His Name Is Here - 2 Chronicles 5:3-6

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup

The communion meditation today is based on a passage of Scripture from the Old Testament, 2 Chronicles 5:3-6. In this passage of Scripture, we read about how God kept His promises to King David to choose Jerusalem for His Name to be there and for King David's descendants to rule over His people Israel. At the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, God departed from His temple in Jerusalen and now resides within His people—those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. As we partake of the bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup, we remember Jesus and what He has done for us. Upon His return to heaven, He is the one who sent the Holy Spirit to live in us. All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) and are used with permission.

As you listen to the episode today, my hope is that you will be encouraged from the time spent meditating on what Jesus has done for you. You are a special person; the one Jesus died to save! 

Transcript

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "My Name is Here." I read from 2 Chronicles 5:3-6 (NIV). All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) and are used with permission.

3 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. 4 Then he said:

“Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, 5 ‘Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. 6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’

According to many scholars, King Solomon completed the construction of the temple in 959 BC. This temple stood for 373 years until it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. The Second Temple was completed in 516 BC and stood for 586 years until it was destroyed by Titus in AD 70. Altogether, the Name of God was present in Jerusalem for nearly a thousand years. Today, however, there are no physical remains of the Second Temple, and even the summit of Mount Moriah is shielded from view by the Muslim shrine, the Dome of the Rock. So, without a temple in Jerusalem, where does the Name of the Lord reside now? At Jesus death, the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was torn in two (Matthew 27:50-51). No longer was access to the Father dependent on an earthly high priest, a descendent of Aaron, but through our high priest, Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Hebrews 10:19-23). At the same time, God departed from this place on Mount Moriah and into the hearts of His people. As the Apostle Paul writes (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), "Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple." This presence in His people is the fulfillment of Jesus promise (John 14:23), Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." Can you imagine our hopeless condition if Jesus had not offered His life for the sins of humankind? Would creation and humankind even exist today? If so, what would be the point of God watching humankind spiral further and further out of control without a remedy for sin? But that is not what happened! Jesus did offer His life that those who believed in Him would have forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. As we partake of the bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup, we remember our Savior, Jesus. We are grateful that we wear His name as Christians and that God resides within us. His Name is here—in us. Let us pray.

Abba, Father. We are so blessed! Without Jesus, we would have no hope in this world. But that is not the case as Your Son, Jesus, died that we might have the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life with You in heaven. As we partake of the bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup, we remember the cruel price He paid to redeem us. We are grateful that You have given us Your Holy Spirit that He might reside in us and help us all of our days. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26:26-28 (NIV).

26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.

27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.

And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"

Until next time, from Numbers 6:24-26, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!