The Thoughts of Wesley son of Cornelius

"This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means 'king of righteousness'; then also, 'king of Salem' means 'king of peace.' Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Song of God he remains a priest forever. ... Now there have been many of those [Levitical] priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." (Hebrews 7:1-3, 23-25 NIV)

"And you shall put them [priestly garments] on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests." (Exodus 28:41 ESV)

"The LORD said to Samuel, 'How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.' ... So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power." (1 Samuel 16:1, 13 NIV)

In the Old Testament, only kings and priests were anointed.

"Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest [What?], Joshua son of Jehozadak. Tell him this is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the LORD. It is he who will build the temple of the LORD, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.'" (Zechariah 6:11-13)

"Take the anointing oil and anoint him [Aaron] by pouring it on his head." (Exodus 29:7 NIV)

"The [Samaritan] woman [at the well] said, 'I know that Messiah' (called Christ) 'is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.' Then Jesus declared, 'I who speak to you am he.'" (John 4:25, 26)


In Hebrew the word anointed-one is מָשִׁיחַ ('mashiach'). The English equivalent of the Hebrew is Messiah. In Greek the word for anointed-one is Χριστός ('Khristos'). The English equavalent of the Greek is Christ. Anointed-one = Messiah = Christ. Since I love blog series, the next few posts will deal with anointing, The Anointed One, and little anointed ones (Christians). I hope you enjoy!

"Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called 'uncircumcised' by those who call themselves 'the circumcision' (that done in the body by the hands of men)--remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away [Gentiles] and peace to those who were near [Jews]. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but FELLOW CITIZENS with God's people and MEMBERS OF GOD'S HOUSEHOLD, built on the foundation of the apostles [New Testament] and prophets [Old Testament], with Christ Jesus himself as chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." (Ephesians 2:11-22 NIV)

Hallelujah!!!

"If some of the branches have been broken off, and you [Gentiles], though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, 'Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.' Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!" (Romans 11:17-24 NIV)

"And the child [Jesus] grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him." (Luke 2:40)

"I [Jesus] am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:1-8)

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—
and he will delight in the fear of the LORD." (Isaiah 11:1-3a NIV)

"'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.'" (Jeremiah 23:5, 6)

"Tell him this is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the LORD. It is he who will build the temple of the LORD, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.'" (Zechariah 6:12, 13)

"You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches.
It sent out its boughs to the Sea, its shoots as far as the River.
Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
Boars from the forest ravage it and the creatures of the field feed on it.
Return to us, O God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine, the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself.
Your vine is cut down; it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish.
Let your right hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.
Restore us, O LORD God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved." (Psalm 80:8-19)

"I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.
'Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?
Now I tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed.
I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled.
I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds not to rain on it.'
The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress." (Isaiah 5:1-7 NIV)

"I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?" (Jeremiah 2:21)

"What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God. ... Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." (Romans 3:1, 2, 9:4, 5 NIV)

"I [Paul] ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. ... What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written:

"As he [God] says in Hosea,

'"As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced--
they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets.
They say to wood, 'You are my father,'
and to stone, 'You gave me birth.'
They have turned their backs to me and not their faces;
yet when they are in trouble, they say, 'Come and save us!'
Where then are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble!
For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.

Why do you bring charges against me?
You have all rebelled against me," declares the LORD.' (Jeremiah 2:26-29 NIV)


But praise God:
"Yet I [The LORD] reserve seven thousand in Israel--all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him." (1 Kings 19:18)

"So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace." (Romans 11:5)

Reaction: Distrust
"Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 'Look,' he said to his people, 'the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.'" (Exodus 1:8-10 NIV)

Reaction: Fear
"Before the spies lay down for the night, she [Rahab] went up on the roof and said to them, 'I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.'" (Joshua 2:8, 9)

Reaction: Hatred
"When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was engraged. Yet having learned who Mordecai's people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes." (Esther 3:5, 6)

"'Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them. ... So shall your offspring be. ... Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. ... I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.'" (Genesis 15:5, 13, 14; 17:7, 8 NIV)
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Does God realize what he has just done?

"When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son [Ham] had done to him, he said,

"So Pilate asked Jesus, 'Are you the king of the Jews?'
'Yes, it is as you say,' Jesus replied." (Luke 23:3 NIV)

I have just return back home from my visit to Washington, D.C. I was presenting a paper to the American Nuclear Society. However, that is not what I wish to talk about. While in D.C., I visted the Holocaust Museum. Words cannot capture the feeling I had when I left. The best way to describe the experience: numbing. After leaving the museum, I almost came to the conclusion that it really did not happen. It did not seem real! How? Why? Wow.

Starting with tomorrow's post I plan on having a series on what the Bible says about God's people (the Jews). The Jews are the only people who can be naturally born as God's children, but remember it is the second birth that is the real birth. I also plan to discuss the high standards God put on the Jews--almost unfairly by human understanding. I hope you will enjoy.

"I WILL walk among you and BE your God, and you WILL be my people." (Leviticus 26:12)

I heard the following tune today in Mom's car. It was sung by Patti Lovelace.

"I heard about a man one day who wasted not his time away
He prayed to God every morning noon and night
He cared not for the things of man he trusted one who would not fail
Oh, Daniel prayed every morning, noon, and night

Oh, Daniel served the living God while here upon this earth he trod
He prayed to God every morning noon and night
He cared not for the kings decree he trusted God to set him free
And he prayed to God every morning, noon, and night

They cast him in the lion's den because he would not honor men
He prayed to God every morning noon and night
The jaws were locked and it made him shout, and God soon got them safely out
Oh, Daniel prayed every morning, noon, and night

Oh, Daniel served the living God while here upon this earth he trod
He prayed to God every morning noon and night
He cared not for the kings decree he trusted God to set him free
And he prayed to God every morning, noon, and night

Now brother, let us watch and pray like Daniel did from day to day
He prayed to God every morning noon and night
We too can gladly daring do the things that God will take us through
Oh, Daniel prayed every morning, noon, and night

Oh, Daniel served the living God while here upon this earth he trod
He prayed to God every morning noon and night
He cared not for the kings decree he trusted God to set him free
And he prayed to God every morning, noon, and night"
Stanley Brothers

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." (Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV)

"Then he [Jesus] said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.' Thomas said to him [Jesus], 'My Lord and my God!' Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.' (John 20:27-29)

I think Thomas is my favorite disciple.

"Moses said to God, 'Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," and they ask me, "What is his name?" Then what shall I tell them?' God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: "I AM has sent me to you."'" (Exodus 3:13,14 NIV)

"'See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,' says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap." (Malachi 3:1-2)

"In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judah ... This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah ... 'I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry [Luke and Mark have untie].'" (Matthew 3:1,3,11)

"When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables." (John 2:13-15)

"'Jesus of Nazareth,' they replied. 'I am he,' Jesus said. ... When Jesus said, 'I am he,' they drew back and fell to the ground." (John 18:5,6)

"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life." (Romans 6:22 NIV)

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-29)

Once again I find myself between blog themes. God has been quiet lately and my quiet times have been primarily prayer. Like before, I shall post a hymn:

"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll--
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

My sin--O the joy of this glorious thought--
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll:
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
'Even so'-- it is well with my soul.

It is well (It is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul."

It Is Well With My Soul. Horatio G. Spafford. Philip P. Bliss.

