Today's Reading - 2 Chronicles 5 & 6

 

Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

As the opening ceremonies of the Temple reached their climax, King Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire community of Israel, and he lifted his hands in prayer. Then he knelt in front of the entire community of Israel and lifted his hands toward heaven. He prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven and earth. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion.”

The prayer that follows is one of the most heartfelt compilations of praises and petitions in the entire Bible. Solomon’s prayer culminated with this request, “O my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to all the prayers made to you in this place.”

Solomon longed for this Temple to be a place that was alive with the presence of the ever-living God. A place where people could connect with God. A place where prayers would be heard, people would be healed, sins would be forgiven, and lives would be changed. He desired that “God’s house” would be the center of community and national life for all of Israel.

Can you picture it? The political and military leader of the nation bowing in deep reverence with words of praise unto the Lord.  Solomon’s words ring true today just as they did that day. There is no God like Yahweh. He is the only true and living God. No matter how far you go – throughout heaven and earth – or how intently you search, you will never find anyone even remotely like Him. He is a God of His word – who always keeps His promises and covenants. He does this because of His “steadfast love” for His servants – those who have bowed the knee to Him as their Master and Lord.

What an amazing day this was. One of the highlights of human history for sure! And what an amazing God we serve! There is no God like Him in the skies above or on the earth below, who unswervingly keeps covenant with his servants and unfailingly loves them while they sincerely live in obedience to His ways. Praise be to God!

Today's Reading - Proverbs 17

Concealing Offenses

Personal relationships are delicate things. To maintain healthy friendships takes an intentional effort. Depending on your experience, you may wonder if healthy relationships are even possible. There’s a lot of brokenness in the world. Are good, solid, joy-filled relationships even possible? Yes. The Bible makes that very clear. When God created human beings, He made them relational beings. His intent was for them to have a wonderful, God-honoring relationship.

Every good relationship requires love, humility, service, patience, acceptance, affection, and forgiveness. Unfortunately, every one of us is infected with the disease of sin. As a result of our sinful nature, we can veer off the course of healthy relationships and can, at times, cause offense to others – even those we are closest to. This is where Proverbs 17:9 comes in – teaching us that in a true, healthy relationship, the loving person will “cover” the offense of the one they love. The word “cover” in this verse means to conceal; hide; cover up. The lesson here is that there is virtue in keeping someone else’s sins to yourself rather than “repeating” them to others. Being a telltale gossip does nothing but degrade relationships and end friendships.

The greatest example of this type of love is found in our Heavenly Father. He, out of His deep love for us, has chosen to cover our offenses and sins. Psalm 32:1 says, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” This is the same Hebrew word for “covered” that we find in today’s verse. Think about that! God has chosen to conceal and cover up your sin with the blood of Christ rather than allowing you to be separated from Him! Oh, what love the Father has for us.

God covers your offenses because He seeks love and a relationship built on love with you. And it is our call as His children to do the same for others in our lives. Is there someone who has offended you? Is there a relationship that has been spoiled by another person’s sin or mistake? Do you know someone whom you should forgive? Do it now. Take a moment in God’s presence and bring that person (or persons) to His attention. Tell Him you want to be like Him, forgiving transgressions and covering past sins. Then, from your heart, forgive that person.

If you’ve furthered the damage to your relationship by repeating the matter to others, take another moment to ask God to forgive you. If you ask, He will grant it. Then, if the situation warrants, go to your friend and ask for their forgiveness as well.  Whoever covers an offense seeks love.

 

Today's Reading - Proverbs 16

 

Roll Your Load

The word “commit” in verse 3 carries the idea of transferring a load. It means to roll the heavy load off of your back and roll it onto the back of another – as a man transfers a burden from his own back to one stronger and better able to bear it. Here we are being told to roll our load of work onto the Lord’s back.

While “work” may mean everything we have to do in life, it primarily refers to the “works” we do for God. This includes the entirety of the Christian life – faith, worship, learning, fellowship, prayer, and service. Jesus was a Man who was laser focused on the works He was called to do. Once, after healing a blind man, He said “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4) This was His way of saying, “I must quickly carry out the tasks assigned to Me by the One who sent Me.” The Apostle Paul mirrored this sentiment when he said, “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:24 NLT)

All of us have tasks to do which have been assigned to us by our Heavenly Father. If we try to carry the burden of these tasks in our own strength, they will be too heavy for us. This is why we must roll our load onto the Lord’s back. Trust Him, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to enable you to accomplish your assignments from Him. It is in Him that you will find the strength to complete the work He has given you to do. God has given everyone an assignment! An assignment is a mission or role to which a person is appointed. We each have a role in the Body of Christ and a distinct mission to fulfill… and God has perfectly equipped us to succeed in His assignment.

