which worship now turns, and Solomon's public dedication prayer shows that prayer offered with a congregation from a true heart of submission and faith is acceptable with God.

Language and Temple Setting

The word wherein refers to the place set for the ark, not to the ark itself, so the covenant made with the fathers when they were brought out of Egypt was in that place, the Most Holy Place, not inside the ark. The Ten Commandments on the two stone tablets were alone inside the ark, while the covenant made with Israel was distinct from those commandments and was kept in the same Most Holy Place where the ark was set. That made covenant was a mutual agreement written in the book of the law and placed beside the ark as a witness, whereas the Ten Commandments contain nothing of the nature of a mutual agreement and are the covenant God commanded as the basis of the agreement but not the agreement itself. The book was kept in a separate coffer or receptacle on the outside, on the right side of the ark, where it could be reached as the authentic copy, so that wherever the ark was the covenant book was there too. The same construction is found in Hebrews 9:4, where wherein likewise refers to the place set for the ark.

The verse stands in the first division of 1 Kings, chapters 1-11, the reign of Solomon and the history of the undivided kingdom under Solomon. That division continues the history from the close of 2 Samuel with David still reigning until Solomon is on the throne, as part of the history of the kings from the accession of Solomon to the Babylonian captivity. In chronological order it parallels 2 Chronicles 1 to 9. The verse belongs to the account of the building and furniture of the temple, within Solomon's dedication prayer and sacrifices and the divine answer to Solomon's prayer.

That dedication account is a delightful portion of inspired history, containing Solomon's comprehensive public prayer at the dedication of the temple with its sacrifices, the longest prayer recorded in Scripture. The temple is there identified as the place set apart for the ark, which contained the covenant made with the ancestors when they were brought out of Egypt. God was pleased with that dedication prayer and answered it by fire from heaven which consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifice, and the glory of Jehovah filled the house. When Solomon's temple was built, both the ark and the tabernacle that had remained at Gibeon were brought up and placed in it. Solomon's temple was built with two holy places and sacred vessels like those of the tabernacle, and its plan and its service make it a pattern of the heavenly temple.

Covenant and Commandments

The covenant of the Lord made with the fathers when he brought them out of Egypt and kept with the ark is the Ten Commandments. This follows because the ark contained nothing but the two tablets of stone, so what is called the covenant kept there must be what was on those tablets. The setting is the dedication of the temple and the comprehensive prayer of Solomon, where a place was set apart for the ark that held that Exodus covenant.

Two distinct things were kept in the same Most Holy Place where the ark was set. The Ten Commandments on stone tablets were inside the ark itself, while the covenant written in the book of the law was beside the ark as a witness. The word wherein refers to the place prepared for the ark, not to the ark, so the verse places that book-covenant in the Most Holy Place without placing it inside the ark. Wherever the ark was, the covenant book was there too, kept in a receptacle beside it. That book was written concerning the law and was distinct from the Lord's covenant of Ten Commandments on stone.

The book was kept in a separate coffer or repository on the outside, on the right side of the ark, where it could be reached as the authentic copy. This difference of place, the tables of stone put inside the ark and the book of the ceremonial law placed at its side, proves the distinction between the moral law and the ceremonial law. The Ten Commandments were the basis and condition of the agreement but not the agreement itself. They are the covenant God commanded, while the covenant he made with Israel was a mutual agreement with God concerning his law, written in a book, since there is nothing of the nature of a mutual agreement in the commandments themselves. The connection of the covenant to the Exodus alone does not prove the Ten Commandments were the old covenant as a contract, since another covenant made at that time called Israel to obey God's voice and the people agreed to do so.

Those who held the decalogue itself to be the old Exodus covenant taught that it has vanished away now that God has made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah a new covenant not according to the covenant made when he took their fathers by the hand out of Egypt. On that reading the covenant in the ark made when Israel was brought out of the land of Egypt was later done away. The weight of teaching holds instead that the commandments are the conditions of both the old and the new covenants. Israel was required to keep them under the old covenant, and under the new covenant God writes his law on people's hearts.

Worship and Present Application

The verse stands as part of Solomon's public prayer at the dedication of the temple, and public prayer of that kind offered with a congregation is acceptable with God and is not the hypocritical display forbidden in Matthew 6:6. What Matthew 6:6 forbids is private prayer done in public to be seen of men, like praying on street corners, since private devotions belong in private, while prayer offered with a congregation in public from a true heart of submission and faith is equally acceptable whether in secret or in public. That Solomon's prayer was not hypocritical was proved when it was ended, for God answered by fire from heaven which consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifice, and the glory of Jehovah filled the house.

The account to which the verse belongs describes a temple built with two holy places and sacred vessels like those of the tabernacle, and its plan and its service make it a pattern of the heavenly temple. The dedication recorded in 1 Kings 8 is a delightful portion of inspired history and contains the longest prayer recorded in the Scriptures, with which God was pleased and which He answered by fire. That temple was a typical sanctuary toward which the eyes of all Israel were turned instantly, whether at home or in foreign lands, and just as earnestly eyes and voices should now turn toward the house not made with hands, the true tabernacle where the closing priestly acts are being performed by the Mediator.