2 Chronicles 5:7-14
7 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. 8 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. 9 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. 10 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.
11 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12 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. 13 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, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.
This passage is a whole meal so chew slowly; you will want to savor each bite. The Holy Spirit has definitely been peeling back the layers of praise lately, and I find myself back where it all started…at His feet.
When I went to FaithWalk many years ago, my experience could easily be summed up by the phrase, “At His Feet.” Every song, every lesson, and every prayer reflected this common theme – for me at least. His presence was real and filled the room that weekend! Something I’ll never forget. However, we often allow the distractions of this world to pull us away from such encounters.
When I read this passage in 2 Chronicles this week, I was brought all the way back to my FaithWalk retreat. In this passage, the people were celebrating the return of the Ark of the Covenant, which had been placed into the inner sanctuary of the Temple -the Most Holy Place – after the Temple was built by King Solomon.
Specifically, the Levites who were musicians celebrated with instruments and praised God with these words: “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!” And then…
The glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God. When the people lifted their voices to praise God, He filled the Temple. Oh…we must get this!
We can spend a lot of time discussing Old Testament and New Testament, but I want you to get one golden revelation – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
As a believer of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes down and fills YOUR temple. God does not change and neither does His power. We cannot miss this. As believers, raising our voices in praise fills “up” the temple!
Thank the Lord that He lives in us. Yet how many simply take this for granted? The enemy wants us to forget! I want to end by sharing one major difference we have that the priests in the Old Testament didn’t have. As it states in 2 Chronicles 5:14, “The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.” Now that God indwells inside our heart [temple], we are able to continue our celebration and praise. May your praise never cease and may the Holy Spirit continue to fill you completely.
~When you feel defeated, praise and fill the temple.
~When you’re all alone, praise and fill the temple.
~When you have nowhere to go, praise and fill the temple.
~When your friends abandon you, praise and fill the temple.
~When life continues to throw punches, praise and fill the temple.
~When the enemy lies to you, praise and fill the temple.
~When storms chase after you, praise and fill the temple.
~When God releases His storehouses of blessings, praise and fill the temple.
~When Jesus heals you, praise and fill the temple.
~When salvation spreads throughout your community, praise and fill the temple.
~When demons flee by the powerful name of Jesus Christ, praise and fill the temple.
~When deliverance comes to the oppressed, praise and fill the temple.
~When chains break, praise and fill the temple.
~When encouraging words lift a broken soul, praise and fill the temple.
~When tongues of fire fill the air, praise and fill the temple.
Challenge: Let us all lift our voices and praise: “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!” Then, may the Holy Spirit fill YOUR temple, daily.
Thankful,
Christian Armetta
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