2 Chronicles 3-5 When God Shows Up
Ch.2:1
Solomon Determined
We saw in Ch.2:5 that
Solomon wanted to build a
A) I love that heart &
motivation of Solomon who desired to do something great as a testimony to the greatness of His God!
B) When the focus is on God
– that is the attitude
I want it to be the best it
can be!
1) It will require my best
effort.
C) Mediocrity
will just not do!
1) A ½ hearted effort will
not suffice. Ordinary means will not do the trick
D) We must have supernatural
provision.
E) In 2:1 we are told that Solomon DETERMINIED to build a house and now
in 3:1 we are told that he BEGAN
CAN’T WAIT
TO SAY THAT
Now Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at
A) It is possible to
DETERMINE and NEVER BEGIN
B) The path from conferences and camps, seminars and Bile studies is
strewn with people who DETERMINED but NEVER BEGAN
1) “I’m going to read
through the Bible this year.” But they
never began/ Intercessory Prayer …… begin
NOTICE: Where he
began: Here is a clue to the work
getting done.
A) Moriah is the
B) It is where David paid the full price for the threshing floor of
Ornan. (I will not give the Lord that which costs nothing. And he
offered sacrifices to stop the plague.)
C) Significance: The place of beginning is always the place of
sacrifice.
1) IF I am going to begin to
do something it means SACRIFICE... Of time, sleep, money, etc.
D) MT Moriah is where – God’s Son was
sacrificed …..
1) SALAVATION BEGAN!
RD
V.1-8
DETAILS – YOUR LIFE!
A) The
Cubit = approx
1-1/2 feet
B) It was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide and 45 feet high.
1) It was twice as big as
the Tabernacle.
C) It was small but spendy about 10 Billion in that day
The
A) Everybody could see the
courtyard. But inside the building itself there were TWO divisions
The holy place - Where there was the altar of incense,
the table of show bread, and the golden lampstands.
A) Priests were the only ones allowed to go there. Daily service
B) Then behind the veil was the holy of holies - It was
there that the Ark of the Covenant was placed and the
glory of God was manifested.
C) Only ONCE a year on ONE day (Yom
Kippur) could
the high priest goes into the Holy of holies and experience
the visible and tangible presence of God.
D) There was
gold everywhere in the temple, but especially in the Holy
of Holies.
23 tons of
gold –
RD V.9-13
So there were these two Cherubim – but we
must not confuse them with the Cherubim over the
A) On the
mercy {the lid} two Cherubs – wings touching looking down on the mercy seat.
B) But these
were two larger Cherubim carvings – 30 ft wing span between the two
1) 71/2 Ft
wall / wing tips / wall {span the room
C) Cherubim
are Angelic beings – but different from regular angels –
1) Seems to
be a Ranking: Angels – Cherubim / Seraphim {Michael the Arch Angel – only
one
When God put Adam and Eve out of the garden He put
Cherubim with a flaming sword to guard tree of life
A) He didn’t
want man to eat of it – live eternally apart
B) Cherubim
are seen in the Tab/
14
And he made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove
cherubim into it.
A) The veil
its Purpose a wall! One day!
B) Colors and Materials
Fine Linen
speaks of RIGHTEOUSNESS (Rev. 19)
BLUE
- His HEAVENLY and DIVINE nature
Purple - His ROYALTY
C)
CRIMSON: His SUFFERING & REDEMPTIVE
work
RD V.15-17
As the
A) JACHIN = He shall
establish- Which points to Jesus who
said: “I will build My Church”
B) BOAZ = In His strength
1) Constant reminder as they
came to worship that it is God who establishes it is God who strengthens
C) We are told that there were CHAINS around these pillars
The Chains here speak of unity
– being linked together
D) There were pomegranates, which speak
of fruitfulness.
APPLICATION: Picture of what the Lord wants His Church to
be: Established in Him / Strengthened thru Him and linked together in the Love
of Jesus
CH.4 He begins to describe the
furnishings of the temple.
A) Entering into the courtyard your eyes would immediately be drawn to
the Bronze altar. RD V.1
B) The idea behind the Hebrew word for altar is essentially, “killing-place.”
