Duty

And it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, "For He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever," the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

So much to love. My favorite is that first part. It's part of a long list of musicians and their instruments that is actually set apart in parenthesis in these verse. What a fantastic side note?! It was their duty to be heard. Say all the animals waiting to get slaughtered were getting noisy or the people were sort of lacking energy. Doesn't matter, you have to be loud enough to be heard. A simple song, but it was enough to bring down the presence of the Lord. He came in a cloud and they couldn't even stand. Isn't that a crazy picture?

I think it's important to read the passages about the opening of the Temple with your imagination turned on. There is a lot of imagery here to soak in. First you have this bloody, noisy seen of animals being sacrificed. You hear the shouts and songs as the ark is being brought in and put where it belongs. You see the priests rising up to do their priestly duties, and the cloud of the Lord's presences falling, and with it every single person in there. Standing before the Lord's glory would be a challenge, if not wholly impossible. So people are probably on the ground looking like crazy people. Animals are still being sacrificed. Eventually the king stands up to say some words, people hanging on every one of them. This is probably the quietest it got that day and for the next few days. They had nonstop celebrations for 7 days - maybe even 14. At the end of that time when Solomon dismisses them to their homes, they leave full of joy.

What a story to be able to pass on to your grandkids. I was there the day we dedicated the House of the Lord. I saw Solomon and heard his wise words. I heard the loud music and praise of the people. It was a sight of pure joy before the Lord.

There are some moments I would love to go back in time and live through. I think this is one of them.

Lord, make this type of celebration possible in these modern times. Call Your Church together to be full of praises to You! Let standing around singing not be good enough. Send us to our knees. Let us be prostrated by a fear and love of You. Let our worship change from loud enough for us to hear to making ourselves heard. I want to be heard by the nations. Lord, raise up worshipers.


Amen. Amen. Amen.