1 Chronicles
The name, “Solomon” means “peace” - “in his time I will give Israel
peace and quiet” (1 Chronicles 22:9). The peace came from the Lord. It
came from the presence of the Lord with Solomon (1 Chronicles 22:18).
When we think of all that the Lord has done for us and all that He has
given to us, we must give our hearts and lives to Him, to live as His
faithful people - “So dedicate your hearts and lives to serving the
Lord your God. Start building the holy place of the Lord your God” (1
Chronicles 22:19).
The work of God is to be carried out by many
people, working together as a team - God’s team. The importance of
teamwork must be recognized if God’s work is to be moved forward in
God’s way. Reading over the many names and numbers in 1 Chronicles 23 -
27, we are reminded of Paul’s words concerning the body of Christ:
“the body is one unit and yet has many parts. As all the parts form one
body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).
The Lord’s
work requires the generous and wholehearted support of God’s people (1
Chronicles 29:9). It needs more than human enthusiasm. We need the
presence of the Lord. This is what the Lord promises to us: “The Lord
God, my God, will be with you. He will not abandon you before all the
work on the Lord’s temple is finished.” This promise of God gives God’s
courage to God’s servants: “Be strong and courageous, and do the
work.” God’s promise gives us victory over fear: “Don’t be afraid or
terrified” (1 Chronicles 28:20). In the service of the Lord, we need
both hard work and worship. Without worship, hard work amounts to
nothing. It will be service that is offered to God in the flesh - and it
will accomplish nothing which brings glory to God. God is glorified
only when His servants do all things in the Spirit of worship. This is
the lesson that we learn from the song of praise in 1 Chronicles
29:10-15. Everything comes from God. He gives us what we need to do His
work. He equips us for His service. He enables us to carry His work
forward. At the heart of the life of God’s people, we have the
continuation of the scene, described in 1 Chronicles 29:20 - “Then David
said to the whole assembly, ‘Praise the Lord your God!’” The worship
of God is to be a joyful celebration (1 Chronicles 29:22).
2 Chronicles
“Give
me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people ... This great
people of Yours” (2 Chronicles 1:10). Wisdom is not given to us for
our own benefit, It is given to us for the benefit of others - so that
we might lead them to the Lord. We are to follow in the footsteps of
our Lord. He “came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45).
“I
want to build the Temple for the Lord my God. I want to dedicate it to
Him” (2 Chronicles 2:4). Everything that we do is to be done for God.
Everything that we do is to be dedicated to Him. This is the lesson
that we learn from Solomon and the building of the Temple. We are to do
all things for the glory of God. He alone is worthy of our praise. We
are not only to worship Him in the place of worship and at the time set
aside for worship. We are to worship Him all of the time, wherever we
are. We are to praise Him in His House. We are to continue to praise
Him, as we go out from His House to the world.
The building of the
Temple - It was “the Lord’s Temple” (2 Chronicles 3:1). It was being
built “for the Lord’s Name” (2 Chronicles 2:1). The glory of the Lord -
This must never be forgotten. There is nothing more important than
this. God is to be glorified. This was the reason for the building of
the Temple.This must be the driving force in our lives - in everything
we do. Let God be glorified in all things. Blessing will only come to
us when we give the glory to God. We must not seek glory for ourselves.
“The
Lord’s glory filled the Lord’s Temple” (2 Chronicles 5:14), The
emphasis is not on Solomon. It is the Lord who must be the focus of our
attention. It is the Lord who is to receive glory. Solomon emphasizes
this: “I’ve built the Temple for the Name of the Lord God of Israel” (2
Chronicles 6:11). In his prayer (2 Chronicles 6:14-42), Solomon prays
for “salvation” (2 Chronicles 6:41). He does not only pray for himself.
He prays for others. He prays that they will come to God, praying for
“salvation”. He asks God to hear and answer these prayers.
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