WORSHIP MATTERS
Opening Prayer
Take some time to worship God today for who he is.
Read 2 Chronicles 6:1–11
6 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; 2 I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.”
3 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. 4 Then he said:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, 5 ‘Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. 6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’
7 “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 8 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. 9 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’
10 “The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 11 There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel.”
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
Recall a time when someone broke a promise to you. How did you feel?The Temple is the fulfillment of the promise to David. But there’s more to it. God had told Moses that when the people arrived in the land he would choose a place where he would be worshipped (Deut. 12). Solomon picks this up in verse 5, reminding Israel of God’s faithfulness to his promises. Having a central place doesn’t mean, as Solomon sees so clearly, that God was located in one place. It was a way of giving a godly focus to national life and preventing all sorts of strange worship practices springing up all over the place—which is what actually had happened. Worship of a holy God is a serious matter—but it’s also, as we have seen (5:13), an opportunity for joyful celebration.
God desires the worship of his people. He lays out how it should happen. It is to be focused on him, and whenever it focuses on the things we like or on making us feel good we have lost sight of the most important thing: worshipping God. Patterns have changed over the years. We don’t have a physical temple. But all that we do when we come together is about God, helping us to focus on him and equipping us to live for him.
Apply
Think about your own attitude to worship. What more could you do to ensure that you are completely focused on God? Remember, worship is a lifestyle, not just part of a religious service
Closing prayer
Lord, teach me to worship You in every area of my life, in all that I do.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.