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Daily Reading: August 25th

#DailyDevotion The Lord Dwells In Thick Darkness

August 25

1 Kng 7:51—8:21

1Ki 8:10-12  And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD,  (11)  so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.  (12)  Then Solomon said, “The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.

1Ki 8:20  Now the LORD has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and I have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.

 

As in the wilderness when the Lord went with the people of Israel in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, the Lord is hidden by the cloud as his glory fills the temple. Now since the time the Israelites crossed into the promised land, the Lord had not shown himself in this way. His name though has come to this resting place and he wishes to give a sign to his people that he is fulfilling his promise and that this place is the place where his name dwells. So he fills it with his glory and covers it with thick darkness.

Now the Lord still covers himself in darkness. He hides his presence from us because he wants us to believe his promise, to trust his word. And there are two types of darkness he tends to hide himself. The first darkness is trial and tribulations, i.e. our crosses. When we are undergoing all sorts of trial and tribulations and we cannot think of what we have done to deserve these pains of life, you can be sure God is hiding himself there. Jesus has said, “If you do not bear your cross, you cannot be my disciple.” So these crosses are there for the strengthening of our faith, the witness of our faith and the purifying of our faith. For we cannot see the Lord in all these things, indeed any normal person would probably think the Lord is far from you. But he is in the thick of it, giving us the strength needs as we cast our cares upon him and trust in his promises to never leave or forsake us.

 

The other darkness the Lord hides himself in are the places he has promised to be but we have no evidence of it except his promise. So he resides in us. In baptism he promises to put his name upon us just as his name came to dwell in Solomon’s temple. But you are more glorious than the temple because the Lord himself has made you. He has placed himself in the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. But the water looks like plain water and the bread and wine retain their elements of bread and wine. The Lord Jesus never the less promised to be there for us to restore us, forgive us, and make us whole in these things.

 

Which is why the third verse I quoted above is important. The Lord had promised things to Abraham, to the Israelites through Moses and to David. Now we see in this account the Lord has fulfilled these promises. The Lord throughout the scriptures makes promises and then fulfills those promises. We have these accounts so that when we think or feel the Lord has abandoned us we can know his promise to us stands firm. He will never leave us or forsake us. He has made us his dwelling, his temple. The Lord Jesus will make sure we persevere in the faith unto life everlasting. He will raise us in new immortal, imperishable bodies when he returns. We have the accounts of fulfilled promises to strengthen us in the promises he has made us will come to fruition.

 

Heavenly Father, you have made many and great promises and all your promises are yes in Christ Jesus your Son. Help us always to remember how you fulfilled your promises in the past that we may take courage in your promises for our present and the future. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Rev. Guillaume J. S. Williams, Sr.

The Reverend Guillaume Williams is the Pastor of Hope Lutheran Chapel of Osage Beach, Missouri. His pastoral ministry with Hope began in 2005 where he preaches the Christ crucified.

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