“And the glory of the Lord filled the Temple” (II Chronicles 7:1)
“If you build it, they will come.” One of the most famous iconic messages in a movie. It came from the 1989 Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams. But long before any screen writer came up with the phrase. Long before any director cued a voice on a movie set to utter that famous line; Scripture pretty much created it in the original manuscript to end all manuscripts – the Bible.
Back in the wilderness God told his people to build a Tabernacle. He gave them specific instructions on exactly how to make it. They obeyed and built the Tabernacle God’s way. And guess what happened? Exodus 40:34 tells us that “then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.” In the book of II Chronicles, we are told that after Solomon built the Temple to the exact specifications God had given, when Solomon finished praying at the dedication of it, “fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple.” (7:1). In fact, the priests could not even enter the Temple because God’s glory so filled it. In both instances, the glory of God did not fill his dwelling place until the people obeyed and built everything according to God’s specific instructions. Suppose the people had hung black and white curtains rather than the royal colors God ordered them to? His glory would not have come. Or what would have happened had they not built a Table of Showbread? God’s glory would not have come.
But the Old Testament is not the only place in the bible where we find God’s glory responding to the obedience of his people. In the New Testament we find Jesus commanding his disciples to stay in Jerusalem after his ascension. And because they obeyed and tarried there, God’s glory came to them at Pentecost as “a rushing mighty wind,” so that not only was the upper room filled with God’s glory, but the people themselves were filled with glory also.
Now, here’s the point. In all three instances if God’s people hadn’t done things the way God told them to, His glory would not have come. They would have missed seeing the amazing presence of God in their midst. God’s Tabernacle, his Temple, and that Pentecostal upper room would have remained empty and void of God’s glory. The point here for us is this: if we will obey God and do exactly what he says, he will come. Don’t modify, alter, adjust, or try to revise what God tells you to do. Don’t add to it or subtract from it. We need to learn how to follow God to the best of our ability. We need to learn to wait in obedience on God. And if we will do that the blessings will come, the victory will come, the Spirit will come, and the glory of God will appear in our life. If we will build our lives, live our lives the way God tells us to – He will come!
Darlene