2 Chronicles 6:32

2 Chronicles 6:32 says, Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;  Solomon then began to instruct them about strangers, people who were not born in Israel, who came to the temple to worship.  We are all strangers to God until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and once we do accept Him there is no separation between us.  Verse thirty-three adds, Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.  Solomon asked that God hear the prayers of the strangers who came accepting Him as their God and then came to the temple to worship Him.  He asked that this be done so that the whole world would know about the greatness of God and that the temple was built to honor and glorify God.  God still calls all people to Him today, and if they accept His gift of salvation, He will always hear their prayers.  Verse thirty-four continues, If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;  Solomon then referred to the people of Israel who went to war against the people of the world and their praying toward the city and the temple.  We as Christians are at war with the forces of evil today, and we must always pray to God as we engage int the battle, but we don't need to look to a particular place when we pray.  We only need to come by faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse thirty-five concludes, Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.  Solomon asked that if they sought God's guidance and strength that He would hear them and give it to them.  One thing we can be sure of is that if we pray to God for wisdom and strength as followers of Christ, He will hear us and answer our prayer.  Verse thirty-six states, If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;  Solomon then made a plea for the people if they sinned against God and stated that everyone sinned.  He talked about God becoming angry with the people of Israel, His chosen people, because of their sin and His allowing them to be defeated by another nation.  We as Christians are still going to sin at times, I believe, and God is going to be upset with us because of our sin, but He will never allow us to be spiritually defeated forever.  Once we are saved, we are God's child forever. Verse thirty-seven adds, Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;  Solomon continued to talk to God about the people who had sinned and were carried away captive who then repented of their sins and called on God again.  If we have allowed sin back into our lives as Christians and have fallen captive to it, we must repent and ask God for forgiveness to be restored to all that we should be spiritually.  The people of Israel in captivity were still God's chosen people to work through, and even if we give in to sin as Christians, we are still one of God's people and He will call us to repentance and restore us when we repent and ask forgiveness.  Verse thirty-eight continues, If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:  This verse is a continuation of Solomon's talking to God about the people in captivity for their sins repenting and calling on Him again.  Verse thirty-nine concludes, Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.  Solomon asked God in the situation where His people were in captivity because of their sin and repented that He would hear and forgive them.  We can be certain that as followers of Christ, even if we have sinned again, if we repent and ask God's forgiveness, He will hear us and forgive us.  Verse forty says, Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.  Solomon asked God to look on the temple and hear his prayer.  Jesus Christ is the true temple of God, and if we pray to Him, God will see us and hear our prayers.  Verse forty-one adds, Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.  Solomon was basically asking God to enter the temple as His resting place and to let the priests be clothed in salvation.  As I have stated before, as followers of Christ, our bodies are the temples of God, and the Holy Spirit indwells us as His resting place, and we have God's salvation forever.  Verse forty-two continues, O Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.  As Solomon asked then, God is never going to turn His face away from those who are His, even if we fall back into sin.  He is always going to have His arms outstretched to welcome us home.

