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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com.
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible. I'm
Speaker 1: John Stangi, and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter seven,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the Message. When Solomon finished praying,
Speaker 1: a bolt of lightning out of heaven struck the whole
Speaker 1: burnt offering and sacrifices, and the glory of God filled
Speaker 1: the temple. The glory was so dense that the priests
Speaker 1: couldn't get in. God so filled the temple that there
Speaker 1: was no room for the priests. When all Israels saw
Speaker 1: the fire fall from heaven and the glory of God
Speaker 1: filled the temple, they fell on their knees, bowed their heads,
Speaker 1: and worshiped, thanking God. Yes, God is good, His love
Speaker 1: never quits. Then the king and all all Israel worshiped,
Speaker 1: offering sacrifices to God. King Solomon worshiped by offering twenty
Speaker 1: two thousand cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. At
Speaker 1: the dedication of the temple, the priests were all on duty.
Speaker 1: The choir and orchestra of levites that David had provided
Speaker 1: for singing and playing. Anthems to the praise and love
Speaker 1: of God were all there across the courtyard. The priest's
Speaker 1: blew trumpets. All Israelites were on their feet. Solomon set
Speaker 1: apart the central area of the courtyard in front of
Speaker 1: God's Temple for sacred use, and there sacrifice the whole
Speaker 1: burnt offerings, grain offerings, and fat from the peace offerings.
Speaker 1: The bronze altar was too small to handle all these offerings.
Speaker 1: This is how Solomon kept the Great Autumn Feast of
Speaker 1: Booths for seven days. There were people there all the
Speaker 1: way from the far northeast the entrance to Hamath to
Speaker 1: the far southwest the brook of Eas Egypt. A huge congregation.
Speaker 1: They started out celebrating for seven days, and then did
Speaker 1: it for another seven days, a week for dedicating the
Speaker 1: altar and another for the feast itself. Two solid weeks
Speaker 1: of celebration. On the twenty third day of the seventh month,
Speaker 1: Solomon dismissed his congregation. They left rejoicing, exuberant over all
Speaker 1: the good God had done for David and Solomon and
Speaker 1: his people Israel. Solomon completed building the Temple of God
Speaker 1: in the Royal palace, the projects he had set his heart,
Speaker 1: Ondoing everything was done success satisfaction. God appeared to Solomon
Speaker 1: that very night and said, I accept your prayer. Yes,
Speaker 1: I have chosen this place as a temple for sacrifice,
Speaker 1: a house of worship. If I ever shut off the
Speaker 1: supply of rain from the skies, or order the locusts
Speaker 1: to eat the crops, or send a plague on my people,
Speaker 1: and my people, my God defined people respond by humbling themselves, praying,
Speaker 1: seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives.
Speaker 1: I'll be there ready for you. I'll listen from heaven
Speaker 1: forgive their sins and restore their land to health. From
Speaker 1: now on, I'm alert day and night to the prayers
Speaker 1: offered at this place. Believe me, I've chosen and sanctified
Speaker 1: this temple that you have built. My name is stamped
Speaker 1: on it forever, My eyes are on it, and my
Speaker 1: heart in it always. As for you, if you live
Speaker 1: in my presence as your father David lived, pure in
Speaker 1: heart and action, living the life I've set out for you,
Speaker 1: attentively obedient to my guidance and judgments, then I'll back
Speaker 1: your kingly rule over Israel. Make it a sure thing
Speaker 1: on a sure foundation. The same covenant guarantee I gave
Speaker 1: to David, your father, I'm giving to you. Namely, you
Speaker 1: can count on always having a descendant on Israel's throne.
Speaker 1: But if you or your sons betray me, ignoring my
Speaker 1: guidance and judgments, taking up with alien gods by serving
Speaker 1: and worshiping them, then the guarantee is off. I'll wipe
Speaker 1: Israel right off the map and repudiate this temple I've
Speaker 1: just sanctified to honor my name, and Israel will be
Speaker 1: nothing but a bad joke among the peoples of the world,
Speaker 1: and this temple, splendid as it now is, will become
Speaker 1: an object of contempt. Tourists will shake their heads, saying,
Speaker 1: what happened here? What's the story behind these ruins. Then
Speaker 1: they'll be told the people who used to live here
Speaker 1: betrayed their God, the very god who rescued their ancestors
Speaker 1: from Egypt. They took up with alien gods, worshiping and
Speaker 1: serving them. That's what's behind this god visited devastation. Let's pray, Lord,
Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you
Speaker 1: for the privilege of being able to look at it together. Today.
Speaker 1: And Lord, it's beautiful to be able to look at
Speaker 1: this passage of scripture and see how you very clearly
Speaker 1: made it known to the people of Israel that you
Speaker 1: were present with them. And Lord, you make that abundantly
Speaker 1: clear to us as well. You sent your son Jesus
Speaker 1: Christ into this world, and Christ promises us that he
Speaker 1: is with us always to the very end of the age.
Speaker 1: And Lord, you invited Solomon, and you invited the people
Speaker 1: of Israel to be sincere in their worship of you,
Speaker 1: and do not invite the worship of any other gods
Speaker 1: into their midst. And Lord, that's your calling on our
Speaker 1: lives as well. You call us to be sincere worshipers
Speaker 1: of You who have been made righteous through faith in
Speaker 1: your son Jesus Christ, and did not invite any other
Speaker 1: false gods into our lives. We're also grateful, Lord, for
Speaker 1: the promise that you made here in this passage of
Speaker 1: scripture that a descendant of David would rule on the
Speaker 1: throne of Israel. And we know that that promise wasn't
Speaker 1: ultimately fulfilled in Solomon, but it finds its ultimate fulfillment
Speaker 1: in your son Jesus Christ. So again, Lord, we're grateful
Speaker 1: for all of these things, and we're grateful that you
Speaker 1: allow us to see these things in this passage. And
Speaker 1: we pray Lord that throughout the course of today that
Speaker 1: you would be the primary object of our affection. We
Speaker 1: thank you Lord for all of these things, and we
Speaker 1: pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.