The second part of this verse promises that when we roll our burdens onto Him, He will arrange and establish our plans. A person may make plans, but God is the one who determines their outcome. He knows your unseen motives and controls events according to His purposes and His plan for your life. It is vitally important, therefore, to always bring God into your planning. When your wisdom comes from God, your decisions will always be right. The promise here is that when your plans come from God, they will be firmly established (firm, secure, steadfast, settled). He will quiet your fears and insecurities and put you on the firm foundation of His plan for your life.

Today's Reading: Proverbs 15

Abomination!

Abomination! What a harsh and strong word. It means: a repugnant and despicable thing; a thing so despicable and disgraceful that it causes revulsion and disgust. There aren’t many things that the Lord is disgusted by, but here in Proverbs 15:8, He reveals one of those things – “the sacrifice of the wicked.” There is nothing more offensive to God than the pious actions of those whose hearts are far from Him.

One reason that the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination is that their action “flies in the face” of God’s revealed truth about righteousness and salvation. The Bible is very clear on this matter – salvation can NEVER be earned or merited by one’s external actions. Anyone who tries to “earn” their acceptance by God through their religion is pridefully disputing with God, Himself. They oppose His truth that our righteousness comes as a free gift from Him, not by works, but by grace through faith.

Even the person who diligently applies him/herself to following the commands and ordinances of God and performs the ceremonies and formalities of religion is an abomination to the Lord if his/her heart is not right with Him. No religious acts will do in place of true holiness to the Lord. God will not allow himself to be `bought off' by gifts and sacrifices of the unrepentant and unbelieving person. Not only is God not interested in any sacrifices that the wicked might offer to Him, He finds them to be repulsive. 

But the glorious truth found in the second half of this verse is that “the prayer of the upright is acceptable to Him!” But who is the upright? This is the person who has repented of their sin and self-centered religion and sincerely desires God’s true salvation. When a person admits their own inability to do - or be - anything remotely close to righteous by their own efforts and who - by faith - accepts Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for their sin they are declared “righteous” and “upright” in the sight of God.

From that point on, the upright person seeks the Lord and desires to follow in His ways – not to earn their right standing with God – but because He has graciously declared them upright and they love and worship Him for it. Oh, how God loves to hear the prayers of that person! Pray to Him now. Your heartfelt prayers will be acceptable to Him! It is an amazing truth that God loves to hear from His children.

 

Today's Reading: Proverbs 14

A Serious Miscalculation

Today’s key verse speaks to us about the danger of self-deception. It tells us that something can “seem” to be right, while being all wrong. There’s a way of life that looks harmless enough, but look again, it could be leading you away from eternal life. Tragically, people on the “way to death” have made a serious miscalculation. They have chosen to do what is right in their own eyes without realizing their own vulnerability to self-deception.

Is it possible for us to deceive ourselves into believing what is false? God says it is! People can delude themselves into believing whatever they want. Self-deception is a common thing that happens in some way or another to all of us. The chilling thing about self-deception is that you don’t realize when it is happening to you. Tragically, for many, they may never realize it.

For the unbeliever, unrealized self-deception will culminate in “the way of death.” They may believe that getting into heaven is a matter of “living a good life.” Or following some religious creed or new-age mantra. Or being charitable. Or even “going to church.” Or, they may not believe in the existence of a “heaven” at all. They may say, “It doesn’t really matter what you believe, as long as you believe something.” Sadly, people can become complacent in these self-deceptions and not even see a need for an alternative path. They have made a severe miscalculation that will end in eternal separation from God and the life that is in Him.

For the follower of Christ, self-deception is a serious matter to consider as well. Christians may be believing doctrines or following a way of life that is not consistent with the truth of God. It has been said that “Discernment is more than knowing right from wrong. It is knowing right from almost right.” As a follower of Christ, it is so critical that we discover any ways we are going that are “almost right,” and turn to back to God’s “right” way. To be a “little bit off” can take you severely off course on a long journey.

Perhaps you are compromising with sin, or getting into false doctrine, or teachings that are “nearly right.” You may not even realize it. This is why the Bible repeatedly urges us to check ourselves to make sure that God’s word is the standard for what we believe and how we live. Paul the Apostle exhorted us to, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith." (2 Corinthians 13:5) Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence that Jesus Christ is in you and that you are following His way of life. If you discover an area where you’re not quite right and true to God’s word, do something about it.

