Will God Indeed Dwell?

But will God in very deed well with men on the earth?  Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built.

II Chronicles 6:18

Solomon was the wisest man in history.  As a wise man, he was a God-revering man.  He was conscious that the God Whom he worshipped is immense.  When Solomon came to dedicate the temple which he had built to glorify God, he prayed a prayer of dedication.  In that prayer he made the statement which serves as our text today.  He asks, ‘But will God in very deed well with men on the earth?’  In this, Solomon spoke, whether he realized it or not, with a much broader meaning than merely the reference to the temple.  The answer to his question, in the broadest sense, is Christ.  Hundreds of years after Solomon had departed this scene of time, God did indeed come to ‘dwell with men on the earth.’  He came as the Babe in the manger, lived as the youth in the Temple, preached as one having authority, and died, ‘our Passover…sacrificed for us.  He rose, ascended, and sits at the right hand of God His Father, and continues to dwell in the hearts of all His redeemed.  He said to His disciples, ‘I will not leave you orphans.  I will come to you.’  He has done so by His Holy Spirit.  It is the Spirit of Christ Who dwells within His people.  Christ is as good as His Word.  He does indeed dwell in us.  Christ is the living answer to Solomon’s question.

Our Glorious Living God,
we rejoice that You do not stand far off from us.
We praise You that Christ is our Emmanuel,
God with us.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning