Today’s passage: 2 Chronicles 5:2-14
Helpful thoughts:
- The Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Holy of Holies and the glory of the Lord came down as He did in Exodus 40:34-38.
- The Ark of the Covenant contained the written covenant, the written word of God.
- In his study Bible notes, John MacArthur gives these five reasons for emphasis of the Temple in the OT:
- It was the center of worship that called people to correct belief through the generations.
- It was the symbol of God’s presence with His people.
- It was the symbol of forgiveness and grace, reminding the people of the seriousness of sin and the availability of mercy.
- It prepared the people for the true Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who would take away sin.
- It was a place of prayer.
Questions to consider:
- In what way was the priests’ inability to continue ministering a poignant moment of worship compared to all the work they had done prior to God’s glory coming down? What would have been going through their minds? How was God praised uniquely in their silence and reverence, and also in their previous singing and sacrifices?
- How could the fact that God’s written word is the only thing contained in the Ark a reminder to us of the significance of God’s written word? How precious is the word of God? What do we see and who is revealed to us when we read it’s words?
- What Gospel truths do we see in the few lyrics of the song in verse 13? God is good. What are we? What is mercy? How has God exercised His mercy toward us in Christ? How long will that mercy endure to all who place their faith in Christ?