 

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 8

God's Radiant Outshining

Here we read about the cloud, the symbol of the Divine glory and presence. At the inauguration of the Temple and the first service there, the cloud appears to have filled not only the Holy of Holies, but the whole Temple, courtyard, porch and all. It was visible and was evident to all the people who had gathered for this sacred event. By this, Solomon knew that God had honored the place with His presence, and had taken up residence therein.

This was the cloud of glory, seen often in the Old and New Testaments, sometimes called the cloud of “Shekinah” glory. Shekinah Glory is a visible manifestation of God on earth. The word Shekinah is a Hebrew name meaning “dwelling” or “one who dwells.” Shekinah Glory means “He caused to dwell,” referring to the divine presence of God.

This Shekinah is the cloud that: stood by Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 13:21-22); the cloud from which God met with Moses and others (Exodus 19:9); the cloud that stood by the door of the Tabernacle (Exodus 33:9-10); the cloud from which God appeared to the High Priest in the Holy Place inside the veil (Leviticus 16:2); the cloud of Ezekiel’s vision, filling the temple of God with the brightness of His glory (Ezekiel 10:4); the cloud of glory that overshadowed Mary when she conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35); the cloud present at the transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9:34-35); the cloud of glory that received Jesus into heaven at His ascension (Acts 1:9); and this is the cloud that will display the glory of Jesus Christ when He returns in triumph to this earth (Luke 21:27).

What an amazing spectacle! Think of it! A cloud filled the house of the Lord with His glory. “For the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.” (V11). The word “glory” in this verse means honor, splendor, glory, magnificence, brilliance, grandness. It is a word that expresses the impressiveness of God and His holy presence. It is hard to define the glory of God, but we could call it the “radiant outshining” of His character and presence.

In this incidence, the cloud’s presence was so overwhelming that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud. The extreme presence of the glory of God made normal service impossible. The sense of the presence of God was so intense that the priests felt it was impossible to continue in their ministry.

The Lord your God is living and powerful and He wants to show you His Shekinah Glory. Perhaps not as a visible spectacle or an overwhelming cloud, but if you prayerfully seek Him, He will reveal His extreme presence and radiant outshining in your life.

 

Today's Reading - 2 Chronicles 4

 

A Place for God's Presence

Construction went on for seven years until the Temple, its furniture, its courtyard, and all other articles and decorations connected with it were completed according to plan. Solomon’s Temple (as it has come to be known) was a more permanent form of the Tabernacle (Tent of Meeting) which had been constructed under Moses’ leadership in the wilderness. It would become the new center of worship for the Israelite people.

It would be hard to overemphasize the importance to the Jews and to Judaism of the ceremony, the symbolism and the sacrifices involved in worship at the Temple in Jerusalem.  The Temple was the place where God dwelt among his people.  The Temple was the place where forgiveness for sins was obtained.  The Temple was the heart of what made a Jew a Jew.  The pilgrimage to the Temple at Jerusalem on the Day of Atonement or one of the other festivals was the highlight of the religious year - indeed it would become the highlight of the entire religious life of the Jew. The purpose all along for the building of the Temple was so that God could dwell amongst his people. 

As great a significance as these ceremonies carried for the Jews, their depth of meaning to those of us under the New Covenant is still greater.  Every aspect of the physical worship at the Temple was a foreshadow of a greater spiritual reality which finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.  For fourteen centuries, the Levitical priests carried out both daily ceremony and yearly sacrifice in the Temple and Tabernacle, oblivious to the fact that the whole time they were acting out a foreshadow play of the greater reality found in Jesus Christ and the New Covenant which was sealed by his blood.

The purpose all along for the building of the Temple was so that God could dwell amongst his people without them seeing him directly. If the Temple was the place where God dwelt among his people, then one could argue that the entire focus of the Old Covenant worship was to establish a way to be in fellowship with God and to come into his presence.  This, too, is the focus of the New Covenant. 

Once the  sacrifice of Jesus’ blood has been applied to us, we can come into the sanctuary - into the very place where God dwells.  As we spend time in quiet prayer, let us in our minds visualize entering into the Holy Place.  What do we find there?  There we find intimacy in our relationship with God. There we obtain forgiveness for our sins. There we find fellowship with our Creator. There we find the purpose for our existence - to dwell with our God.