My wife grew up just a few miles from Valley Forge. As a matter of fact, her parents’ house was located on Valley Forge Road. A couple of times we visited the Valley Forge museum. In one display they have George Washington’s field tent set up in a hermetically sealed glass room. The environment is controlled to slow down the decay process of the tent. At Valley Forge, General Washington wintered in a house, not the tent. In his summer campaigns, particularly on the move, he used the tent. The tent followed an interesting path to its present location. At one time it was the property of General Robert E. Lee. Apparently somebody in the family line married a descendant or relative of George Washington, and through that line the tent came into his possession. It has been about 237 years since Valley Forge and 215 years since Washington’s death. The tent was in still good shape, but only because it has been protected for the last 200 years. I wonder how long the Tabernacle of the Lord lasted.
David was incomplete in the movement of the Tabernacle to Jerusalem. We saw in 1 Kings 3 the great mercy of the Lord upon Solomon. Here in 2 Chronicles we learn that the bronze altar was in Gibeon. Gibeon is referred to as the great high place. David brought the ark from Kiriath Jearim. What was it doing there? When Samuel was a boy, the Philistines captured it. When the Lord plagued them, they hooked it up to an ox cart and the ox took it on her own, without a driver, straight to Kiriath Jearim, the nearest Israelite town. The ark remained there until David attempted to move it to Jerusalem. David set up a tent for the ark in Jerusalem. That implies that the Tabernacle was not there. Perhaps after 400 years the Tabernacle was much to worn to attempt to transport it. But he left at least the bronze altar there. Who knows what happened to the other Tabernacle furniture during those years. By this point, my guess is that the tent had worn out.
The bronze altar was a picture of the judgment of God against sin upon the cross. When the ark was moved, it should all have been returned together with the Tabernacle and other furniture, but it wasn’t. So, I guess Solomon was doing something kind-of-right. He went to Gibeon to offer the sacrifices. That is where the bronze altar was. God met him that night as a result. God always meets us initially at the cross. But we need to move deeper in than just a simple understanding of the sacrifice being made for our sin. We must press on in to find the glory of God. To look at the Tabernacle, it was a process that began at the bronze altar but continued on in to the Holy of Holies. There is where the glory dwelt. I wonder if Solomon ever made it past the bronze altar. I guess we will explore that a few chapters down the road. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PROVERBS 2
Really, it never ceases to amaze me. I occasionally have people who will call up the church for help because they are stranded on a long trip. Often they are moving because they did not have a job in one city, but ‘heard’ that there was employment in another. Often they left knowing they did not have enough money to make it to the next city, not very wise. Sometimes I want to scream, “What were you thinking?" When I left Stillwater, OK to Portland, for seminary, I had spent 2.5 years saving enough money to make the trip. I left without the promise of a job or knowing anyone, or having a place to move into. After one month I still had no job and I was out of money. Wise? Well I was going at what I believed to be His calling. Many would say it was not wise, but He was a shield to me. He kept us safe on our trip there. He kept us safe during our sojourn in Portland, and preserved our way while there. I know from experience and from His word, “He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.” That is His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
ZECHARIAH 14
Zechariah looks to the great Day of the Lord. Jerusalem will be under siege. The nations will be at her gates dividing the spoils. It will appear that all hope is gone. Then the Lord shall come. He shall return in the same way and to the same spot from which He left. In Acts 1:11 we have the record of the angel’s testimony, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Zechariah says that when His feet touch down, an earthquake of unimaginable proportions will occur. The Mount of Olives will split in half allowing living waters to bubble up from out of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be a watershed divide. Some of the water will flow to the Mediterranean; some will flow to the Dead Sea. His very presence will bring terrifying changes in the structure of the earth that will bring down His enemies and deliver His people. The feast of Tabernacles will then be celebrated by all nations. Anyone who refuses to celebrate will receive a plague from the Lord. Finally, He shall be our tabernacle, our dwelling place!
On the Mount of Transfiguration, that was what was in Peter’s mind when he wanted to build a tabernacle for the Lord, Moses and Elijah. Peter, James and John had that word of prophecy made more sure as they became eyewitnesses of the Lord’s future glory. We who hold fast to the end shall see it one day and celebrate that feast of Tabernacles. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
1 JOHN 1
Glory is a hard word to get a handle on. Ask any group of people what glory means, and you'll get a lot of definitions. But no one’s definition will probably be sufficient. The glory of God is just not something that is easy to handle. But part of the glory of Jesus is that He is glory made flesh. He could be seen, reasoned with, even handled. He is the glory of God made known in a way that humans can grasp the greatness of His majesty without being destroyed. When His glory is handled, grasped or comprehended, it naturally results in joy, fullness of joy.
In particular His glory is light. Light reveals the nature of reality. When I was younger, God had blessed me with extraordinary vision. I could see a deer standing still a quarter of a mile away and tell you when it flicked its tail. I could read very fine print. But alas, age is creeping upon me. I can no longer read my large print Bible without glasses. I have found that the amount of light makes a great difference in what I can see in print, on my clothes and even on my own face when I look in a mirror. With my diminished eyesight, light is very important for seeing reality of what is in print, what is on my clothes or the presentableness of my face.
As we focus on His glory, we walk into His light. In the midst of His light we see the reality about ourselves. We see the sins we cling onto. We see the effect of sins on our presentableness. We have three options. We can continue to gaze at the ugliness of our sin that is revealed by the light. We can turn our backs on the sin and walk back into the darkness. Or we can confess the sin and continue to gaze upon His glory. The wonderful thing about confession and continuing to look for His glory is that as we do that, His blood washes away our sin. We become presentable! That is His glory for you! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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