1) This was the place of
sacrifice, the center for worship and service for the priests and the people.
C) 30’ long, 30’ wide, 15’ high - HOW did they get their sacrifices on to
an altar that was 15’ high?
1) They had Steps went up to the Altar
But it was a big
Altar {Offerings for Sin / trespasses
Fellowship was
offered there.
A) Hand to identify …..
STORY: A Sunday school teacher was teaching about the
furniture of the
some third grade students he
asked: “Who can tell me why
we do not have burnt
offerings anymore?” A third grade
student answered: “We can’t... It’s against the pollution
regulations around here.”
CUTE - But untrue. The real reason – No need
Died once for all and Once and For all!
C) The altar
reminds us though that there is only one way to approach God – OT – Thru
Sacrifices
1) NT – The SACRIFICE
Rd v. 2-5
The huge laver was more than
15 feet across, HELD 24,000 Gallons and was
used for the ceremonial washings connected with
the priests themselves.
“Priests who did not wash to make themselves
clean would die (Exodus 30:20).”
It stood on
twelve oxen:
This large pool of water was set upon sculptured oxen. “some say Prefiguring, the
twelve apostles, who carried the water of life all the world over.”
RD V.6-8
The work of the temple required lampstands for light and tables
to hold the showbread, the bread that
represented the continual fellowship of
Notably,
the old tabernacle had one lampstand
and one table. The temple fittingly
displayed a greater light and a greater dynamic of fellowship.
RD V.9-18
The weight of the bronze could not be determined
A) Bronze speaks of judgment. The judgment that
Jesus absorbed can not be understood or fathomed.
B) The work that He has done for you
& me is too heavy.
1) We will spend eternity
exploring the depths of the love of
Jesus for you and the work
that He did on the cross.
Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in
his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
RD
V.19-Ch.5:1
Ch.2:1 He Determined
Ch.3:1 He Began
Ch.5:1 He finished
I like how the
Bible tells us that God takes note of pp who work!
A) This was a Huge task – God took note when they finished.
B) Work is something God appointed for us – Sacred – He likes it when
we work hard
C) Interesting at the Baptism of Jesus – This is my Beloved Son in whom
I am already well pleased
1) Jesus was 30 yrs old when he began his public ministry
D) God is looking at his son – Well pleased – Jesus hadn’t
done anything yet – no miracles –
1) Only thing – He worked – probably 18 yrs in his fathers Carpentry
shop –
So Solomon finished – project that in those days – cost about 10
Billion {Today’s standard – much more
A) Chart from the 60’s
B) Estimated cost of the gold /silver / Brass 34 Billion 390 million
C) Gems over 34 Billion
1) Vessels of Silver – 2.4 Billion
2) Vessels of gold - 2.7 Billion
Silk for priest – 50,000
Purple for the Singers Over a
million
Trumpets and instruments over a Million
Stone & timber – 2 Million
Paid labors 700,000 for 7yrs @ $
1.12 a day = 33 million
Cost by 1960 figures over 133 Billion
dollars
All for a Building 90 ft long by 30 wide
Doesn’t make our 15 million seem so bad
How much is a Billion dollars – 1 dollar bill end on end going around
the world at the equator – 350,000 times
ONE
STACK
The Building
Project was complete: I CAN’T WAIT TO SAY THAT TOO! Took them 7yrs
A) Ours once we break ground 8-11 months – next summer
B) It took seven yrs – This is a good reminder when God is building it
takes time!
C)
Perhaps you’re looking at yourself and thinking that you’re not growing. Don’t
panic.
1)
God is building your life and He will get it right.
APPLICATION: This should free us from
condemnation and from being judgmental with those who are being worked on
Time
will tell- As the years go on the results will be seen
RD V.2-5
The
A) The
B) It is NOT coincidental
that God mandated that Acacia wood be used in the construction of the
C) There are some
SIGNIFICANT things about ACACIA wood to notice
1.) Acacia wood grows in very DRY and ARID areas
2.)
