“Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.
May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation, may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness.

2 Chronicles 6:41- 7:3

41 “Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness.
42 Lord God, do not reject your anointed one.
Remember the great love promised to David your servant.”
1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”

Today’s title is “ Inviting God and His Glory”

God is sovereign. He rules everything according to His own will. God is free. He is not confined to anything or anybody. But He is a very personal God. He loves to be with us perhaps more than we love to be with Him. He loves to befriend us. He initiated most of His friendship with people like Abraham, Moses, and David. Jesus also showed the same friendliness toward sinners. He had a very personal friendship with some people such as Lazarus whom He raised from the grave. For Such friendship, God visited and invited many. He also wants to be invited personally and have an intimate relationship with us. We see such a friendly and intimate heart of God in the book of Revelation. Revelation 3:20 says “ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” It seems to me that God viewed the temple initiated by David as an invitation to Him. God said that He does not need a temple nor have requested it at all. But He liked and accepted the mind of David who wanted to be with God all the time in an honorable fashion. God wanted to honor and bless such an inviting heart in return. We see such a mind of God and David materialized in today’s passage. At the climax of the dedication of the temple, Solomon invites God saying, “Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation, may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness. When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. What a beautiful and glorious sight this is! The divine and the human become joined in love. They are united with human worships and praises and glorious divine presence. Have you ever experienced such a glorious presence of God? If you haven’t so far, you should and can have such a glorious presence of God in the future, God is willing to come and fill your life with His glorious presence even now as He did in Solomon’s time. But are you inviting Him earnestly like Solomon and his people? Are you opening the door of your life for Him? Then, He will surely come in and fill your life with His glory and love. What a beautiful and glorious sight it will be!