2 Chronicles 4:1-6:11 / Romans 7:1-13 / Psalm 17 / Proverbs 19:22-23
I really enjoy a time of singing and worshiping. If I wasn’t such a lover of God’s Word, I might say the singing is my favorite part… It’s hard to choose between the two, so I won’t. I will instead choose Jesus – His presence – Himself – His person and His revelation of Himself to me. Jesus came to show me the Father, and when He went back to Heaven, He sent Holy Spirit. I have the blessing as a Jesus follower of knowing God in His fullness.
As I read 2 Chronicles 5:12-14, I was trying to imagine the scene. What did the musicians look like? What did the music sound like? And when the glorious presence of the LORD filled the temple… I wish I could have been in attendance!
Here are the verses so you can also imagine…
And the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and brothers—were dressed in fine linen robes and stood at the east side of the altar playing cymbals, lyres, and harps. They were joined by 120 priests who were playing trumpets. The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words: “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!” At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.
The music of the middle east does not sound like our music in the west. Our hymns, our modern worship songs and our choruses are not the same in lyrics or in sound. Maybe when we’re in Heaven we’ll be able to experience the music and beauty of all cultures. I believe we will! If every tongue, tribe, and nation will be in Heaven, all their life experiences will be able to be shared.
I’m now imaging the fun we’ll have worshiping in the language and manner of many different nations. I’m sure God will be smiling as all His people join in unity to worship Him. If only there were more unity now.
I believe it was the unity of heart, mind and message that caused God’s presence to fill the Temple. God is always with us, however, there are times when He brings a greater weight of Himself. The truth is we humans can’t contain God. Yes, He lives within us, but His fullness could not be housed within our bodies. That’s part of why He chose the Church as a corporate body in which He could live.
There is so much more I could say about unity in Christ’s body, the Bride. But for now, I will ask you to consider how you might be unified with your brothers and sisters in Christ so that we all may experience a greater presence of Him. Can you even imagine?! If all we want is His presence, I believe He will be pleased, and we will experience revelation of Him in increasing measure. We must not desire Him only for what He does, but for the beauty of Who He is!
