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Context No. 1792 of 4322 · 2 Chronicles

Context · Reflection

2 Chronicles 5:1-14: in context

1Thus all the work that Solomon did for the LORD’s house was finished. Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, even the silver, the gold, and all the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of God’s house. 2Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers’ households of the children of Israel, to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenant out of David’s city, which is Zion. 3So all the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month. 4All the elders of Israel came. The Levites took up the ark. 5They brought up the ark, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent. The Levitical priests brought these up. 6King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled to him were before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. 7The priests brought in the ark of the LORD’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim. 8For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its poles above. 9The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the ark in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen outside; and it is there to this day. 10There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. 11When the priests had come out of the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, and didn’t keep their divisions; 12also the Levites who were the singers, all of them, even Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and their brothers, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them one hundred twenty priests sounding with trumpets); 13when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever!” then the house was filled with a cloud, even the LORD’s house, 14so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the LORD’s glory filled God’s house.

The temple is finished, and Solomon brings the ark of the covenant into the inner sanctuary, under the wings of the cherubim. The whole assembly gathers, sacrificing more than could be counted. Then the priests and the Levites, the singers and the trumpeters, all together lift up their voices as one, praising and thanking the LORD: for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. And as they praise with one voice, the house is filled with a cloud, the glory of the LORD, so that the priests cannot stand to minister.

The climax of the whole scene is not the finished building or the countless sacrifices, but what happens when the people praise God with one voice: his glory fills the house. The moment the trumpeters and singers became as one, making one sound to praise and thank the LORD, saying he is good and his love endures forever, the cloud of God's glory descended and filled the temple so overwhelmingly that the priests could not remain standing. God's presence came, as it were, to meet the wholehearted, united praise of his people. There is something worth seeing here about worship and God's presence. The aim of worship is not the beauty of the building or the impressiveness of the ceremony, but God himself, his glory, his presence among his people. And this glory descended not on a performance but on praise, on a people lifting their voices together in thanksgiving and adoration, focused wholly on God's goodness and enduring love. When worship becomes truly this, hearts united in praise of God, the focus wholly on him, his presence draws near. This is not a formula that summons God on demand; the point is not technique. But it is a picture of what worship is for and what it can become: not a duty performed or a show staged, but a people so caught up in praising God with one heart that his glory fills the place. The priests came to offer their service and found they could not even stand for the weight of God's glory; the worship they offered was met by the God they worshiped. When we gather to praise God, the aim is not our performance but his presence; and the glory that filled Solomon's temple is a picture of the God who draws near to the praise of his people.

When I worship, is my focus on the performance, the ceremony, my own part, or on God himself, his goodness and enduring love, and can the glory that filled the temple when the people praised with one voice draw me to a worship that seeks not my performance but God's presence?

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