Start Time:	05:31 AM
End Time:	06:06 AM
Date:	August 31, 2014

 

TITLE: The Ark Brought To The Temple

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 5:1 - 14

God’s Message / God’s Commands / God’s Promises:

→ When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.   Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David.  And all the Israelites came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month. When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, and they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The Levitical priests carried them up; and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted. The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.

NOTES:

> Amazing!  I read this chapter and I am just in awe of God’s wondrous works in the lives of the Israelites then and even today in the lives of everyone who believes in Him.  Note that the Ark was only brought to the temple after the work has done.  The temple was built and established and the 1st thing that brought inside it after it was finished is God’s presence.  When the Ark was still outside the temple, it doesnt mean God’s presence was not with them...in fact it was God who held thru each person in charge of this task including Solomon.  So even in the process of building the temple, God’s hand is upon the workers.  Though, they haven’t seen the outcome of the temple and all they see were just blueprints and plans, each worker, including Solomon were driven and encouraged to build and were hopeful of the extraordinary Temple built for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  But the most amazing part was when it was finished, for when the Ark was brought back to Its home, it is written that the temple of the Lord was filled with cloud and the priest couldn’t even perform their services because of it because the glory of God filled the place!  Amazing!  When the Lord’s presence comes down, it will fill the whole place with glory that nothing else can be done but worship, praise and in awe of Him.  Hallelujah!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Gracious and almighty Father!  I am in a dilema today but You have helped me resolved it.  I have been struggling with the idea of not going to church today because of my work. This work was a gift from You and I am just starting my way of reaching out to the people in my workplace, though they are million miles apart from me.  Yet You bridge that distance and allowed me to meet with them thru the help of the internet.  My struggle Lord is that I want to praise and worship You today but my boss just told me that he needs me this morning for work, plus the other task given to us which has a deadline of tomorrow.  And so all hands are on deck today.  So I don’’t want to miss out on church because of this but this work is Your gift to me and i don’t want to have a bad record at work, knowing that just a few days ago, You gave me a way to reach out to one of my bosses.  But like You said in this chapter, Your presence is among us even if the ark is not physically present at the temple during the building process.  And i know You are everywhere and with me always.  Lord please forgive me for any wrong choices I make today but give me peace with whatever decisions I make because all of this I do, for Your glory Lord.  I know that wherever I am, when Your presence comes down, the place will be filled with Your glory.  Lord I want to experience this every day...to be in awe of Your glory daily as Your presence comes down on me.  I love You Lord.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Start Time:	08:06 AM
End Time:	08:29 AM
Date:	August 30, 2014

 

TITLE: 

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 4:1 - 22

God’s Message / God’s Commands / God’s Promises:

→ He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it. Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit. The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea. The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths. He then made ten basins for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing. He made ten gold lampstands according to the specifications for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls. He made the courtyard of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner. And Huram also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of God: the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars); the stands with their basins; the Sea and the twelve bulls under it; the pots, shovels, meat forks and all related articles. All the objects that Huram-Abi made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of polished bronze. The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan. All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze could not be calculated. Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple: the golden altar; the tables on which was the bread of the Presence; the lampstands of pure gold with their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed; the gold floral work and lamps and tongs (they were solid gold); the pure gold wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and the doors of the main hall.

NOTES:

> This chapter speaks of the details on the Temple's furnishing...every detail were crafter and mentioned in accordance to the plan that David gave to Solomon.  But what captured my attention more is the involvement of Solomon in each detail of the furnishing.  As you can see, Solomon was not just a king who gave an order to build the temple, his involvement is beyond that.  He was part of the building process.  Now that is true leadership.  Today, we see leaders giving command after command but they set themselves apart from the work of the fulfillment of the task.  But Solomon with God's wisdom knew better.  It was not about showing the people he is one with them... but working on the task was a privilege and so Solomon did not missed out on that opportunity.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, great and mighty One.  You deserve the best in everything!  Lord help me to have Your wisdom like Solomon to see that being part of Your calling is a privilege and not a burden.  Help me to willingly partake and involved in the task You have laid before us and that is to build Your temple!  Lord give me the heart that is happy to serve and be involve in such great calling.  Give me wisdom Lord to do as You please.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Start Time:	08:41 AM
End Time:	08:51 AM
Date:	August 29, 2014

