2 Chronicles 6:12-21 Click here for Bible VersesHi GAMErs,
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 2 Chronicles 6:12-21. Let’s go!
2 Chronicles 6:12-13 (NIV)
12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands.
13 Now he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.
On verses 12-13: Here Solomon has a platform on which he stands and speaks to the people of Israel. Similarly, if you have trusted Jesus as your Saviour, God has given you a platform on which you can stand and influence others. A big part of that platform is the set of spiritual gifts God has given you. For a list of many of the spiritual gifts God makes available to His children, see Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, 28-31; and Ephesians 4:11-13. What spiritual gifts has God given to you? Be sure to discover, practice, develop and use your spiritual gifts with love, humility, and in unity with your church so that others can be brought near to God and so that God’s kingdom can expand on earth. As 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
2 Chronicles 6:14-15 (NIV)
14 He said: “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth–you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.
15 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it–as it is today.
On verses 14-15: One of the running themes in 2 Chronicles is that God is one who fulfills His promises and who keeps His Word (for example, see verse 10). God is faithful and reliable. Whatever He promises with His mouth He makes sure to fulfill with His hand. In the same way, part of being Christ-like is being someone who keeps his or her word. When you make a promise with your mouth, be sure to fulfill it with your hand.
2 Chronicles 6:16-17 (NIV)
16 “Now LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my law, as you have done.’
17 And now, O LORD, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David come true.
On verses 16-17: Here Solomon prays by standing on the promises God has already spoken. When you pray, stand on the promises God has spoken. God’s promises are another hugely important part of the platform God has given you. Instead of praying in a panic, “God, please work this out for good!”, you can pray with faith, “Thank You God for Your promise that You work all things out for the good of those who love You” (Romans 8:28). Instead of praying, “God, I hope You will be with us”, say, “God, thank You for Your promise that You are always with us, even to the very end of the age” (Matthew 11:30). When you stand on the promises of God, it changes the way you approach God, the way you pray, and the way you face whatever challenges are in front of you. You move from a posture of tentativeness to one of faith and confidence, grounded in the promises of God.
2 Chronicles 6:18-21 (NIV)
18 “But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!
19 Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence.
20 May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place.
21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.
On verses 18-21: Solomon understands that not even the highest heavens can contain God, and much less the temple he has built (v18). Still, Solomon is desperate for God to fill this temple with His presence and to hear his prayers and the prayers of his people when they call on Him in the temple. What can we learn from this? Like Solomon does here, may you be desperate for God to come and fill this temple of His, that is your life. May you come to God with an attitude of reverence, where you recognize that God is far bigger than anything we could design ourselves, and an attitude of desperation, where you hunger and thirst for more of God, knowing that we can’t anything without Him and that we are utterly dependent on His grace and mercy. An attitude of desperation for God is a third part of the platform that we ought to stand on when we approach God.
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me a platform to stand on when I approach You, a platform that allows me to be a little closer to heaven and a better leader for others. That platform is comprised of my spiritual gifts, the promises of Your Word, and the conviction that apart from You I can do nothing. May I stand on this platform every day. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
