Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/46

30 plan the removal of the Ark to a more suitable situation. In the course of this removal, Uzzah was stricken, because without authority he essayed to take hold of the sacred vessel; and this manifestation of Divine displeasure so affected David that he delayed his purpose of setting up the Ark in his own city and placed it in another private house—that of Obed-edom the Gittite. While the Ark remained beneath that roof the household was blessed and prospered. In course of time the original plan was carried into effect and the Ark was set up in a tent specially prepared for its reception in the City of David: "And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

Thus, during the reign of David there were two places regarded as sanctuaries; and the worship of the people was divided. Solomon appears to have acknowledged the sanctity of both places—the resting place of the Ark at Jerusalem and the place of the Tabernacle of the Congregation at Gibeon. Through him both shrines were again brought together.

THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON Scarcely had the Ark of the Covenant been deposited at the capital of the kingdom—the City of David,—when the king became desirous of erecting for its accommodation a more enduring shelter than the tent in which it had