Today's Scripture
… the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory
of the LORD filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:13b-14)
TODAY’S READING SCHEDULE: 1 Kings 8, 2 Chronicles 4
Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to their divisions, and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.
What does this passage mean to me/us
What a great day it was!! Solomon’s work to build a temple to the Lord was complete. The people of Israel had gathered as one nation in Jerusalem, along with the priests and musicians (Levites) to celebrate and dedicate themselves and the temple.
In a show of approval and power, the Lord descended into the temple in the form of a cloud, filling it completely with the holy presence of God, silencing the priests and the music! As in the time of the Exodus, God’s presence was among the people.
I believe this experience lives in the DNA of every person who worships the one holy Lord.
We come to worship each week, hoping that we too will experience the power of God…that in worship we will be touched by the holiness of God. And in being touched, we will be inspired, healed, accepted, loved, granted mercy, given new vision and empowered
to be the people God created us to be. Then we can really be the hands, feet, minds and voice of Jesus Christ, His disciples. And as disciples, we are part of the holy “cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1) drawing others into God’s presence and the grace of Jesus Christ!
God’s living presence does not remain in the sanctuary, but extends out wherever we go! – contributed by Larry Dickenson
Prayer
Dear Lord
Empower me today to be a part of the holy cloud of witnesses to your power, love and mercies. Open my eyes in prayer and worship to see Your Glory filling the lives of our family of faith in the power of the Holy Spirit working among us. That having seen Your Glory, I can never look away again.
In the grace of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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