 

TITLE: Solomon Builds The Temple

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 3:1 - 17 

God’s Message / God’s Commands / God’s Promises:

→ Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah[a] the Jebusite, the place provided by David. He began building on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. The foundation Solomon laid for building the temple of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide[b] (using the cubit of the old standard). The portico at the front of the temple was twenty cubits[c] long across the width of the building and twenty[d]cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. He paneled the main hall with juniper and covered it with fine gold and decorated it with palm tree and chain designs. He adorned the temple with precious stones. And the gold he used was gold of Parvaim. He overlaid the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls and doors of the temple with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls. He built the Most Holy Place, its length corresponding to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. He overlaid the inside with six hundred talents[e] of fine gold. The gold nails weighed fifty shekels.[f] He also overlaid the upper parts with gold. For the Most Holy Place he made a pair of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold. The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits[g] long and touched the temple wall, while its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub. Similarly one wing of the second cherub was five cubits long and touched the other temple wall, and its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the first cherub. The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main hall.[h] He made the curtain of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim worked into it. For the front of the temple he made two pillars, which together were thirty-five cubits[i] long, each with a capital five cubits high. He made interwoven chains[j] and put them on top of the pillars. He also made a hundred pomegranates and attached them to the chains. He erected the pillars in the front of the temple, one to the south and one to the north. The one to the south he named Jakin[k] and the one to the north Boaz

NOTES:

> This chapter speaks of Solomon taking action on his calling but note that he did not start building until the 2nd day of the 2nd month in the 4th year of his reign.  Solomon took 4 years in his reign before he started building the Temple.  It may be part of God’s plan but the point here is that, wherever you are in your life right and if you feel like you have not gone thru or have not done the task or the calling of the Lord in your life, do not be despair.  When God calls us, He will lead us to do His will in the perfect time.  Solomon took more than 4 years to start, Jesus started his ministry 30 years after He was born...so when you feel like your life is in a plateau and it feels like it’s not going thru the calling God has given You, do not lose hope.  God’s perfect timing is still to come!  When Solomon started the building of God’s temple, as read above, everything was set and adorned with the finest of everything available on earth.  It was all in accordance to plan.  And our lives will be the same when we are patient and steadfast in the calling of the Lord in our lives.  Amen!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, great and mighty Lord.  Thank You because YOu have the perfect time and You know when it is.  Thank You Lord becuase You have set everything in motion even during the times when we feel like nothing is happening.  Lord thank You because You are awesome and You are in control at all times.  Help me Lord to be patient and not push things to happen when it is not yet the right time.  Give me a heart to wait and to be patient Lord.  Thank You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Start Time:	09:43 AM
End Time:	10:21 AM
Date:	August 27, 2014

 

TITLE: Preparations For Building The Temple

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 2:1 - 18

God’s Message / God’s Commands / God’s Promises:

→ Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself.  He conscripted 70,000 men as carriers and 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as foremen over them.  Solomon sent this message to Hiram^[b] king of Tyre: “Send me cedar logs as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in.  Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons and at the appointed festivals of theLord our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel.  “The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods.  But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?  “Send me, therefore, a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled workers, whom my father David provided.  “Send me also cedar, juniper and algum^[c] logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber there. My servants will work with yours to provide me with plenty of lumber, because the temple I build must be large and magnificent.  I will give your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, twenty thousand cors^[d] of ground wheat, twenty thousand cors^[e] of barley, twenty thousand baths^[f] of wine and twenty thousand baths of olive oil.”  Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon: “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.”  And Hiram added: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, endowed with intelligence and discernment, who will build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.  “I am sending you Huram-Abi, a man of great skill, whose mother was from Danand whose father was from Tyre. He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled workers and with those of my lord, David your father. “Now let my lord send his servants the wheat and barley and the olive oil and wine he promised, and we will cut all the logs from Lebanon that you need and will float them as rafts by sea down to Joppa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.”  Solomon took a census of all the foreigners residing in Israel, after the census his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600. He assigned 70,000 of them to be carriers and 80,000 to be stonecutters in the hills, with 3,600 foremen over them to keep the people working.