On its branches there are very long and sharp
thorns
3.) It NEVER rots
4.) When you tap into
the side of Acacia wood you will get a flow of a gum substance that in various areas of the world is used for medicinal
purposes
D) There is a
healing virtue ……when the tree is pierced
What a PERFECT picture of Jesus
A) Wood speaks of His
humanity
B) Speaking of Jesus some
700 years before His birth, the
prophet Isaiah said
Isa. 53:2 For
he shall grow up as a root out of a dry ground
C) CROWN OF THORNS
PIERCED
D) When the nails pierced His
hands and feet, and the spear
pierced His side, there
issued forth that which alone could
heal us from our sins
1) When His back was torn
apart by the Roman whip, we had
healing flow forth to us
Isa. 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he
was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our
peace
was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
E) The ACACIA WOOD was covered with GOLD
1) Gold speaks of deity. We
have this beautiful picture of the incarnation of God. Jesus Christ, 100% God
and 100% man
RD V.6-10
On
top of the
Two
angels, with their wings pointed towards each other and their faces down,
covered the lid that fit on top of the
A)
The GLORY of God was on top of the Mercy Seat.
Exo 25:22 And
there I will meet with U, and I will commune with U from above the mercy seat,
from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony,
B) APPLICATION: I am so glad that God did
NOT say: “I’ll meet you IN the
C) I sin and fall short of the
glory of God.
1)
But God said: “I will meet with you above the Mercy Seat.”
D)
Mercy available thru Christ
E) Once a year the high
priest came in and sprinkled blood on top of the Mercy Seat.
1)
The Law was covered by the Mercy Seat.
WHY
was the Law kept in the ark at all?
A) Because Jesus Christ, Who
is perfectly pictured in the
B) In HIM the Law was
fulfilled perfectly and completely.
We
do NOT meet the Father on the basis of OUR keeping the Law perfectly.
A) We DON’T keep it... we
CAN’T keep it.
B) We meet the Father at the
Mercy Seat.
1)
Jesus kept the Law and shed His sinless blood to cleanse us from our sin so
that we might meet with God.
RD V 11-14
This
was the cloud of glory, seen often in the Old and New Testaments, sometimes
called the cloud of Shekinah glory.
A) It
is hard to define the glory of God; we could call it the radiant
outshining of His character
& presence.
B) Here it is manifested in
a cloud.
C) “The glory of God had
filled the house, and the priests were set aside.
1)
They Couldn’t continue!
CHS
“Where God
is, man is forgotten.”
D) Let us be forgotten
- Heart of Worship Song
Celebrity
worship / Pastors
E) The extreme presence of
the glory of God made normal service impossible.
1)
The sense of the presence of God was so intense that the priests felt it was
impossible to continue in their work
It
is worthy of note that this great outpouring of the glory of God came in the
context of intense and dedicated praise.
A)
God pours out His glory when His people praise Him.
B)
“We can never expect to have God in this house, or in our own houses, or
in our own hearts, until we begin to praise him.
C) “Unless as a people we unanimously, with one heart, exalt
the King of kings, farewell to the hope that he will give us his presence in
the future.” (Spurgeon)
In worship you lose your identity.
The 70’s declared: “Find yourself”
In the 80’s it was “Improve yourself”
The 90’s declare “Live for yourself”
The 2000’s Entertain yourself
God’s Word says: “Lose yourself”. Become
a part of the temple of the living God.
In that place of worship your needs and your problems begin to
diminish.
It was there in the temple as God was worshipped that the
SUBSTANCE of God descended..... God showed up in a special and tangible way.
STORY: There was
a little book written titled: “Kid’s Letters To God”. One of the said: “Dear God,
we had a great service on Sunday. Wish you could have been there.”
The highest part of your
Christian experience is wrapped up in gathering with God’s people for the
purpose of worship
STORY: There was an article written that dealt with how the
average man will spend his time.
The average man will live for 70 years.
He will spend 20 yrs
sleeping.... 20 years working.... 6 years eating (?).... 7 years playing.... 5
years getting dressed.... 1 year on the phone.... 3 years waiting for someone
(wife).... 5 months tying shoes.... 1/2 year in church.
That is if a person goes once a week.
Church is only 1 month more than tying shoes
APPLICATION:
We need to see that our priorities are messed up.
May YOU find that you gave MUCH more time
gathering with the body of Christ.