Dear ones in Christ,
God gives glory to the children of God and to the church. The Israelites who left Egypt and went to Canaan saw God’s glory in the Temple that is The Tabernacle. God’s glory sanctifies and guides us. God works as the protecting glory in the wilderness through the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. Also God showed His providing glory by feeding the Israelites with Manna. God wants to dwell among the men. God’s glory was revealed through Moses. We should also earnestly pray to see the God’s glory.
God’s glory was seen in the Temple built by Solomon in the Promised Land Canaan.
In 2 Chronicles – 7:1-3, we read, “Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD”S house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever”. God’s glory departed because of the sinful livels of the people. In 1 Samuel – 4:21, we read, “And she named the child I-chabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband”. The glory of the LORD which was in the temple departed because of the sin.
God’s glory departed due to four reasons: God wants to arise in our Churches and wants to bless us all. God’s glory should remain His temple. If we sanctify ourselves and keep us holy, God’s glory will remain upon us and upon our churches.
- Irritating Idols:
In Ezekiel – 8:10, we read, “So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about”. When God’s children who are created in God’s own likeness and image, do not worship the creator, but instead worship animals and creeping things which are created, the glory of the Lord will depart - Abominable Idols:
In Ezekiel – 8:12, we read, “The said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? For they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth”. - The secret lives of the elders:
In Ezekiel – 8:11, we read, “And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and the thick cloud of incense went up”. The elders and the priests did not live a life of holiness and dedication. So the God’s glory did not stay in the house of the Lord. - The people cried for the goddesses of adultery Tammus: In Ezekiel – 8:14, we read, “Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD”S house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammus”. If there is adultery or the spirit of abomination in the secret life of the believers, women and young people, God’s glory will not remain the house of the Lord.
- They worshipped the Sun:
In Ezekiel – 8:16, we read, “And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD”S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east”. - They use drugs, they provoke me to anger: In Ezekiel – 8:17, we read, “Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of
man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose”. Our body is the temple of God. We should not smoke, drink alcohol and use drugs and provoke God to anger. We should live such a life that the glory of the Lord could remain in our houses and our churches. We should maintain and protect our body so that God could dwell in our body. God was utterly angry when the Israelites did not walk according to the commandments of the Lord, but instead lived according to the immoral ways of the gentile people living around them.
