2 CHRONICLES 7:1-3 – As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. When all the people of the Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, say, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
THEME: THE MAKING OF A WORSHIPPER. I wonder how long Solomon prayed. It really doesn’t matter. Most of the prayers in the Bible are brief and probably a good rule of thumb to follow in public prayer. John Newton said, “It is better that the hearers should wish the prayer had been longer, than spend half or a considerable part of the time in wishing it was over.” It isn’t the length of time in Solomon’s prayer which stirs the heart. It is the passion of the prayer, the response of God to the prayer, and the impact on the people.
Let us make our way to the front of the crowd to get a close-up of Solomon praying. “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the court, and he stood on it. Then he knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said . . . “ (2 Chronicles 6:12-14a). Picture the man of God standing before the altar of the Lord in front of all the people with hands spread out. He then drops to his knees, lifts his hands toward heaven and pours out his soul in a very moving display of spiritual leadership and example. Today’s reference shows the response from the Lord to Solomon’s prayer and the impact on the people. It is in God’s response and the way the people reacted, we see the making of a worshiper or in this case, the making of a worshiping people.
First the response from the Lord, “fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple” (2 Chronicles 7:1b). God came. He manifested Himself. This had already occurred in 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 when “the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud” symbolic of God’s majestic presence. And the people noticed. How could they not? They saw the glory of the Lord (2 Chronicles 7:3a). How does one “see” the glory of God? We don’t have clouds like in the Old Testament. We “see” the Lord Jesus (Hebrews 1:3). But how do we “see” the unseen Christ? It is through the supernaturally illuminated Word of God. Jesus tells us He would manifest Himself to us (John 14:21) and that isn’t just in heaven. It is for this life. A. W. Pink comments, “No, it is not in visions or dreams that the Lord promises to come to His people. It is a spiritual revelation of Himself to the soul! It is a vivid realization of the Savior’s being and nearness, in a deep and abiding sense of His favor and love. By the power of the Spirit, He makes His Word so luminous, that as we read it, He Himself seems to draw near.” It is then a worshiper is created. Note how the people responded to the glory of the Lord after Solomon prayed and the Lord came, “they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord” (2 Chronicles 7:3a). Is this our experience today? The past Lord’s Day? Have we seen the glory of Jesus recently in the Spirit-illumined Word? To do so requires a humble and unhurried sitting at the feet of Jesus with open hearts and open Bibles. If we seek, He will reveal Himself to the searching soul!
Prayer: “Father, grant us to see the making of a worshiper is a divine work not a human activity.”
Quote: “To worship God in spirit is to worship Him from the inside out.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim