Smoke and Fire
Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel, lived his life
with the reality of God's presence before him every day. David had established
his tabernacle on Mt. Zion, and had developed 24/7 worship before the Ark of
God's Presence. I'm sure Solomon was trained as a musician like David, and had
possibly even participated in the worship before the Ark of God's Presence. There
is really no way to know exactly what he had witnessed during those times of
worship. However, I believe the things that occurred on the day of the
dedication of the temple Solomon had built were not fully expected.
The old adage states, “Where there's smoke, there's fire.” However,
when it comes to the things of God that is not always the case. Many times we
stop short of the fire by settling for the smoke.
Solomon built the temple guided by the instructions given
him by his father, David. David had completed much of the preparation, leaving
the actual building of the temple to his son, Solomon.
There was tradition, protocol, and history; obedience to the
vision received from a previous generation.
2
Chronicles 5:1-10:
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 men of Israel 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
priests, who were Levites, 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.
Preparation was made. It was not happen-stance that brought
them to this place. It was destiny. It was the foresight of their fathers. It was a
fulfillment of the heavenly vision.
They didn't just wing it. The priests prepared themselves
according to the law. The musicians were prepared by those taught by David. They
all knew what to do and when to do it. They knew where they were supposed to
be. There was no competition among them. They all had the same desire: give
honor and glory to God.
1
Chronicles 5:11-14:
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 singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to
the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they 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 a cloud, and the
priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of
the LORD filled the temple of God.
It was an awesome sight; something not seen before by many
of those present. The tangible presence of God had filled the place and they
could not stand because of the cloud. Human effort was no longer tolerated. Man's
effort had come to an end. Now all that could be done was to wait.
But then the man of God, Solomon, began to bring forth the
Word of God for the moment. In the very presence where priests failed, Solomon
performed HIS appointed service: to speak for the Lord! And speak he did!
1
Chronicles 6:1-42:
Then Solomon said, "The LORD
has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; I have built a magnificent temple
for you, a place for you to dwell forever." While the whole assembly of
Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. 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,
'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.
But now I have chosen Jerusalem for
my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.' "My
father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD,
the God of Israel.
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. 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.'
"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. There I have placed the ark, in which is the
covenant of the LORD that he made with the people of Israel."
Then Solomon stood before the altar
of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 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.
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. 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.
"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.' And now, O LORD, God of Israel, let your word that you
promised your servant David come true.
"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! 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. 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. 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. "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, 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.
"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, 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.
"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, 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.
"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, 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--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), so that they will fear you and walk in your ways all the time
they live in the land you gave our fathers.
"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, 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.
"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, then hear
from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.
"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; 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'; 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; 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.
"Now, my God, may your eyes be
open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
"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. O
LORD God, do not reject your anointed one. Remember the great love promised to
David your servant."
When Solomon had finished giving the Word of the Lord,
Jehovah responded to his prayer. The heavens opened and fire came down and
consumed the sacrifices. The glory of God then filled the temple, such that the
priests could not even ENTER the temple. It brought everyone to their knees!
1
Chronicles 7:1-3:
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. The priests could not enter the temple
of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 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."
Other examples: striking the ground with the arrows;
Problems with
stopping when the smoke arrives.
As worship leaders, we tend to remember “the list” the day
the glory came. Or, maybe “the song” that always gets the people engaged. However,
if we repeat the song for the purpose of getting the repeated response we miss
the purpose of God for that day. It was not the “sounding as one” that brought
the fire, only the smoke. It was not until the full release of the Word of God
that the fire appeared.
If we place limits on where God can take us as a
congregation, we will never get beyond our ability to comprehend. We must move
into the realm of faith.
Another instance
of God finishing what man started.
Aaron and his sons completed everything that Moses told them
to do. But when they “stepped down” after performing their duty, Moses and
Aaron “blessed the people.” God responded by bringing fire to consume the
sacrifice.
Leviticus
9:1-24:
On the eighth day Moses summoned
Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. He said to Aaron, "Take a
bull calf for your sin offering and a ram for your burnt offering, both without
defect, and present them before the LORD. Then say to the Israelites: 'Take a
male goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb--both a year old and without
defect--for a burnt offering, and an ox and a ram for a fellowship offering to
sacrifice before the LORD, together with a grain offering mixed with oil. For
today the LORD will appear to you.'"
They took the things Moses commanded
to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the entire assembly came near and
stood before the LORD.
Then Moses said, "This is what
the LORD has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to
you."
Moses said to Aaron, "Come to
the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering and make
atonement for yourself and the people; sacrifice the offering that is for the
people and make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded."
So Aaron came to the altar and slaughtered
the calf as a sin offering for himself. His sons brought the blood to him, and
he dipped his finger into the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; the
rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar. On the altar he
burned the fat, the kidneys and the covering of the liver from the sin
offering, as the LORD commanded Moses; the flesh and the hide he burned up
outside the camp.
Then he slaughtered the burnt
offering. His sons handed him the blood, and he sprinkled it against the altar
on all sides. They handed him the burnt offering piece by piece, including the
head, and he burned them on the altar. He washed the inner parts and the legs
and burned them on top of the burnt offering on the altar.
Aaron then brought the offering that
was for the people. He took the goat for the people's sin offering and
slaughtered it and offered it for a sin offering as he did with the first one. He
brought the burnt offering and offered it in the prescribed way. He also
brought the grain offering, took a handful of it and burned it on the altar in
addition to the morning's burnt offering.
He slaughtered the ox and the ram as
the fellowship offering for the people. His sons handed him the blood, and he
sprinkled it against the altar on all sides. But the fat portions of the ox and
the ram--the fat tail, the layer of fat, the kidneys and the covering of the
liver--these they laid on the breasts, and then Aaron burned the fat on the
altar. Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh before the LORD as a wave
offering, as Moses commanded.
Then Aaron lifted his hands toward
the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt
offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down. Moses and Aaron then
went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and
the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.
Fire came out from the presence of
the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And
when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.
Man can, at best, prepare an environment conducive for God's
glory to appear. This does not, however, work by formula. God's glorious
outpouring is usually in response to man's earnest, sincere heart-cry to
Father. Consider 2 Chronicles 16:9 (KJV).
For the eyes of the LORD run to
and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of
them whose heart is perfect toward him.
God is looking for us. He is waiting on us. We are not
waiting on God.
On the day of Pentecost the people gathered to seek the
Lord. When they found themselves “together together” the room was filled.
And when the day of Pentecost
was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there
came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the
house where they were sitting. Acts 2:1-2 (KJV)
The Bible clearly teaches that God responds to His people.
“Seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:7 (KJV) God
told Moses that He heard the cry of His people from Egypt.
And the LORD said, I have surely
seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry
by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to
deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that
land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey;
Exodus 3:7-8 (KJV)
It is time for the Church of Jesus Christ to approach the
throne of God and seek first His Kingdom. We need to pray that His will would
be accomplished in us. We need to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. He, then,
is faithful to hear us and respond to us with His love, grace, power, and
justice.
