This is the Bible Book Club, the book of Second Chronicles.

Welcome to the club.

Last time in chapters four and five of Second Chronicles, Solomon turned from building the temple to furnishing it. He provided all that God

had decreed to Moses when Moses furnished the tabernacle. However, Solomon supersized everything for the

temple. And he embellished it with a lot of bronze and a lot of gold, like tons of gold. And now we have

an even greater appreciation of why these gatekeepers were so

important. They had to keep all that gold in the temple safe. When all the work of the temple and

the furnishings was complete, Solomon successfully moved the ark into the most holy place in

the temple. There was a lot of celebrating, sacrificing, singing, and then the cloud of the Lord made a rare

appearance and filled the temple.

So the chronicler has been retelling the exiles' stories of their past so they can have hope

for their future.

The completion of the temple and the appearance of God's glory in the cloud were the high

points of their past.

Not just because God was now dwelling among

them and could be properly worshipped, the temple was a faith builder. It was visible proof

that God had done everything he had promised. Scene one, Solomon speaks of the promises

fulfilled. This scene is a continuation of our last episode.

The glory of the Lord in the form of a cloud has just filled the temple. I cannot imagine what

the collective crowd response was, where they silent in awe are cheering and joy. I do not know.

How long did it take for Solomon to regain his composure after witnessing that?

I am not sure again.

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