After the Ark was removed from the tabernacle, it was placed in the house of Abinadab and then in the house of Obed-edom. This typifies that although the presence of Christ is no longer in the formal church, Christ is still present individually with believers who love Him. The church has become desolate, Christ and the church have been separated, and all that the so-called church has is an outward shell of formality. In contrast, the presence of Christ can be touched in the homes of the saints who love the Lord with a pure heart.
In the degradation of the church, in which an outward form is stressed but the inner presence of Christ is lost, the presence of Christ can be found only in the homes of believers who love the Lord. Although this presence of Christ is good and brings in the blessing (2 Sam. 6:11-12), there is no testimony of the church. Hence, there is the need for the raising up of David to build a solid temple as the dwelling place of the Ark, which had been separated from the tabernacle (7:1-2; Psa. 132:2-8). In the age of the desolation of the church, the Lord will raise up a group of people to build up the organism of Christ so that He may have a place to make His home.
After the Ark was separated from the tabernacle, it became movable. Although it was returned to Israel by the Philistines after its captivity, the Ark was moved from the house of Abinadab to the house of Obed-edom, and then from the house of Obed-edom to the tent of David (2 Sam. 6:17). This shows that in the desolation and degradation of the church, the presence of Christ with the believers is movable. Where His lovers are, there His presence is.
It is precious for the believers to have Christ’s presence individually in the desolation of the church. However, the believers should not be satisfied and self-contented. Rather, they should seek after the building up of the church so that Christ may have a corporate dwelling place and the believers may have His corporate presence.
After the completion of the building of the temple by Solomon, the Ark was brought into the Holy of Holies in the holy temple (1 Kings 8:6). This typifies that Christ will eventually obtain the builded church as a dwelling place for His rest. God did not ordain the Ark to bear His testimony in the homes of His people. God’s ordination involved the Ark bearing a corporate testimony in His dwelling place. Although David received the Ark into the city of David and placed it in the tent that he pitched, this still was not according to the heart’s desire of God. Because David knew God’s heart, he was determined to build the holy temple for God, saying, “I shall not go into the tent of my house; / I shall not go up onto the couch of my bed; / I shall not give sleep to my eyes, / Slumber to my eyelids; / Until I find a place for Jehovah, / A tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob” (Psa. 132:3-5). Furthermore, he prayed, “Arise, O Jehovah, unto Your resting place, / You and the Ark of Your strength” (v. 8). His heart’s desire was acceptable to God, and God sent the prophet Nathan to tell David that God would give him a son, Solomon, who would be a man of peace and would build the temple for God. Furthermore, God revealed the pattern of the temple to David through His Spirit (1 Chron. 28:11-12), just as God revealed the pattern concerning the tabernacle to Moses. Before his death, David clearly instructed Solomon concerning the pattern. Thus, Solomon built the temple according to the pattern that his father saw, and the Ark was carried into the Holy of Holies in the holy temple. Then the Ark of God had a proper and secure dwelling place.