Solomon completed and dedicated the Temple of The Lord in early autumn, at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles (see Christ's Feast of Tabernacles). The Ark Of The Covenant was placed in The Most Holy Place of The Temple then, where it would remain until it was "lost" at the time of the Babylonian invasion (see Raiders Of The Lost Ark).
"Then 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 out of the city of David, which is Zion [see Who, What or Where Is Zion?]. And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month [see Bible Calendar and Bible Months]. And all the elders [see also The Senate] of Israel came, and the priests [see Levites; also The Lines Of Eleazar and Ithamar] took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of The Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered." (1 Kings 8:1-5 RSV)The Ark of The Covenant was placed in The Most Holy Place of The Temple (see Layout Of Solomon's Temple).
"Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of The Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark [see Christ's Mercy Seat] and its poles [see Staves]. 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 to this day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone [see What Did The Ten Commandments Look Like?] which Moses put there at Horeb [see Mount Horeb], where The Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt [note: "and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same supernatural food and all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ" 1 Corinthians 10:2-4 RSV]1 Kings Chapter 9
And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of The Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud [see also Behold, He Cometh With Clouds]; for the glory of The Lord filled the house of The Lord." (1 Kings 8:6-11 RSV)
The Lord then appeared to Solomon again with a promise and a warning - what The Lord gives, He can also take away, if it is misused.
"When Solomon had finished building the house of The Lord and the king's house and all that Solomon desired to build, The Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. And The Lord said to him, "I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built, and put My Name there for ever; My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.1 Kings Chapter 10
And as for you, if you will walk before Me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping My statutes and My ordinances, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel for ever, as I promised David your father, saying, 'There shall not fail you a man upon the throne of Israel.' [see also Israelite Dynasties and Israelite Monarchy - The Messiah]
But if you turn aside from following Me, you or your children, and do not keep My Commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and the house which I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight [see Why Babylon?]; and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruins; everyone passing by it will be astonished, and will hiss; and they will say, 'Why has The Lord done thus to this land and to this house?' Then they will say, 'Because they forsook The Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore The Lord has brought all this evil upon them.'" (1 Kings 9:1-9 RSV)
Sheba was a Biblical name for an area of what is known today as either southern Saudi Arabia and Yemen, or Ethiopia, or both. Also known as Saba, its people were known as Sabeans. The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon is one of the most famous events of Bible History. Although her actual name is not recorded in the Bible account, there is a Muslim tradition that she was called Balkis. An Ethiopian account also claims that she had at least one child with Solomon, although again the Bible makes no such mention.
"Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of The Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with Camels bearing Spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king which he could not explain to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of The Lord, there was no more spirit in her." (1 Kings 10:1-5 RSV)Solomon's kingdom was based upon commerce, the center of a great trading network.
"Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones; never again came such an abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. Moreover the fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir [see The Gold of Ophir], brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of The Lord, and for the king's house, lyres [see Lyre] also and harps for the singers; no such almug wood has come or been seen, to this day.The great wealth of Solomon's kingdom was made evident in such things as his throne of ivory and gold. Silver was "not considered as anything in the days of Solomon."
And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land, with her servants." (1 Kings 10:10-13 RSV)
"The king also made a great ivory throne, and overlaid it with the finest gold. The throne had six steps, and at the back of the throne was a calf's head, and on each side of the seat were arm rests and two lions standing beside the arm rests, while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom. All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver, it was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon.
For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks." (1 Kings 10:18-22 RSV)
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