So King Solomon took on the task. And it was a huge task: stone quarried from the hill country, cut to size and shape at the quarries, then hauled to Jerusalem. Cedar wood purchased from King Hiram of Tyre at great expense. There was a work force of 70,000 men. I guess that beats the new Forth Bridge! There was to be the best of everything for the new Temple. Then at last the day came when the building was finished. At the right moment, on the first day of the seventh month, of a jubilee year (a special year of liberation, rest and celebration) all the new furnishings were in place and the ark and other holy things were brought from the Tent. There were so many sheep and oxen sacrificed that they could not be counted (2Ch 5:6) The choir was singing, the band was playing; the priests on duty weren't able to stand, they were overcome by the presence of God. And then Solomon himself led in a dedication prayer. (Chapter 6) And what a prayer... there's worship that stands in awe at the presence of God (v. 18 "But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!); there's penitence (v 22-39; the prayer does not presume just because they have the temple that they have God on their side; it recognises that sin blocks blessing and repentance releases blessing.) and there's a confident faith (v. 41 "And now arise, O Lord God, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.")
And then the fire fell and burned up the offerings on the altar. Solomon sacrificed 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. The festival went on for seven days, had a special service on day eight, and then continued for another fortnight. Then Solomon sent everyone home. There was quietness, and Solomon was able to hear God speaking to him. We need all the different parts of the cycle of busy-ness, sacrifice, enthusiastic worship, and solitude, for the voice of God to come through.
And what God gave was this call and this promise. We too are a people of prayer and promise. As we hear the call to prayer, we come as Israel did with our history... a long period of blessings and challenges. . This Church was formed in 1918; the BU of Scotland was founded in 1869, with 51 churches averaging 70 members in each; but there have been Baptists in Scotland for much longer than that. So we have lots of history, some good, with dedication, effective mission and growth; some bad, with times of division and independence: to what extent do the things we have carried in our past, prevent us from building with God for the future? It's a thought!
And we come with a sacrifice. For Israel there was a huge commitment in terms of obtaining and working with materials, both stone and timber. A huge effort on the part of workers; and a vast number of sacrifices on the altar. There needs to be a sacrifice. We can't expect God to bless what we are not committed to, or what he is not committed to. We can't get blessing on the cheap. God is looking for commitment; and he is looking for surrender. We can't ask God to bless us and our situation, while we remain in control of it all. Our "sacrifice" means we're not just investing in our own comfort and advancement. Remember, the humility and honesty in Solomon's prayer, to recognize that sin blocks blessing and repentance releases blessing.
So the call itself presumes that there are felt needs: verse 13 speaks about times when the land will experience drought, locusts, pestilence. Difficulties do come along, as they have come along to our churches in the Western world. When they do we can either moan and groan and say, "how terrible that the world isn't interested in Christianity any more. How terrible that we have become such a secular society. How terrible that we are having such an economic upheaval. How terrible that our nation has gone away from God." I have problems with that because I don't believe we've ever been that close to God. Scotland, England, or the USA have never been God's people. And it's to God's people that God makes his promise.
God says, "If my people will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways:" four things...
1. Humbling ourselves... bending the knee, bowing low, and coming in an attitude of absolute dependency to God.
2. Prayer. It does what it says on the tin. The word can mean mediate, judge, or intervene. It's about stepping in to bring to God the needs of a world that cannot be expected to pray for itself
3. Seeking God's face (Literally striving after his presence) God is presence. There's no such thing as God without presence. As Len Magee used to sing, "it's the presence of your Spirit Lord we need." When we pray we are not looking first of all for a few little coincidences that wouldn't have happened otherwise. We are not looking first of all for a healing or a conversion or one or two new people in Church. We are looking for God's presence. We are admitting we can't do it without Him, and calling upon Him to act.
4. Repentance. Turning from our wicked ways. (Literally "turning around from the bad, evil, hurtful road.") Repentance begins at the household of God. We are the ones to be saying sorry to God for our failure to share the message in a clear and meaningful way; for the hundred and one ways in which we - and the means we have used - have contradicted and denied the message we try to proclaim. In a time when the Church goes through a difficult time, we need to hear the call to come back to the core of our faith, our call, our discipleship.
"Then," God says, "I will hear, forgive and heal.."
1. Hearing from heaven. And as God hears (attentively, with interest and understanding) all the resources of Heaven are released to grant the request.
2. Forgiving sins. God begins by removing the blockages in our lives and our life together, to the full blessing he wants to give.
3. Healing the land. God sews together, mends a broken world. The Hebrew word "land" means literally "Earth, territory, or soil". It only refers to the people who live in the land as a secondary meaning. (That would normally be the words "nation, kingdom, or people") God is talking in the context of troubles that have come upon the physical "land" (drought, locust and pestilence) and he is talking about a healing that goes down to the very soil itself. That is the work of healing that is needed in 21st century Scotland. What does God want? Bigger Baptist Churches? A bigger Baptist Union? Or churches that can be a blessing and a healing to our nation?
© Gilmour Lilly October 2010
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