The Glory Filled the House

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Scripture:

2Chr. 5:13 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,
2Chr. 5:14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

Observation:

Solomon was dedicating the Temple to God.  Elaborate worship and sacrifice had led up to this very moment when the musicians began to play their instruments and the vocalists sang.  The focus, energy and attention, it was all on worship of God.  A psalm of praise to God was sung in which they praised God for his goodness and recognized that the loving nature of God is eternal.  As they sang this song of love and praise to God, his presence began to fill the temple.  The glory of God became so thick that the priests could not stand to minister.  God had come home and rested in his new dwelling place here on earth.

Application:

There are lessons to be learned from this scene regarding the worship of God.  Too often people attend churches and think that they ought to be looking for the right worship styles for themselves.  However, this should not be the case.  We ought to be participating in the right worship for God.  We are there to worship him! 

One can only imagine how loud and exciting the worship was that day at the dedication of the Temple.  The trumpets had played, the cymbals had clanged and then the people began to sing.  Our praise and worship of God must include a focus on the positive attributes of God.  Worship of God should not be about us!  Instead, we need to focus on who he is and how we can praise him.  This is even a lesson for our times of prayer.  Our focus should be on God and who he is and our praise of him, and not on our own personal desires.  Here, the people of Solomon's day focused on the goodness of God.  God is good!  And God's love, his very nature will never change.  When the people genuinely worshiped God, his presence completely filled the temple.

Isn't it amazing that when the presence of God so fills a place that the priests can no longer stand and minister! The glory and presence of God is so overwhelming that it displaces human worship.  When we begin to experience this type of glory in God's presence we will realize how small and insignificant we are and our worship of him may be.  His glory, his presence is all consuming and transforming.  If we truly worship God, we will discover the truth of this glory.  But to get to this place means that we have to open ourselves up in vulnerability, and genuine love and worship of him.  And when God's presence fills the place, we must step back and simply let God do his thing!  That's what happens when the glory fills the house.

Prayer:

Lord, I praise you today and worship you.  Please help me to be patient and relax in your presence, waiting on you.  Amen.

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