"As he [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it" (Luke 19:41 NIV)

Does Jesus still weep in Heaven? Does he weep when he sees the following:

"Union University Policies and Procedures for TN Educational Lottery Scholarship (TELS) Awards" (http://www.uu.edu/financialaid/2005-2006/tels.cfm)

Especially since this university's purpose statement has the following:
"Christ-Centered: A cohering core value of our guiding vision is a call to faith, a call to be Christ centered in all that we are and in all that we do. We will seek to build a Christian liberal arts based community where men and women can be introduced to an understanding and appreciation of God, His creation and grace, and to humanity’s place of privilege and responsibility in this world. We will seek to establish all aspects of life and learning on the Word of God, leading to a firm commitment to Christ and His Kingdom. To be a Christ-centered institution calls for us to establish the priority of worship and service in the Christian life while seeking to develop a generation of students who can be agents of reconciliation to a factious church in a hurting and broken world. This commitment calls for all faculty and staff to integrate Christian faith in all learning and doing, based on the supposition that all truth is God’s truth and that there is no contradiction between God’s truth made known to us in Holy Scripture and that which is revealed to us through creation and natural revelation. " (http://www.uu.edu/about/statement.htm)

What message are they sending to the world and their students?

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (Matthew 6:24)

"Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow." (Proverbs 13:11)

I attend a university where they have made it clear that they serve Money. It saddens me (almost to tears) when a university says they serve God but partake in evil money.

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my sou: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; they rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." (Psalm 23 KJV)

"In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. ... He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory." (2 Kings 18:1-8 NIV)

Four Reasons why Hezekiah probably did not have a high popularity with his people:
1. He was an absolutist ("kept the commands the LORD had given Moses")
2. He was intolerant of other religions ("removed ... smashed .. cut down the Asherah poles")
3. He did not allow other nations to decide what Judah would or would not do ("rebelled against the king of Assyria")
4. He separated men from their families ("from watchtown to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines")

But only one thing really mattered:
"Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the LORD."

"When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God." (Exodus 31:18 NIV)

"Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." (Ecclesiastes 12:12b-13)

"'The time is coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ... This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,' declares the LORD. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.'" (Jeremiah 31:31, 33 quoted in Hebrews 8:8, 10)

"Do not think that I [Jesus] have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matthew 5:17)

"You [Christians at the church in Corinth] yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." (2 Corinthians 3:2-3)

"The LORD said to Moses, 'Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. On the staff of Levi write Aaron's name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. Place them in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.' ... The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron's staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted bud had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the LORD's presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his own staff. The LORD said to Moses, 'Put back Aaron's staff in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling.' Moses did just as the LORD commanded him. The Israelites said to Moses, 'We will die! We are lost, we are all lost!'" (Numbers 17:1-5, 8-12 NIV)

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." (Ephesians 1:1-6)

"Then the LORD said to Moses, 'I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day.' … and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, 'WHAT IS IT?' For they did not know what it was. … The people of Israel called the bread manna [which means 'what is it']. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. … As the LORD commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna in front of the Testimony, that it might be kept." (Exodus 16:4, 13b, 14, 15, 31, 34 NIV)

"So they [the crowd] asked him, 'What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: "He gave them bread from heaven to eat."' Jesus said to them, 'I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. … I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.'" (John 6:30-33, 48-51)

We come back to Agur (my first post back in August):
"I am the most ignorant of men;
I do not have a man's understanding.
I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
...
What is his name, and the name of his son?
Tell me if you know!" (Proverbs 30:2-4a, 4e NIV)

"Then Manoah inquired of The angel of the LORD, 'What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?' He replied, 'Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding [literally: wonderful]'" (Judges 13:17, 18)

"Then they [the Pharisees] asked him, 'Where is your father?'
'You do not know me or my Father,' Jesus replied. 'If you knew me, you would know my Father also.'" (John 8:19)


How can you know what bread tastes like until you have eaten it! Do you know Christ?

"Have them make a chest of acacia wood--two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure god, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. ... Make an atonement cover [a mercy seat] of pure gold--two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. ... Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites." (Exodus 25:10, 11, 17, 18, 21, 22 NIV)

"When they came to the threshing floor of Kibon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God." (1 Chronicles 13:9-10)

"Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant from Zion, the City of David. ... and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted. ... The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. ... When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple." (1 Kings 8:1, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11)

"Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant." (Hebrews 9:3,4)