2 Chronicles 6:22

2 Chronicles 6:22 says, If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;  Verse twenty-three adds, Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.  Solomon asked that if people had a disagreement with each other, that they bring it before God at the altar and He hear them from heaven and decide the issue.  He also asked that the guilty be punished and the one in the right be justified.  We need to allow God to settle our disagreements as Christians today, because He expects us as followers of Christ to be at peace with each other in the world. Verse twenty-four continues, And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;  Solomon also acknowledged that the people of Israel might sin, and if they did, he asked that they return to God's house and confess and repent for their sins in the name of God.  It is not enough to just confess our sins if we don't repent, or turn away, from them.  Even though our sins are all washed away by the blood of Christ, as His followers we are still capable of sin, and if we do sin, we cannot just become indifferent to it.  We must still confess it and repent.  Verse twenty-five concludes, Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.  Solomon asked God to hear the confessions and requests for forgiveness from His people and restore them to the land He had given them.  As Christians, we never lose our everlasting salvation, but if we sin, we may lose our joy or our effectiveness in reaching people with the gospel, but when we confess our sins to God, we can be certain that He will forgive us and restore us to a right relationship with Him.  Verse twenty-six states, When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;  Solomon asked that if the people were being punished for their sins, in this case by having the rain withheld, that if they confessed and turned away from their sins that God would hear and forgive them.  Of course, he said if they did so before the temple, but we today can ask God for forgiveness wherever we are, and if we are truly repentant, He will forgive us and restore us to a right relationship with Him, whether our physical condition changes or not.  Verse twenty-seven adds, Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.  Solomon asked that God not only forgive the people and send the rain, but that He teach them the good way to live.  God is always going to guide us to the path of righteousness as followers of Christ, and then we simply have to not stray from it or return to it if we have strayed.  The Holy Spirit will guide and empower us to do this.  We are never to attempt to become righteous before God by our own abilities.  Verse twenty-eight continues, If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:  Verse twenty-nine concludes, Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:  Solomon then expanded it from a lack of rain to pests destroying crops and the people suffering because of the sins of the people of Israel.   He again asked in this case that the people be forgiven and restored if they repented before the house of God.  Verse thirty says, Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)  Solomon then asked this be done according to the hearts of the people, because God alone could know the heart of people.  God knows if our repentance is sincere today as Christians, because He knows our heart.  Verse thirty-one adds, That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.  Solomon also asked that once the people repented and were forgiven that they would walk in the path of God.  As Christians, if we sin and repent, God will restore us to the path of righteousness, but we will never lose our status as a child of God if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.

2 Chronicles 6:12

2 Chronicles 6:12 says, And he stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:  Solomon then stood before all the people of Israel and spread his hands out to them.  He was now going to pray for the consecration of the temple.  Jesus Christ stands before us today with His arms outstretched asking us to be consecrated to Him.  Just as Solomon knew that only God could consecrate the temple, only Jesus Christ can consecrate us today, and we need to accept Him as our Savior and Lord and pray to Him that we will always be consecrated to Him.  Verse thirteen adds, For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven.  Solomon had a brazen scaffold made so he could be above the people so they could see him, but he kneeled on the scaffold to show his humility before God and then spread his hands toward heaven to in appeal to God.  Even if we are in a position of authority in the church today, we need to let people know that we are humbled before God.  Solomon did not do this to call attention to himself, but to call attention to God and that should be our desire today.  Verse fourteen continues, And said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:  Solomon began by acknowledging that there is but one God, and thanking Him for His mercy toward those who walked before Him with all their heart.  In order to be saved, we must acknowledge that there is but one God and thank Him for showing His mercy to us, even before we walked in His ways.  Just as God kept His covenant with the people of Israel, He will keep His covenant with us today if we have entered into that covenant relationship by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and we should always be thankful to Him for that.  Verse fifteen states, Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.  Solomon said that God had fulfilled His promise to David that day, and one day, God is going to fulfill His promise to all who put their faith in Jesus Christ and take us to our heavenly home.  Verse sixteen adds, Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.  Solomon then asked that God fulfill His promise to David that one of his descendants would always sit on the throne of Israel, and this promise was fulfilled with Jesus Christ, a descendant of David and the eternal King of God's people.  Solomon also said that this applied to those who obeyed God, and God's promise of salvation can only come through putting our faith in Jesus Christ, and then we need to be obedient to Him.  Still, we will not lose that covenant relationship even if we fail to obey Him at all times.  Verse seventeen continues, Now then, O Lord God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.  Solomon then asked for God to let His word that He spoke to David be verified, and we can rest assured that once God has made a promise, we have no need to ask Him to verify it.  Verse eighteen says, But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!  Solomon the acknowledged that even the heavens could not contain God, so why would he expect a house that he built to contain Him.  We should never attempt to confine God to church buildings.  Verse nineteen adds, Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:  Solomon then asked God to hear his prayer, and as followers of Christ, God will always hear and answer our prayers.  We may not want to acknowledge the answer when it comes, but our prayers will always be answered.  Verse twenty continues, That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.  Solomon then said that God had promised to be with them in the place His name had been put, the temple, both day and night.  We have the assurance that as Christians God will be with us day and night, since the Holy Spirit dwells within us.  Verse twenty-one concludes, Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.  Solomon asked God to hear the prayers of the people from His dwelling place, which was not the temple but the heavens and for Him to forgive the people of Israel when they sinned.  God is still in the heavens, and He will hear our prayers and if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, He has already forgiven our sins.  Still, we need to lift up our prayers to Him, even if He already knows what we need.

