Summary

The two verses before us now tell of the inner sanctuary, also known as the Holy of Holies and the Most Holy Place. It was prepared, says the writer, for a resting place for the ark of the covenant of the Lord This object was the same that the Lord commanded Moses to construct as one of the furnishings of the tabernacle, which was the predecessor of Solomon’s temple.

The name reminds us of the basis of the relationship between God and his people. They were joined by covenant. This concept takes the reader back in history to a period even prior to Moses and the Exodus from Egypt. The Lord had appeared to Abram saying, And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you (Genesis 17:17). The word for covenant in the original is berit. O. Palmer Robertson has defined it as a bond in blood, sovereignly administered.

Some mistakenly equate the covenant with the idea of an agreement or contract in which two or more equal parties come into an agreement on some project or matter. God’s covenant is initiated by him and in which he requires not agreement but faithful acceptance of the stipulations as well as the promises. True religion is founded on a covenantal basis. The quotation in the previous paragraph is not limited to Abraham in his era, but as Peter declares at Pentecost in Acts 2:39, The promise is to you and to your children and to all who are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

The ark was the most sacred object that the temple contained. The ark contained the tablets of stone on which the Lord wrote with his own hand the Ten Commandments. It also contained Aaron’s rod that budded and a piece of the manna that God provided for his people in their wilderness wanderings.

Even more noteworthy than the previous matters was the fact that the ark was considered as the Lord's throne in Israel. More will be said concerning this matter in the comments on 1 Kings 6:23–28.

At the conclusion of these verses the writer speaks of the overlaying of the Most Holy Place with gold. Subsequent verses will speak of the overlaying of other parts and furniture of the temple with gold. This use of gold mimics the comparable practice in the furnishings of the tabernacle. The walls of the tabernacle could not be covered with gold, since they were made of fabric.

We are not told in the divine revelation, either in the setting up of the tabernacle or the building of the temple, the reason for this use of gold. Therefore, the following interpretation is a matter of speculation. Nevertheless, it has the support of a number of Bible scholars including A.W. Pink. Gold is an enduring metal, it does not rot, as in the case of wood, and it endures flame without being consumed, though it will melt if the fire is hot enough. Thus, it is a suitable symbol for the divinity of the One this house was going to be. In the temple proper, everything that was to be seen would be covered with gold as being the most suitable for God’s house.