The tabernacle having lasted from the Exodus till the commencement of the monarchy, it appeared to David to be no longer fitting that the ark of God should dwell within curtains - the tabernacle was at that time a tent David had made for it on Mount Zion, (2 Samuel 6:17) - while he himself dwelt in a cedar-lined house. The unsettled and unorganized state of the nation, which had necessitated a portable structure, had now given place to an established kingdom. The dwelling of the Lord should therefore be a permanent building, situated at the center of the nation's life, and “exceeding magnificent” (1 Chronicles 22:5), as befitted the glory of the Lord and the prospects of the state.