Posts
by Samuel E. Ward
Part 1
Introduction
Watching the 8/28 Project held yesterday in D.C. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial made it abundantly clear how much of a spiritual hunger there is all across America. Regardless of your views of Glenn Beck and what you think he stands for, one could tell that people had been missing God in America. Preachers recieved standing ovations for praising God, others brought the crowd to their feet whenever Scripture was quoted. The theme that came through over and over again was not "God, please bless us" but "God, what must we do to bless You?" The answer was that we must return to God as a people of faith who place their hopes in God, and begin to show charity (love) toward one another in tangible ways, not just emotional expressions of sentiment. People were honored for being conspicuous examples of these traits in humbe and quiet ways, not for personal glory, but because it was the right thing to do.
I mention this only to explain why I had to change my message for today. I could not let yesterday's event go without comment. But the comments I have that were born of witnessing yesterday's rally are not a reiteration or even a summary of what was said by the participants of the 8/28 Project. My comments are designed to take us to the Scriptures where the way back to Divine blessing is shown by one man's prayer and God's response to that prayer.
The context of both the prayer and God's response is to be seen in 2 Chronicles 6-7. In these two chapters is the record of the dedication of Solomon's Temple, Solomon's Prayer of Dedication and God's response to Solomon which came eight days later.
After the priests placed the last article in the Temple (the Ark of the Covenant) they withdrew from the Holy Place. Levitical musicians who played cymbals, harps, and lyres were positioned on the east side of the altar and accompanied by 120 trumpeters. At the proper moment all the instrumentalists joined in unison with the singers and praised God singing, "He is good; His love endures forever!"
As they were praising God, a great cloud filled the Temple and the musicians had to cease their playing and singing because of the density of that dark cloud which covered the glory of the Lord when it descended upon and filled the Temple. It was then that Solomon stood before the Lord and the people.
I. Solomon's Message to the People
A. Solomon Acknowledged God's Presence, 2 Chr 6:1.
(2 Chr 6:1 NIV) Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud."
B. Solomon Blessed God's People, 2 Chr 6:2-11
He reminded them of God's promise to have a house built where His Name would dwell among the people. (See 1 Chr 22:7-10.)
(2 Chr 6:2-11 NIV) I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever." {3} While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. {4} Then he said: "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, {5} 'Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have
not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name to be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be the leader over my people Israel. {6} But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.' {7} "My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. {8} But the LORD said to my father David, 'Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in your heart. {9} Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood--he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.' {10} "The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. {11} There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with the people of Israel."
II. Solomon's Prayer
A. Solomon Acknowledged God's Faithfulness to His Promises, 2 Chr 6:12-15.
(2 Chr 6:12-15 NIV) Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. {13} Now he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. {14} He said: "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth--you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. {15} You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it--as it is today.
B. Solomon Petitioned for the Fulfillment of the Promise to David, 2 Chr 6:16-17.
1. He recognized that the nation's blessing was conditioned upon the rulers walking according to God's law, 2 Chron 6:16.
(2 Chr 6:16 NIV) "Now LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, 'You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my law, as you have done.'
2. He recognized the wonder that God could and would dwell with men, 2 Chr 6:18-21.
But, he prayed, please keep your hears constantly open to hear your servant's (the king's) prayer and those of the people who pray toward this place, 2 Chr 6:18-20.
(2 Chr 6:18-20 NIV) "But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! {19} Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. {20} May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place.
a. When they ask for forgiveness, 2 Chr 6:21
(2 Chr 6:21 NIV) Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.
b. When they seek justice, 1 Chr 6:22-23
(2 Chr 6:22-23 NIV) "When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple, {23} then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence.
c. When they have been disciplined for their sins and seek restoration, 1 Chr 6:24-25
(2 Chr 6:24-25 NIV) "When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and confess your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple, {25} then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their fathers.
d. When droughts come upon the land due to their sin and they repent and turn once again to you, 2 Chr 6:26-27., teach them the right way.
(2 Chr 6:26-27 NIV) "When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, {27} then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.
e. When famines, disease, and disasters come as judgment, deal with each individual according to their own hearts, 2 Chr 6:28-31. Teach them to fear you and walk in your ways.
(2 Chr 6:28-31 NIV) "When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, {29} and when a prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel--each one aware of his afflictions and pains, and spreading out his hands toward this temple-- {30} then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive, and deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of men), {31} so that they will fear you and walk in your ways all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers.
f. When immigrants choose to live in this nation, hear and answer their prayers so that they, too, will come to know and fear you, 2 Chr 6:32-33.
(2 Chr 6:32-33 NIV) "As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm--when he comes and prays toward this temple, {33} then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.
g. When our soldiers go to fight for a just cause, uphold them and give them victory in the cause, 2 Chr 6:34-35.
(2 Chr 6:34-35 NIV) "When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you toward this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, {35} then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.
h. Should our nation ever be defeated by another due to our sin (and we sill sin), bring us back when we have a change of heart and repent, 2 Chr 6:36-39.
(2 Chr 6:36-39 NIV) "When they sin against you--for there is no one who does not sin--and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; {37} and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly'; {38} and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; {39} then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.
3. He invited God to take His rightful place as the Lord God of Israel, 2 Chr 6:40-42.
(2 Chr 6:40-42 NIV) "Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. {41} "Now arise, O LORD God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, may your saints rejoice in your goodness. {42} O LORD God, do not reject your anointed one. Remember the great love promised to David your servant."
C. God Accepts the People's Offerings and Worship, 2 Chr 7:1-8
(2 Chr 7:1-8 NIV) When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. {2} The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. {3} When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, "He is good; his love endures forever." {4} Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. {5} And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. {6} The priests took their positions, as did the Levites with the Lord's musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the LORD and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, "His love endures forever." Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing. {7} Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions. {8} So Solomon observed the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him--a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt.
Conclusion: How a Leader Should Pray for His Nation
Dear Father in Heaven, keep your ears constantly open to hear your servant's (the king's) prayer and those of the people who pray toward this place, 2 Chr 6:18-20.
1. When they ask for forgiveness, 2 Chr 6:21
2. When they seek justice, 1 Chr 6:22-23
3. When they have been disciplined for their sins and seek restoration, 1 Chr 6:24-25.
4. When droughts come upon the land due to their sin and they repent and turn once again to you, 2 Chr 6:26-27. Teach them the right way.
5. When famines, disease, and disasters come as judgment, deal with each individual according to their own hearts, 2 Chr 6:28-31. Teach them to fear you and walk in your ways.
6. When immigrants choose to live in this nation, hear and answer their prayers so that they, too, will come to know and fear you, 2 Chr 6:32-33.
7. When our soldiers go to fight for a just cause, uphold them and give them victory in the cause, 2 Chr 6:34-35.
8. Should our nation ever be defeated by another due to our sin (and we sill sin), bring us back when we have a change of heart and repent, 2 Chr 6:36-39.
