Title: Fanatics! / Topic: Radical Worship

Hello, I am posting today from our nation's capital, Washinton D.C.

Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 6-7; Psalm 135; Romans 4

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:3-9 (excerpts)
1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple...
3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground...
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD... 5 ...twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats... 6 ...all the Israelites were standing.
7 Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.
8 So Solomon observed the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly... 9 On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival for seven days more.

Obervation: What an amazing scene! The story of Solomon's dedication of The Temple is off the charts! First, Solomon prays (read my comment in yesterday's post), and then all heaven breaks loose! The fire of God comes down and consumes the burnt offering and a presence (God's Shekinah glory) fills the room so no one can stand. Awesome. But what I note is how these people (including Solomon) are fanatics. Look at what they do: They kneel and worship with their faces on the ground -- that's radical. Then they offer burnt offerings (which has to be a bloody and messy and smelly business -- I'm glad we don't have to do that today). And pay attention in verse 5 to how many animal were sacrificed: 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats! This is a staggering number -- I really cannot comprehend it. And they had to use the ground in front of the altar because the altar couldn't accomodate the large quantity of sacrifices! It is fanatical, radical worship. And apparently according to verse 6, the people were standing up the whole time! If I read it right, the whole process took 14 days! Imagine 14 days of sacrificing! Wow!!!

Application: Sometimes I get weary in worship. Church services can wear you out. And I see it in others. They get too tired to stand during the singing so they sit down. Their arms are tired so they don't raise them. They don't sing out loudly because, well, I don't know why but they don't -- they seem tired out. Every now and then, I get a look from someone that tells me they think I'm a little overly-fanatical about worship and they would like me to tone it down a little. But when I read what Solomon and the Israelites did here it makes me realize that I don't know what radical worship truly is. We have it so easy in comparison to what these worshipers did. I think we need to buck up and toughen up and get more open to real travail and real worship. There were two statements I heard on Sunday that come to mind on this subject: first, Becki said that God was calling us to "wail" (and we all listened and nodded but no one wailed). Second, Robert said to me privately, "What if my blessings from God were on a par with my worship of Him?" Hmmm. What do you think about this? I think that God wants more from us. I think that we have a lot to learn, a lot to give, and much room to grow.

Prayer: Father, forgive us for being wimpy worshipers. Help us to grow greater spiritual strength and toughness. Give us real endurance and determination to break through in our worship and service to You. May we lay aside our excuses and weaknesses and allow You to take us up to the next level. May we truly learn to love You with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our soul, and all of our strength.
This I pray in Jesus' name, amen.