To understand why scripture was so relevant for the early church and still is for us today, we need to go back to the early years of Solomon when David was still alive, but no longer king. We need to study both the manner in which the great temple of Solmon was built and the results of its being built.
Earlier in his reign, David was embarrassed to be living in such a splendid house while the ark of God of the whole earth was still in the original, simple tent that David had erected on Mount Zion at the beginning of his reign second Samuel 7: 1-11. David long to build a glorious temple worthy of the God he loved and served. So, he began to make financial and material provision for a magnificent temple to be built by Solmon to house the ark of the covenant.
Nathan, the prophet had initially encouraged David in his desire to build the temple because of the genuine devotion which was motivating David to do this. But he had spoken prematurely out of his well-meaning flesh. Later, when Nathan got along with God and really heard his voice, God rebuked him and said it was not his will to do such a thing. So, Nathan came back to David and corrected what he had said earlier on his own initiative.
Instead, he prophesied concerning the glorious spiritual building that David’s greater son, Jesus would one day build. It would be comprised of the living stones each believer would become through the power of the cross and the power of his resurrection. Now this spiritual building was a different matter and would gloriously become the dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
While God appreciated the sincere heart of David who wanted to do such a thing, he made it clear that, because he had already filled the whole of heaven and all the earth, there was no building that could possibly contain him; He would not allow people to confine his presence to some religious building, however glorious it might be in the eyes of humanity. God repeated the same message years later through the prophet Isaiah-(Isaiah 66: 1-5).
God knew the danger of splendid buildings becoming religious monuments that would actually become obstacles by taking people away from seeking and knowing God himself. To know God personally and to be intimate with him in Spirit through the mighty sanctifying power of the blood of the lamb is far better and is the only true foundation of the new covenant- Hebrews 8: 6-13; 10: 15-23.
However, God did allow Solomon to build the temple. I believe he allowed this for two reasons.
First, it became a powerful allegory of the true spiritual temple that Jesus, David’s greater son, would one day build out of the true living stones which his children would become.
Second, it showed what would happen to the hearts of the people when this outwardly glorious temple replaces both the Tabernacle of Moses on mount Gilead and the symbol tent which David had built on Mount Zion.
When the temple building was finally completed by Solomon, the ark of the covenant was also removed from David’s Tabernacle and placed inside a curtain- holy of holies inside the temple. The curtains that had separated the three compartments of Moses Tabernacle were raised up inside the temple, and the Levitical priesthood was reestablished- 2 chronicles 2-7.
The Tabernacle of David was left standing on Mount Zion where it had been during the reign of David. But now it was abandoned and empty and no one came to it anymore. It finally fell down in ruins through sheer neglect, and no one even seemed to care.
As a result, the days of going directly into God’s unveiled presence by the power of the blood of the new covenant and in the liberty of the Melchizedek priesthood were over. No one entered directly into his presence anymore; the days of abandoned worship and the joyful face to face intimacy with God that was combined with holy reverence came to an end.
But, through the prophet Amos, God said that one day this Tabernacle of David would be raised up again, fully restored, and its ruins repaired. As a result, a remnant of God’s people would return to those days of wonderful, unveiled, face to face intimacy with God. There would again be a mighty outflow of power and miracles resulting in the rest of humankind seeking the Lord. This would bring in a mighty end time harvest before the return of Jesus at the end of the age- Amos 9: 11-12; Acts 15: 15-17.