2 Chronicles 6:7

2 Chronicles 6:7 says, Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.  Solomon said that David had desired to build a house in the name of the LORD God of Israel.  David had been very successful as king, and he didn't think that it was right for him to live in a house and the Ark of the Covenant to be in a tent.  The people were no longer moving, so the Ark didn't have to be moving either, so David wanted to prepare for it a glorious permanent place to be kept where the people could come to worship God.  As Christians, the Holt Spirit is never going to leave us, so we are always in the presence of God, even as we move throughout life.  Verse eight adds, But the Lord said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:  God told David that he did well to have it in his heart to build a place where He could be worshipped.  This would imply that God led David to this desire, otherwise God wouldn't have said David did well.  If we're doing something for God today, we need to ensure that we are being guided by the Holy Spirit to do so.  Verse nine continues, Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.  Solomon also said that even though God said David did well in desiring to build Him a house, that he wasn't going to be allowed to do so, but his son, who turned out to be Solomon, would build it.  We may have good ideas about what needs to be done for God, and He might approve of it, but still not allow us to do it, but it may be done by someone who comes after us.  Verse ten adds, The Lord therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.  Solomon said that God had fulfilled His word to David, and tha he, Solomon, had built the house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.  Solomon was giving the credit to God and even to his father, David, for the fact that the temple had been built, and whatever we do for God today, we should never seek glory for ourselves in doing it, but should always give the glory to God, and maybe even acknowledge that those who have gone before us are also to be given credit.  Verse eleven adds, And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, that he made with the children of Israel.  Solomon then said he put the Ark of the Covenant in the temple.  This represented the covenant that God made with the people of Israel, and we as followers of Christ have the Holy Spirit, Who represents the covenant that God made with us when we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, living inside of us.

2 Chronicles 6:1

2 Chronicles 6:1 says, Then said Solomon, The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.  Matthew Henry says basically that this means that God will dwell in the darkness of the world for the sake of His people instead of the light of Heaven.  I do know that we are told we see Him as if we are looking through a dark glass here on earth, but if we are a follower of Christ, we will one day see Him clearly in our heavenly home.  Verse two adds But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.  Though Solomon built God a beautiful house and said that He would have a place o dwell forever, we know that God is not contained to one place and the temple has been gone for a long time.  The hearts of Christians is now God's dwelling place here, and He is with us wherever we are.  We do not have to go to a particular place nor go through anyone else to speak to God or be in His presence.  As a matter of fact, we as Christians cannot go anywhere that God isn't there, and we live in His light and not the darkness of the world.  Verse three continues, And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.  We are told that Solomon turned his face to the people and blessed the whole congregation of Israel, but as I have said before, I believe that he asked God's blessing on them.  Verse four states, And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying,  Solomon did then give praise to God, Who Solomon said had fulfilled what He promised to David.  We can be certain that God will always fulfill His promises to us in His own time.  Verse five adds, Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel:  Solomon said that God had said that since He brought His people out of Egypt, He had no permanent dwelling place nor a king over His people until Saul was made king by the demands of the people.  God still has no permanent dwelling place nor any earthly person who stands in His place.  God alone is the ruler of His people, and they are scattered throughout the world.  Verse six continues, But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.  Solomon said God had chosen Jerusalem as His city and David as His king, even though the people of Israel had chosen Saul.  I believe based on how they look or that they had gone more by physical attributes instead of spiritual ones.  We certainly do not need to choose leaders for any reason other than spiritual ones.   

