When God Shows Up
2 Chronicles 5:11-14
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11 And when the priests had come out of the Holy Place—for all the priests present had sanctified themselves, separating themselves from everything that defiles, without regard to their divisions;
12 And all the Levites who were singers—all of those of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, with their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, having cymbals, harps, and lyres—stood at the east end of the altar, and with them 120 priests blowing trumpets;
13 And when the trumpeters and singers were joined in unison, making one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and other instruments for song and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever, then the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud,
14 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
Here is the story leading up to these verses.. After years of working to build the temple, it was finally finished. The temple was made of the finest craftsmanship, hand carved, and covered in gold. Everything was finally ready, so they brought in all of the articles made of gold, silver and bronze and the Levites took up the Ark of the Covenant to place it in the inner sanctuary, the most Holy Place.
Then we come to verse 11 -14 and we find the Levite singers, musicians, and 120 trumpeters, all praising God in unity, singing, "
For He is good, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever"
and then the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud of God's presence, so strong that the singers and musicians could not continue to stand and praise God...they were literally knocked off their feet, by the presence of God.
Sounds quite a bit like Acts chapter 2:1-4 - the day of Pentecost, when the 120 disciples in the upper room were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were all praising God in unity, and then the presence of God comes in, in a powerful way, changing lives, and empowering the disciples to go out and spread the gospel with a new boldness.
What an amazing experience, both the Israelites in the days of King Solomon and the Disciples in the New Testament had.
Here are a few things I see as I look at these stories:
1. The people were in Unity - They were all of one mind, all praising God together without any divisions.
2. Their hearts were set to Praise God...they weren't concerned with their appearances, how others viewed them or how others thought about them. They were just there to give glory and honor and praise to God.
3. God loves it when we come together in unity, praising and loving on Him. When we do this, God shows up. He comes in and knocks us off our feet with His outrageous love and power. It is here, in His glorious presence, that we find ourselves resting and leaning on Him. When His power and glory are so real and present in our lives, it becomes easy to trust and rely on Him as He works out His great and mighty plan in our lives.
Life is not always easy, and we don't always have all the answers, or understand all the reasons for everything that happens. Storms blow in and try to knock us down, and that is when we must dig our roots down into the flow of God's love and mercy, and allow Him to be our source and strength.
Stop in the middle of your circumstances, whatever they are, and praise God... For the Lord is good, and His love endures forever!!
