God Dwells In The Thick Darkness Part 1
Submitted by Ted Mock
July 3, 2024
2Ch 5:13-14 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; 14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.
2Ch 6:1 Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
When Solomon finished the task of building the Temple and all of Jerusalem was rejoicing, the priest started the final step of bringing the ark into the Temple. According to the tenth verse of chapter five, it only contained the two tables of stone given to Moses, with the ten commandments written on them by the finger of God. When the ark was in place and the priest and people praised the Lord, the glory of the Lord filled the Temple to the point that the priest could not minister. The cloud crowded out everyone and everything, including light.
Solomon, in the wisdom given to him by God, makes this memorable statement, “The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.” What a reminder to the child of God that our Lord is near, not only in times of rejoicing, but in the times of thick darkness.
An old preacher that I know once told me that when life leads through dark places, and they will come, and you cannot see the Lord, reach out and touch him; He is near, for He dwells in the thick darkness.
I have walked through some dark valleys, and I have at times been in what seemed to me at the time “thick darkness.” In all those times, when I could not see God, I leaned on His Word, and reached out to feel for Him. He was there, and when I felt His presence, and He took my hand, the darkness faded, and He led me back into the light.
One day, as the thick darkness of death comes, I know my Lord will be there with me, to lead me into the land where there is no night.
Consider – In the Tabernacle, Temple, and the Lord Jesus—With all His Being, God was committed to live among His people. Pitch your tent close by; He’s not far away.
Smiley – My wife just found out I replaced our bed with a trampoline. She hit the ceiling!