2 Chronicles 5:11

2 Chronicles 5:11 says, And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:  The priests who were sanctified went into the holy place first, not waitng for it to be their turn to do so.  The Ark needed to be placed in the holy of holies as soon as possible, and there would be time to set the schedule for the priests to enter later.  Of course, any time we come before the Lord, we need to come as spiritually pure as we can.  Fortunately, we are not limited in the time that we can come to Jesus Christ in worship or in need.  Verse twelve adds, Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)  They also came with singing and music praising God when they placed the Ark of the Covenant in the temple.  When we gather to worship God today, we need to come singing and making music to praise Him.  Verse thirteen continues, It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord;  Those playing the trumpets and singing were united in their worship to the point that the sounded as if they were one.  We need that same unity in worship. Too often, we just sit silently while songs are being sung in church, but even if we don't think we are the best of singer, we can make a joyful noise.  If someone has a problem with it, that is their problem and not ours.  When they did this, the cloud that represented God filled the house.   We need spirit filled church buildings today, and if we are truly worshipping God, I believe they will be.  Verse fourteen concludes, So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.  The cloud was so great that the priests couldn't stand to minister, because the glory of the Lord had filled the house.  If this happened in church today, we might get upset because it interrupted our beautifully planned service, but I hope not.  I do believe that when true worship breaks out that the Holy Spirit will fill the building.

2 Chronicles 5:1

 2 Chronicles 5:1 says, Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the Lord was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.  When the work of building the temple was completed, Solomon brought all the things dedicated to the temple by David inside the temple.  I believe as followers of Christ, everything we own should be dedicated to God and brought to Him for His use under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse two adds, Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.  Next, Solomon assembled all the main people in roles of leadership over the people of Israel for the purpose of bringing the Ark of the Covenant to the temple.  The Ark of the Covenant represented God, and when we as Christians gather today, we gather at the foot of the cross, which is where we find the love of God represented at its greatest.  We don't just bring the gospel into the church building though, but we spread it throughout the land.  Verse three continues, Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month.  All of Israel was assembled for the feast, and we as followers of Christ should always be assembled to feast on God's word when we come together.  Verse four states, And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.  The elders of Israel were there, but it was the Levites who took up the Ark, which was what God had instructed.  If we are together with people of power, we still must make sure that we are obedient to God's word and don't just give in to those in power.  Verse five adds, And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up.  They didn't just bring the Ark, but they brought the tabernacle that housed it and all the holy vessels as well.  When we come to God by faith in Jesus Christ, we need to bring everything we have with us, and we need to accept all of His word to guide us in life every day.  Verse six continues, Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude.  Solomon and those gathered there made a sacrifice so great that what they sacrificed could not even be counted.  We need to be generous in our sacrifices to God, since He is the one Who blesses us with everything to start with.  Verse seven says, And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims:  The Ark of the Covenant was brought into the most holy place under the wings of the cherubim, which was also referred to as the oracle of the temple.  This was the place the priests would go to to seek God's will for the people.  As Christians, the most holy place for us must be our heart, and we should go to God individually and as a group to seek His will as He speaks to each heart.  He is not going to lead His people in opposite directions spiritually.  Verse eight adds, For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.  The cherubim covered the Ark from above, and as Christians, we are covered by something even greater, and that is the love of God which comes down from above.  Verse nine continues, And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day.  They removed the staves that were used to transport the Ark and left them where they could not be seen from outside.  The Ark was not going to need to be transported anymore, and once we have accepted Jesus Christ into our heart, He will never be moved.  Verse ten concludes, There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.  All that was in the Ark was the two tablets containing God's commandments given to Moses at Mount Horeb.  God's commandments were to be their guiding force in life.  As Christians, we have God's commandments written in our heart, and under the leadership and power of the Holy Spirit, this should be our guiding force.