NOTES:

Ø  This chapter speaks of God's greatness.  Solomon started by giving an order.  As a person appointed by God, king of His people, Solomon with God's wisdom, exercised his authority and power and gave an order.  His first order is to build the temple.  So after receiving the wisdom from the Lord, receiving the confirmation from God, Solomon did not waste any time.  His first order as king was to build the temple and a royal palace for himself, which are in fulfillment of God's plans for him.  Solomon then sent a message to Hiram the king of Tyre to get the necessary cedar logs needed for the building of God's temple.  Note that in Solomon's message, it did not come as a request.  Looking deeper in his message, you can see that Solomon started by a command.  Solomon said, "Send me..."  Solomon commanded and gave the purpose of this command (for the building of the temple for the Name of the Lord).  What strikes me most in this message is that Solomon declared that he is building a temple for the Name of HIS GOD...not David's God or the Israel's God, but he declared God to be HIS!  His message speaks of the purpose of the cedar and the purpose of the temple building for the Name of his Lord.  Many times, we are just followers and when we make requests or demands supply, we speak in behalf of someone in power.  But Solomon was in power and he personally spoke to the King of Tyre and did not ask anyone to ask in behalf of him.  And his command is for "his God" and not anyone else.  Clearly emphasizing to the King of Tyre that God is His now and no longer with David, with the other great people.  There time has gone and today, it's solomon's time now!  So Solomon took ownership of that and made that command from the King of Tyre.  Solomon also noted the importance of having the cedar logs among any other resources or tools available.  He said that God is greater than any gods so Solomon is building a great temple and he needs great materials to do so.  Solomon commanded for materials and a skilled worker too from the king of tyre.  So Solomon made a partnership with the best of the bests when it comes to the fields of carving, architecture, engineering, etc.  God provided the King of Tyre to Solomon for this main purpose.  The response of the King of Tyre is magnificent.  So the king of Tyre did as he is set to do so.  And he sent everything Solomon commanded for the glory of the Lord.  In everything that is written in this chapter, what stood out for me is that from Solomon's message to the king of Tyre's response, all spoke of God's greatness and glory.  So in everything we do, whether we ask, commands, request, act, respond, etc, we highlight God' greatness and glory and then everything will fit together like puzzle pieces perfected fitted for each other.  Hallelujah! 

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, great and mighty One!  The Only God and King over heaven and earth!  Truly You deserve all glory and praise.  Lord remind me always to magnify Your greatness and glory in my life…in everything I do, in every word I speak, in every thought I can think of, or feelings I feel, or whatever it is that involves me.  Let You be glorified in everything.  Help me to understand that everything I do in Your purpose will perfectly fit like puzzle pieces because You have set everything ahead for me.  Lord help me to realize that I am not interceding for someone else’s God, not the God of my sister, not the God of my mother, not the God of my Pastors or leaders, but My God!  My own personal God and Saviour.  Lord I want to have that reality in me.  I no longer want to be the third person in a relationship or an audience to a movie or presentation.  I want to be involve and the direct link to You.  Give me that opportunity and prepare me for it.  I know my heart’s desire is sometimes greater than my thoughts, my will and my actions, but when this passion comes from You, You set everything in its place and no matter how great it is, You provide the needed effort and strength from me.  Thank You Lord, let my life glorifies You all the time.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen!