GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
2 CHRONICLES 6:4-9
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4 Solomon said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel. He has fulfilled with his hands what he promised with his mouth to David, my father. He had said, 5 ‘From the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any of the tribes of Israel in which to build a house where my Name will be. I chose no man to be ruler over my people Israel. 6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place where my Name will be, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’ 7 David my father had it in his heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 8 But the LORD said to David, my father, ‘It was good for you to have it in your heart to build a house for my Name, 9 but you will not build that house. Your son, who will come from your own body will build the house for my Name.’” (See 1 Kings 8:15-19)
This prayer is repeated from 1 Kings 8. “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel” is perhaps quoted in the Song of Zechariah (Luke 1:68). This the believer praising God by blessing him– something that only one of his dear children can do. Throughout this prayer (6:12-42) a pattern of threes is repeated, with an overarching (chiastic) A-B-B-B-A pattern:
6:4-11 … God was faithful in the days of the tabernacle, faithful when David wanted to build a temple, and faithful to Solomon. (See 1 Kings 8:14-21) – God is faithful (part 1)
6:12-21 … God’s promises are fulfilled; he hears from heaven; when he hears, he acts. (See 1 Kings 8:22-32) – God is gracious (part 1)
6:22-31 … God chastens his people with war (and forgives); with drought (and forgives); with famine (and forgives). (See 1 Kings 8:33-40) – God is gracious (part 2)
6:32-39 … Oh God, hear the foreigner who prays, the soldier who prays, the captive who prays! (See 1 Kings 8:41-53) – God is gracious (part 3)
6:40-42 … Come to your resting place; do not reject your anointed one, remember your great love. (See 1 Kings 8:54-61) God is faithful (part 2)
In verses 4-9, the first part of God’s faithfulness is proclaimed and praised: Just as he was faithful in the days of Moses when the first tabernacle was being built and used, so also he has been faithful to Solomon’s father David, who wanted to build the temple, and to Solomon, who was set aside (sanctified) for that purpose.
The first tabernacle went wherever God moved. In the days of the exodus, the list of stopping places was extensive (see Numbers 33:3-49). After they entered the Promised Land, the tent was evidently set up (or remained portable for a while?) between the Jordan and Jericho (Joshua 4:18; 6:1-4). They set up the tabernacle at Shiloh after that (Joshua 18:1,31), and at some point it was moved to Bethel (Judges 20:26-27). Was it taken here or there to other places in the new land? We are not told much, but by Samuel’s time, it was once again back at Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:3). But God did not command that the place of worship had to remain at any one place. “I have not chosen a city from any of the tribes of Israel in which to build a house where my Name will be.”
Throughout Solomon’s prayer, the Lord’s phrase “my Name” is equivalent to the Lord saying “Me.” I think that the first time we see this is in Exodus 9:16, when God said to Pharaoh, “I raised you up so I might show you my power and so that my Name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” And then in Exodus 23:21 God said, “Pay attention to Moses, for my Name is in him.” For wherever God’s name is proclaimed and believed, there his Holy Spirit dwells, and he is there (Galatians 3:5).
The reason God gives us his name is so that we can know who he is (Acts 15:7_, and so that we can know how it is that our sins are forgiven and (Luke 24:47) we can be raised from the dead and taken into heaven (1 Thessalonians 1:10). And he also gives us his name so that we can worship him (Amos 5:4), and also trust in him (Psalm 9:10), and pray in his name so that he will hear us and bless us (John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23-24, 26). This is the summary of how we keep the Second Commandment.
We can take what God praises in David’s heart, which is first of all faith and the desire to give glory to God (Romans 5:2; 1 Peter 1:7), and apply it directly to ourselves today. Let faith be what fills us (Acts 11:24; Philemon 1:6), not anger or greed or lust or conspiracy (Colossians 3:5; Psalm 64:2) Let faith guide us (Isaiah 58:11), not the sinful nature (Romans 7:5), or wild impulses (Luke 15:13), or irresponsible acts that hurt other people (Proverbs 13:20). Let faith be a beacon that shines on our path (Acts 26:18; Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 4:18), always seeking righteousness (Matthew 6:33; Isaiah 51:1; Hosea 10:12; Zephaniah 2:3), always seeking obedience to God (Nehemiah 1:5), always seeking God himself to rule our hearts and bless our lives (Psalm 128:5). “Let nothing burn hotter than my faith.”
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Listen or watch Bible classes online. https://splnewulm.org/invisible-church/
Archives at St Paul’s Lutheran Church https://splnewulm.org/daily-devotions/ and Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: www.wlchapel.org/connect-grow/ministries/adults/daily-devotions/gwfy-archive/2024
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – 2 Chronicles 6:4-9 A place for God’s Name