"If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his hands toward this house; then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men, that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You have given to our fathers” (1 Kings 8:37-40, NASB).
In the great dedicatory prayer of Solomon, sanctifying the temple to the great God of Israel, he admits in advance of the fact there will be severe testing that comes upon the people who serve and love the Lord. Some of them will be nation-wide illnesses, attesting that God’s hand is moving and He desires the immediate attention of His people.
We might naturally think they must make sacrifice at the temple to show they’ve heard Him, and we would be right.
But I wonder, have you thought what it would be like to go worship Him only three times a year, at festivals help in concert with harvest seasons as stipulated in the Law of Moses? If one made a sacrifice at the temple when God did not ordain, it was rejected by Him and considered unholy.
Or to say it differently, Israelite worshippers could only offer gifts to the Lord when He ordained, and it might not be for months after the time of harvest, or months after plague. And all of a sudden, guess what? The gathering of people for worship isn’t quite so routine. For the pious, the heart grows faint, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” (Ps. 42:2-3, NASB).
Truth is, God never wanted their gifts. He wanted their hearts, just as His Son said, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men” (Mark 7:6-8, ESV). No wonder God gave them time off between worship services. He was giving them time to get their hearts square with Him and His high and holy commandments.
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Sent out by the Pastoral Staff (Ted Bigelow, Pastor of Preaching and Development and Steve Ridge, Executive Pastor) of Grace Bible Church of Colorado Springs.
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