daily bible readings

Isn’t it ironic that sometimes we can miss God or forget about God in the hustle and bustle of church on Sondays? We can go through an entire service and still be distant from God.

In the Old Testament, the magnificence and the grandeur of the Temple made it clear to everyone that God, the Lord of Hosts was present. No one could miss the presence of God because everything in the Temple precinct pointed to the glory of Yahweh and His majestic presence. The structures, the gold and decorations, the priests in their garb, the bloody sacrifices, the religious artefacts all highlighted the magnificence of Yahweh, El Elyon (God Most High). While believers might miss the magnificence of God and even the presence of God in churches today, such  a missing would have been virtually impossible in Solomon’s day.

Solomon was under no false impressions or misguided interpretations. He knew exactly to whom He was praying and he knew the implications of such a prayer. Solomon knew that God was present.

As Solomon prays, it’s evident that he understands both his place and God’s. God is adored and worshiped as the one true living God. He prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 15 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.” 2 Chronicles 6:14–15.

Solomon then moves to petitioning God to keep the promises that He had made to his father, King David. “Now Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my law, as you have done.’ 17 And now, O Lord, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David come true.” 2 Chronicles 6:16–17. This prayer is really akin to the prayer Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Yet not my will but yours be done.” Luke 22:42. It is the prayer of a man whose heart is deeply knit with the heart of the Lord.

Solomon’s wisdom and understanding of God further revealed in 2 Chronicles 6:18 “But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” Solomon understood that God could not and would not be kept prisoner in some building that mankind has built. God could not be imprisoned any more than wind can be captured. Solomon understands that it’s only by God’s grace that He allows His name to dwell in the Temple.

One wonders if we would continue to browse Facebook or other social media or play games on our phones if we understood as well as Solomon the presence of God in the House of God. One wonders if we would meander into church whenever it’s convenient if we grasped the majesty and awe of the one true living God or if we would continue to concern ourselves with such trivial details as our soon-to-arrive lunch guests or the dinner menu for latter in the day or the chores left undone around the house. 

Solomon was not distracted from the presence of God. No amount of work duties or family responsibilities could turn his heart away from God. This is the same heart and same mindset with which we can approach God today in our church meetings. To say that we have more to distract us than Solomon did shows a great naivete and perhaps a chronological chauvinism that we would do well to discard as quickly as possible.

As we grow to understand the majesty and splendour of God and as we realise more and more that God chooses to dwell among his people, we are filled with a reverence and awe that change everything we do, especially the things we do in the house of God.

Prayer:

Adoration:

• Adore God that He is majestic and splendorous, dwelling in unapproachable light.
• Adore God that He alone deserves to be worshipped in reverence and awe, n spirit and in truth.

Confession:

• Take time to confess your sins to the Lord and to ask for forgiveness

Thanks:

• Thank God that you have the blessing of being able to worship God in freedom and in truth without persecution.
• Thank God that He loves you and has provided everything you need to worship Him acceptable in reverence and awe.

Supplication:

• Pray that each and every single believer in your congregation would know intimately the splendour and majesty of God as you meet tomorrow and that they would act/live accordingly.
• Pray that the Lord Almighty would be powerfully present tomorrow as you gather together in the house of the Lord.

Discussion Questions

1. What is the correlation between church in the New Testament and the Temple in the Old Testament?
2. What are the differences between these two?
3. While no one is advocating fancy buildings and ornaments in a church, how can we grow awe and respect for God among churches today?