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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangey, and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter five,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the contemporary English version. After
Speaker 1: the Lord's Temple was finished, Solomon put in its storage
Speaker 1: rooms everything that his father David had dedicated to the Lord,
Speaker 1: including the gold and silver and the objects used in worship.
Speaker 1: The sacred chest had been kept on Mount Zion, also
Speaker 1: known as the City of David, but Solomon decided to
Speaker 1: have the chest moved to the temple. When everyone was
Speaker 1: in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Shelters during the
Speaker 1: seventh Month, Solomon called together all the important leaders of Israel.
Speaker 1: Then the priests and the levites picked up the sacred chest,
Speaker 1: the sacred tent, and the objects used for worship, and
Speaker 1: they carried them to the temple. Solomon and a crowd
Speaker 1: of people walked in front of the chest, and along
Speaker 1: the way they sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could
Speaker 1: be counted. The priests carried the chest into the most
Speaker 1: Holy place and put it under the winged creatures, whose
Speaker 1: wings covered the chest and the poles used for carrying it.
Speaker 1: The poles were so long that they could be seen
Speaker 1: from just outside the Most Holy Place, but not from
Speaker 1: anywhere else, and they stayed there from then on. The
Speaker 1: only things kept in the chest were the two flat
Speaker 1: stones Moses had put there when the Lord made his
Speaker 1: agreement with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai after
Speaker 1: bringing them out of Egypt. The priests of every group
Speaker 1: had gone through the ceremony to make them so else
Speaker 1: clean and acceptable to the Lord. The Levite musicians, including
Speaker 1: asath Heman Jeduthan, and their sons and relatives, were wearing
Speaker 1: robes of fine linen. They were standing on the east
Speaker 1: side of the altar, playing cymbals, small harps, and other
Speaker 1: stringed instruments. One hundred and twenty priests were with these musicians,
Speaker 1: and they were blowing trumpets. They were praising the Lord
Speaker 1: by playing music and singing The Lord is good and
Speaker 1: his love never ends. Suddenly a cloud filled the temple
Speaker 1: as the priests were leaving the holy place. The Lord's
Speaker 1: glory was in that cloud, and the light from it
Speaker 1: was so bright that the priests could not stay inside
Speaker 1: to do their work. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you
Speaker 1: for your word, and we thank you for the privilege
Speaker 1: of looking at this portion of scripture to day as
Speaker 1: the ark of the Covenant is brought into the Temple
Speaker 1: and your glory becomes very evident to the people of Israel,
Speaker 1: particularly the priests. Lord, we're grateful for the way that
Speaker 1: they sang to you, praising you for your goodness and
Speaker 1: praising you for being the perfection of love, the fact
Speaker 1: that your love never ends. And Lord, we pray that
Speaker 1: those would be truths that we would sing as well,
Speaker 1: that these would be things that would be on our
Speaker 1: minds and on our hearts as we recognize that you
Speaker 1: have shown us your great love in your son Jesus Christ,
Speaker 1: and we have been invited to be ambassadors of your
Speaker 1: gospel message that others would come to know you, and
Speaker 1: that others would see us as shining lights that reflect
Speaker 1: your glory in the midst of this world. Lord, we
Speaker 1: know that this can only be accomplished in your strength
Speaker 1: and in your power. But Lord, we trust you to
Speaker 1: do that, and we look forward to all the different
Speaker 1: ways that you will empower us to shine as your
Speaker 1: lights in the midst of this world. We're grateful for
Speaker 1: your presence with us, Lord, and we thank you for
Speaker 1: all of these things in Jesus' name. Amen.