1 Kings 8 & 2 Chronicles 5
Once the temple was finished, they brought in the ark of the covenant. It was brought into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Holy of Holies. When the priests (who had sanctified themselves) had come out, and the group praised the LORD, His glory filled the temple and the priests couldn’t perform their service because of His great glory.
That concept of how great the glory of the LORD is hard to comprehend for me. On one of our Zoom calls for the youth group recently, we watched a video on holiness. There were some interesting points in it, and a good analogy on how to better understand God’s holiness and why we can’t be too close (watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9vn5UvsHvM). We cannot get too close to God because we are impure, and He is perfect. People had to purify themselves to come into the temple. And for the Holy of Holies, or Most Holy Place, separated by a veil, the purified high priest could only enter once per year on the Day of Atonement when the whole nation asked God for forgiveness of their sins.
The good news for us is that we live in a time after Jesus interceded. When he died, that veil was torn, and we can now come to God instead of the high priest, and we can come without having to go through those same purifying rituals. I forget sometimes what a blessing that is. Because of Jesus being our mediator, we can go to God and receive forgiveness from our sins by request, not through sacrificial offerings. We have never had to live in a time where it was different, but can you imagine it? Thinking of this helps to remind me of how amazing Jesus’ sacrifice was.
If you haven’t already, you can stop reading in 1 Kings 8 at verse 12 and pick up there tomorrow to read a similar account in 2 Chronicles.
~Stephanie Fletcher
Today’s Bible passage can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+8%2C+2+Chronicles+5&version=NIV
Tomorrow’s reading will be 2 Chronicles 6-7 and Psalm136 as we continue on our 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan
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