The Glory of the Lord

“everyone who is called by My Name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made.”  Isaiah 43:7

When David was king over Israel, he desired to build a temple for the Lord—“a house of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD and for the footstool of our God.” (1 Chronicles 28:2) He even mentions that he made preparations for the building of the temple, but because he had been a man of war and had shed blood, the Lord told David that he may not build the temple. Instead the Lord instructed David that his son Solomon would be the one to build the temple of the Lord, so David gave Solomon all of the plans for building the temple. Soon Solomon set skilled people in charge of all of the structures and elements of the temple. Once it is complete Solomon offers a prayer of dedication for the temple.

“As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD's house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, ‘For He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever’.” 2 Chronicles 7:1-3

The glory of the Lord fell as fire from heaven. That’s amazing! If there was any doubt in the minds of Israel’s enemies that the One True God was on their side I am sure it was completely erased when they saw that fire. Imagine if we saw a building with fire resting upon it, but the fire was not consuming the building. To say we would be shocked is an understatement. We also see this happen earlier in the Bible when Moses erected the tabernacle of the Lord.

“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.” Exodus 40:34-38

Both the tabernacle and the temple of the Lord are purposed to house the Lord among His people. Throughout scripture we see a common desire in the heart of God—to dwell among His people.

“I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Ezekiel 37:26-27

The Lord’s desire was to dwell with His people, but He did not desire to dwell in man-made houses. Solomon even laments on this truth: “But who is able to build Him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain Him? Who am I to build a house for Him, except as a place to make offerings before Him?” (2 Chronicles 2:6) In fact, the Ark of the Covenant which represents the presence of God on earth, had golden rings with golden poles that went through them so it could be carried around with the Israelite nation, this represents that the Lord does not have a resting place on earth.

In the New Testament after Jesus ascends into heaven His followers were awaiting the Helper whom Jesus promised He would send. The day that the Holy Spirit fell on the earth is what we call the day of Pentecost—which means fifty, so it was fifty days after the ascension of Jesus into heaven.

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4

If you remember, after Jesus died on the cross the curtain of the temple that separated the holy place from the most holy place was torn in two. We understand this now to represent that our bodies are now temples of the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:19).  The Lord’s desire was not to dwell in man-made houses, but God-made houses! The Lord dwells in each of us—we carry the presence of the Lord, just like the priests who used to carry the Ark of the Covenant around with the Israelite nation.

It says in this passage in Acts that divided tongues as of fire rested on each one of them. Just like the fire that fell from heaven and rested upon the tabernacle, just like the fire that fell from heaven and rested upon the temple, the fire of the Lord fell from heaven and rested on each person because we are now the vessels of the Lord’s glory. Isaiah 43:7 says that we were created for His glory—my purpose is to bring glory to the Lord through the gifts He has given to me.

Imagine the change that would occur in the world if all Christians understood that our purpose is to carry the presence and the glory of the Lord! The needs of people would be met, physical ailments and emotional scars would be healed, and people would experience the freedom that only the Spirit of the Lord can bring. I want to see the Kingdom of God manifested on this earth. I want to see the culture of man submit to the culture of heaven! I want to see the love of Jesus Christ expressed to each and every individual person.

And I want to see the glory of the Lord rest like fire upon His temples again.