Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
Have you ever had a courageous talk with God which was life changing for you? The Bible records several prayers which received overwhelming responses from God. Daniel was visited by an angel bringing him God’s answer while he was fasting and praying, for 21 days. (Daniel 10) Zechariah was visited by angel Gabriel who said he had come directly from the presence of God with a significant message for Zechariah, as he prayed in the Temple. (Luke 1) John had a great vision which gave him the Revelation as he prayed on the Island of Patmos. (Revelation 1) And today, join me as we witness the shocking response of God when King Solomon prayed as he and the people of Israel were dedicating the great Temple in Jerusalem to Almighty, Holy God. (2 Chronicles 6)
Yesterday we watched as King Solomon and the Levitical priests had a remarkable parade bringing the Ark of the Covenant to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem from the tent King David had prepared for the Ark several years before, in Zion, the City of David. Please don’t be confused by that. The portion of the great city of Jerusalem called the ‘City of David‘, is the part of Jerusalem which is the rugged hillside formed as the two valleys, Ben Hinom and Kidron, merge on the south side of Jerusalem. The portion of Jerusalem where the Temple was built is to the immediate north of “The City of David”, as the hillside rises dramatically from the juncture of those two valleys up to the top of Mount Moriah. The broad southern steps leading up to the Temple were often used by the people in Solomon’s time who lived in the “City of David” portion of Jerusalem, as they ascended the Temple Mount.
We also saw yesterday that another Levitical parade had come to Jerusalem from Gibeon, a town about 5 miles north. That parade brought the Tabernacle, the “Tent of Meeting”, which Moses and the Israelites had fabricated at Mount Sinai and traveled with for the previous 500 years. This procession also brought the sacred items of worship which the priests had been using in Gibeon: the Altar of Incense, the Golden Lampstand and the Table of Shewbread. Then, after all these things were brought to the Temple, yesterday we watched as the cloud of God’s Presence descended and engulfed the Temple as the musicians and choir led the people in great worship of Holy, Almighty God.
Today, let’s rejoin this amazing event which is so similar to what Moses and the Israelites had experienced when the Tabernacle, the “Tent of Meeting”, was first set up at Mount Sinai, 500 years before. (Exodus 40) 2 Chronicles 6 tells us King Solomon proclaimed to the great crowd his great praise for Almighty God and called the people to acknowledge that God had kept His promises to King David. Then Solomon climbed up on a platform which had been specially constructed for this occasion, and amazingly, King Solomon did something most world leaders would never do!
The record says: “King Solomon stood on the platform and then knelt down before the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. Then King Solomon prayed: ‘O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven or on earth… But will God really dwell on earth with mankind? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain You. How much less this Temple I have built. Yet, give attention to Your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God… May Your eyes be open toward this Temple day and night, this place of which You said You would put Your Name here. Hear the supplications of Your servant and Your people when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.” (2 Chron. 6:12-21)
It’s quite remarkable isn’t it my friends? The King of Israel, the wisest man on the planet, kneeling before the people and praying in humility before God with arms raised up to heaven. What might happen in your country or mine, or even in Israel, if national leaders would do this today?
I wonder if you noticed a very significant request King Solomon made. “Hear the supplications of Your servant and Your people when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.” Do you see King Solomon calling the people of Israel to pray facing this great Temple in Jerusalem, from no matter where in the world they would pray? Do you remember the prophet Daniel, who for more than 70 years was a captive in Babylon, prayed with his window open, facing toward Jerusalem, which would have been several hundred miles away? (Daniel 6:10) Do you remember he ended up in the lion’s den because of his faithful praying to Almighty God?
Do you also hear King Solomon asking God that He would keep His eyes and ears open toward this great Temple? And finally, did you notice Solomon’s request that God would hear the prayers offered in this place and FORGIVE! (2 Chronicles 6:21) Solomon was wise in this. Solomon knew that while there would be many prayers of thanksgiving and praise offered here, there would also be very important, honest confession and repentance prayers lifted up in this place of worship and such prayers desperately needed assurance that God would hear and forgive!
Are we living with that assurance my friends? The assurance that when we lift up our hearts in prayers of confession and repentance that God hears our prayer, loves us and accepts the blood payment of Jesus on our behalf, so God can extend forgiveness to us. Are you living confidently in that forgiveness today, or are you like millions of people carrying the guilt and shame of your past, not knowing what to do or where to go to find relief and forgiveness from God? God invites you to see Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection as the answer you’ve been searching for! Sinless Jesus paid the full price of your sin forgiveness and mine!
I urge you friends to listen to the audio Bible reading of 2 Chronicles 6. It is one of the greatest prayers of all time. As King Solomon finally finished this great prayer, I don’t know what he and the people expected, but I doubt anyone could have imagined what happened next. The Scripture record says: “When King Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices and the glory of the LORD filled the Temple! The priests could not enter the Temple because the glory of the LORD filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the Temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshipped and gave thanks to the LORD…” (2 Chronicles 7:1-3)
Did it appear like a fireball dropping from the sky, or perhaps an asteroid blazing across the sky with a flaming tail and then crashing onto the altar, consuming everything with flames? Was a cloud hovering above the Temple glowing like there was a fire inside the cloud? Did the cloud then descend and fill the Temple with that same glow?
We don’t know exactly what this fire from heaven response from God looked like to those who were present, but clearly it was shocking, unforgettable and beyond anything anyone present that day had ever seen before. Fire represented God’s holiness, God’s divine affirmation of Solomon’s prayer and God’s purifying of the Temple. The people could only prostrate themselves in worship. Let’s pause in reflection with them. How does God respond to your prayers and mine, my friends? Tomorrow we’ll see God also responded to Solomon’s prayer with a promise and a warning. For today let’s bow down and join the worshipers with this song.
Today’s Scripture: 2 Chronicles 6:12-7:3.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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