December 30, 2010

2 Chronicles 35

How about this! Josiah has to tell the Levites to return the ark to the house that Solomon built. What was it doing out of the temple? Perhaps Josiah’s father, Amon, removed it to build his altars and poles. Perhaps the Levites were probably protecting it from destruction by Amon, and they did not return it until they were sure to which side Josiah would cling. Perhaps during the renovations of the temple, Josiah had the ark removed to protect both the workers and the ark. Now the renovations are complete, so it was time to return the ark. So what is the point? The symbolism of the ark of the Lord is really rich. It symbolizes the path down which we must walk in order to come into the presence of our holy God. The ark is the symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can only come to God through Him. After 18 years, the Scripture was rediscovered; the temple was re-consecrated; the ark restored and finally, the Passover celebrated!

The Passover also speaks wonderfully of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. In his 18th year as king, at 26 years old, Josiah leads the nation in the celebration of Passover. One such as this had not been celebrated since the days of Samuel. It had been 400 years! Of course Passover had been celebrated but not with the focus and intensity that Josiah led the people in doing. It must have been a glorious time! What does it take for us to corporately celebrate the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ at a level of this intensity and corporate co-operation? Lord what must we do to see this happen corporately?

A mere 13 years later Josiah ignores the word of the Lord. The text says, “He did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God.” How could he go from leading this fantastic revival to not hearing the word of the Lord? Sure, Isaiah had warned Josiah’s grandfather and great grandfathers concerning alliances with Egypt, but not entering an alliance with Egypt is a totally different thing from actively opposing Egypt. Hmmm. . . Lord help me to hear You when you speak now and to not depend solely on my past encounters with Your glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor john

Revelation 21

We are naked. Much of our activity is effort to clothe ourselves, for we are naked. Ever noticed what a large percentage of advertising is devoted to clothing? Even then, good practical covering is not enough. It must look right and fit the occasion. The amount of floor space in a Wal*Mart or Target store devoted to clothing is considerable, for we are naked. We have whole stores devoted only to clothing. We have an inordinate emphasis on clothing, for we are naked. Ever notice how those, who try really hard to clothe themselves well, never have enough? We are naked. It didn’t begin that way. Originally we were designed to not wear clothes. We wore the glory of God. We reflected His image. Then sin came. We lost the glory of God. Then we realized that we were naked.

The Bible is the story from beginning to end of how we lost His glory and how He is restoring His glory to us. It is all about His glory. Until His glory is re-established, we seem to focus on our nakedness-our glory or lack thereof. Our deepest longings can only be clothed with His glory.

When Jesus makes things new, He will tabernacle with us. He will dwell with us. His glory will return upon us. His glory will surround us, shine upon us, shine out of us. Even the city will glow with His glory. The sun and the moon will no longer be needed for light, because the glory of the Lamb will illuminate everything. Physical clothing will lose its great importance. The glory of the Lamb will take precedence. Should it not be important now? After all, that is the direction in which history is moving. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John