2nd Chronicles 1:3. “So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord has made in the wilderness.”
THERE WAS THE TABERNACLE. There it sits where it had been for four hundred years and more. Sitting at the high place in Gibeon where others had come before. There was something though, that was missing; the ark had been taken away. The new king came to the altar there, seeking God to bring in a new day.
Sure enough, he met God there after a thousand offerings were burnt. In the night God appeared to him there, and from God great wisdom he learned. His humility was impressive and he had the right thing in his heart. When he left that brazen altar, he truly had made a good start.
It is possible today to meet God in some very unusual places. There is the gathering center where we come together and he blesses. But like the ark, though in a different place, God meets us where we are. The thoughts and intents of our hearts; He reads them all from afar.
Even then we remember God willingly draws near to us when we meet. There is a special gathering center, to which we come as one to seek The mind and will of God about the things that affect His people. At that place we are known as the children of God; there we are all treated as equal.
The tabernacle was old, it had weathered the years, but the altar was still intact. Some might have thought God couldn’t be there, for the ark had never been taken back. But the altar of sacrifice where God received the burnt offerings still had a fire lit – And when the offering to God was given, God knew the motives for it.
We have kept coming year after year although we are only a few. Others looked on with eyes askance, “They don’t know when they are through!” But the Lord is there when together we come and from us true worship ascends.
The size of the company, loud music and cheer, are not things on which worship depends.
Men look on the outward appearance, God still looks on the heart. He can still meet us outside the camp, while in the big city sits the ark. I would not dare to try to limit God to just the places I would go. There is plenty of evidence that God meets with His own when they His Lordship own.
“O Lord God, in this room this morning, I know Thy presence is here. If there is some kind of barrier that needs to be removed between me and others, please help me to do that. I long for unbroken fellowship with Thee. I am sorry, O God, that for some reason I could not connect with the people last night. Forgive me I pray, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”