Welcome to a year in the Bible with daily grace.

From even to eternity, the Bible tells one big story of redemption.

My name is Tiffany, and I want to spend a few minutes with you every day walking through the Bible chronologically.

Together, we will explore God's sovereign plan as the events of Scripture unfold and point to Jesus.

A year in the Bible readers, Tiffany here, welcome back to the podcast.

Over the past two days, we've learned about the building and furnishing of the temple.

Today, in 1 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 5, we will learn about the temple's dedication.

The dedication will be in two parts, one today and one tomorrow.

Our focus today will be on the events of the dedication, Solomon's address to the nation,

and his prayer of blessing to the Lord.

There are so many lessons we can glean from these chapters, but our purpose on this journey is to see God's plan of redemption unfold.

So that means we will chat specifically about how we see his covenants in these verses and his presence among the nation.

You likely noticed that 2 Chronicles 5 is quite short, and details the same events as 1 Kings 8, 1 through 11.

There is only one additional detail in the Chronicles narrative, and I will mention it as we walk through the 1 Kings narrative.

Both accounts tell us that when the temple was finished, Solomon assembled all the elders, tribal heads, and ancestral leaders.

The Levites then carried the ark of the covenant up from the city of David and into the most holy place in the temple.

The city of David was on the southern slope of Mount Mariah.

While carrying the ark, this would have been about a 15-minute climb up the mountain to the temple.

The Levites also carried the tent of meeting into the temple as well.

This symbolized God's presence moving from the temporary dwelling to a permanent dwelling, or also told that the ark only held the two tablets of God's law.

Aaron's staff and the jar of mana had been removed at some time.

Once the ark was in place, 2 Chronicles 5 gives us additional information about the great worship service filled with instruments and singing.

...