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- [00:00]
A
Foreign.
- [00:05]
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Hey, this is Shelby and Scott, and we're so glad that you join us day after day as we are walking through the Bible this year. Don't forget to subscribe or follow if you haven't yet. We'd love to have you stay with us because there's so much more to come in Scripture, starting with today in second Chronicles 4 through 6. Scott, what's happening in these chapters?
- [00:28]
A
All right, so the temple is built at last. We've been talking about the temple for a while now. I feel like Solomon started building it back in chapter three, which included the construction of the most holy place. This is kind of that interior room where the Ark of the Covenant would go, where the high priest would go to meet with the Lord. And chapter four briefly covers the construction of the entire temple. We get this really important moment in chapter five where the Ark of the Covenant is installed. And, you know, that's important to remember, Shelby, because, like, what makes the temple the temple is that God dwells there. And the Ark of the Covenant represents his presence. That's where God would meet with the high priests. And so from this moment on, though, when the ark is brought into the temple, the tabernacle, that tent Moses constructed in the wilderness is no more. It's been replaced by this now more permanent structure in Jerusalem. And we saw this moment back in Kings already. But I love the very end of chapter five here, because when the. When the ark is installed in the most holy place, we read that the temple, the Lord's temple, was filled with a cloud. And because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering for the glory of the Lord. Filled God's temple. Love, love, love that moment. And, you know, clouds, we remember that cloud often represents God's presence. We saw that on Mount Sinai. When the cloud comes down, the cloud filled the tabernacle. At the very, very end of Exodus, Jesus is transfigured with some of his disciples. They're enveloped in a cloud. When Jesus ascends, he goes into a cloud. So, yeah, cloud equals God's presence, essentially. And so just the cloud filling the temple, God has taken up a residence in this place.
- [02:10]
B
Yeah, cloud equals God's presence. I mean, that's a good thing to, like, write in the margin of your Bible right there. Yeah, not 100% of the time you see the word cloud, but the references you just pointed out are great ones to go to. Okay, what else stands out to you about these chapters?
- [02:24]
A
All right, so I don't know if you ever struggle with this chapter Six is one of those chapters where I just feel like I want to underline every single verse, you know? And at a certain point, maybe that becomes counterproductive. But, like, I just. I love 2nd Chronicles 6. This is Solomon's Prayer of Dedication. It's so long, but it's all amazing, this chapter. And so I have to restrain myself from underlining everything. But there's a couple things about this chapter that really stand out to me. One is Solomon's humility. Like, despite building this glorious, majestic temple, he acknowledges, this is 6:18. That even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain you, much less this temple that I've built. And I was thinking about Paul's words Here in Acts 17:24, when Paul speaks to the Athenians and reminds them that God does not live in shrines made by hands. So in one sense, this temple is just way too small for God. But God has graciously chosen to take up residence there to be with his people. And then I love how Solomon, like, walks through several different scenarios in this chapter. He's like, hey, when this happens, when that happens, et cetera. And he asks that in all these various scenarios, God would hear the prayers of his people who cry out to him in those moments. And I mean, seriously, just. If you want fun exercise, just count up the number of times you read the word here in this chapter. It's everywhere. And interestingly, one of those scenarios, as Solomon lists out, is what the original audience of Chronicles had walked through. The scenario of being sent to a foreign country because of their sin. And Solomon requests that if that happens and if they repent, that God would heal them and forgive their sins. Highly relevant for the original audience. And then, last thing, I'll just point out about this chapter, verse 40. Love this verse where he prays now, oh, my God, let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to prayer. Made in this place. Like, what an encouraging verse to read as a Christian, especially today, because we are in the New Testament, described as a temple of God. We are God's temple. And So I think 6:40 for me is a reminder that when we pray and assurance that when we pray, God's eyes are open, his ears are attentive to us. Like, just God pays attention to us. Shall we?
- [04:39]
B
And that's.
- [04:40]
A
I need to be reminded of that. Yeah, constantly.
- [04:42]
B
Yeah. I mean, I need that reminder, too. And I think we all do at times. I think one thing that came to mind for me as I was reading Solomon's Prayer, and it is a beautiful prayer, and it is a really moving chapter of Scripture. But I was also thinking about how Christ is our intercessor who is praying for us. And so here you see Solomon kind of interceding and praying on behalf of the people. And yet we know that Solomon is flawed. Like, we're going to see that. Right. And we already know that. But then I think about Jesus praying for his people with his perfect words, his prayers that are informed by all knowledge. And I don't know, that was just a really. A really cool thought to me to remember Jesus as our as our intercessor today. So. All right. Chronicles 4, 6. We've got these chapters. We've walked through them, and we're gonna be back to talk about more tomorrow. Thank you, Scott.
- [05:37]
A
Thank you.