Meditating 2 Chron 1-5 (May 9)

Service for the Glory of God

A father’s dream becomes a son’s
delight as Solomon undertakes
his greatest architectural feat
building the temple in Jerusalem.
Great quantities of men & materials,
plus seven years of Solomon’s
life, are invested in the task of
completing the house of the Lord.
When at last the temple stands
finished with the ark of the covenant
in place, Solomon leads the people
in heartfelt praise to God. And when
they lifted up their voice with the
trumpets and praise the Lord..then
the house filled with glory of God.

Solomon achieved much in business
and government but most important
he was the man God used to build
the glorious temple. Each of us have
things that we will want to achieve.
And it’s so easy to be sidetracked
and get the wrong perspective on
what’s really important in life. Lord,
We will Worship Reverently.
We will Enquire Your Will.
We will Follow Your Word. Amen.

Lord, we will Enquire Your Will:
Solomon & the people gathered
in front of the Tabernacle to
consult the Lord… That night
God appeared to Solomon in a
dream and said: What do u want?
Ask and I will give it to you!
Solomon replied: You have been
so faithful to my father David and
now U made me a king in his place.
Give me wisdom to rule properly,
for who is able to govern this
great place of yours?…God said:
Because your greatest desire is
to help your people, I will give u
the wisdom you requested. And
I will also give u riches, wealth
and honour (2 Chron 1:5-12).
Lord, we purpose to enquire of
You to discover Your plans for us.
Grateful that whenever You give
us a new task or responsibility,
You also give us what we need
to carry it out. Help us to order
our priorities like Solomon to
put U God first in agenda. Amen.

Lord, we will Worship Reverently:
Solomon decided to build a Temple
to honour the name of the Lord…
He enlisted 70,000 labourers,
80,000 men to quarry stone…
Solomon also sent message to
King Hiram at Tyre: Send me cedar
logs as you did for my father David,
when he was building his palace.
I am about to build a Temple to
honour the name of the Lord…
This must be a magnificent Temple
because our God is awesome,
greater than any other (2C2:1-5).
Lord, we purpose to worship You
acceptably with reverence & awe.
We will place priority on worship;
expressively praise You with
adoration and excitement. And
live our daily life appropriately
to honour Your awesome name
for You deserve the best. Amen.

Lord, we will Follow Your Word:
Solomon also made a bronze altar
30 feet long, 30 feet wide and
15 feet high… He also made
ten basins to wash the offerings…
Solomon then cast ten gold
Lampstands according to the
Specifications that had been
given and put them in the Temple.
Five were placed against the
south wall, and five were placed
against the north wall (2C4:1-7).
Father God, we realise that when
You give specific instructions,
they must be followed to the letter.
Fan the flames of passion for
You Lord so that others may see
Your light inside of me. Let the
fire that burns be a steady flame,
not one that flickers in winds of
change. But let it be a light that
shines the way to You. Amen.

Preview on 2 Chronicles (May 9)

2 Chronicles & Prophets

As the Bible is arranged by genre,
(Laws, History, Poetry, Prophets…),
to enhance understanding context
we’re meditating by time sequence.
For clarity and simplicity sake, here’s
Old Testament Expository Phases:
OT1: Torah Laws
OT1A: Genesis
OT1B: Poetry Book of Job
OT1C: Exodus to Deut (Life of Moses)
OT2: Conquest to United Kingdom
OT2A: 1Chr (History to King David)
OT2B: Five Books of Psalms
OT2C: 1 Kings & Wisdom Poetry
OT3: Divided Kingdom & Exile
OT3A: 2 Kings & Prophets
OT3B: 2 Chronicles & Prophets
OT3C: Return From Exile & Prophets

Following coverage of Northern
Kingdom, next we move South.
The book of 2 Chronicles spans
four centuries of Judah’s history
from the glory days of Solomon
and the building of the magnificent
temple to the conclusion of the
Babylonian Exile. Following death
of Solomon, a succession of good
and bad kings rises to power. As
go the leaders, so Go the people,
until finally the spiritually bankrupt
nation is carried off into captivity.
But the final verses of 2 Chronicles
sparkle with hope. After 70 years,
the Persian King Cyrus decrees
the rebuilding of God’s house
and the return of God’s people.

We’ll cover 2 Chron over 4 weekends
under the following eight divisions:
2C1-5: Solomon’s Temple Erected
2C6-9: Solomon’s Temple Dedicated
2C10-12: Divided Kingdom
2C13-16: Asa’s Reforms
2C17-20: Jehoshaphat’s Reforms
2C21-28: Judah’s Kings & Ahaz
2C29-32: Hezekiah’s Reform
2C33-36: Judah’s Last Days