THE HEART OF WORSHIP
Opening Prayer
Think of some of the ways that God has shown his love to you. Thank him.
Read 2 Chronicles 5:1–14
5 When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.
The Ark Brought to the Temple
2 Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 3 And all the Israelites came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month.
4 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, 5 and they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The Levitical priests carried them up; 6 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.
7 The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. 9 These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
11 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12 All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:
“He is good;
his love endures forever.”
Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What was the last contract or commitment you made? How did it affect your actions?Right at the heart of the Temple is the Ark of the Covenant, just as it had been in the Tabernacle. This box, covered in gold with two gold cherubim on top (Exod. 25:10–22), was the symbol of God’s presence at the center of their worship and national life, a constant reminder of his covenant with them. This covenant, or agreement, goes back to Exodus 19:1–6 where God promises to care for his people and they promise to live as he requires, hence the tablets with the Ten Commandments. The Ark was a constant reminder of God’s loving commitment and Israel’s obligation to honor God in the way they lived.
As Christians we have a new covenant (Luke 22:20), based on the death of Jesus who revealed God’s glory (13,14) in an even greater way (John 1:14). Our relationship with God is guaranteed not on the basis of keeping a set of rules but on the basis of what Jesus has done for us. But that doesn’t mean we can do as we like—God still expects us to live in ways that he wants and that show how much we love and respect him.
Apply
How can you show Christ through your actions today that you love and honor him?
Closing prayer
Thank God for his glory shown through Jesus. Renew your commitment to please him, asking for the help of his Spirit.
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