Solomon is building something beautiful to honor the Lord.
2 Chronicles 3:6-7 And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls.
God does not need a house nor does he need a place to dwell. He is everywhere. But Solomon desired to outwardly demonstrate his inward feelings of his great God. He showed his love and appreciation, and honor through effort and planning and beauty. He was using tools, materials, ingenuity, and effort to bring recognition and honor to his God.
In any other hands, they were just stones, tools, and materials. But in the hands of Solomon, he transformed them into instruments of praise.
As I continued to read and talk with my Lord, I saw other more traditional instruments of praise.
Psalm 150: 3-6 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
Praise is not found in the instrument; the instrument itself does not praise the Lord. It is the person behind the instrument, the person behind the tool, that uses it to praise the Lord. It is the heart and intent put into the instrument that transforms the sound into a praise to the Lord.
For many years now, I have played my violin for all church services. Sometimes it is with other instruments; sometimes I am solo. As I had this conversation with the Lord, I recognized that sometimes (maybe far too often) I am just playing the notes and making music. Even though I am playing hymns, making music, and others are singing, I am not using my instrument to praise the Lord. My instrument of praise has just become a tool.
I had to think about what is getting in my way of expressing praise through my instrument. As I read further I concluded that a attitude of thankfulness and praise cannot coexist with a boastful, demanding, prideful, self-serving, attitude. These dispositions push out any ability to be thankful and any motivation to show praise and thanks to the Lord.
Proverbs 30:13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
Proverbs 30:32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
It is amazing how incredibly fragile is our ability to show praise. One second, you will be focused on the. Lord, praising Him, and then something catches your eye. Your thoughts are instantly transformed into something self-serving. Your mouth is still saying the words of the hymn, but your thoughts are somewhere else.
Just singing songs of praise or just saying thankful words is not praise if we are living behind the barriers that prevent our worship. The songs and words are just empty tools until we can break down those prideful barriers and use these tools to truly praise and worship the Lord. We can’t be lifting up our Lord, when we are focused with lifting up ourselves.
The Bible, form beginning to last, is about Jesus. Your life, my life, needs to be about the same thing, Jesus. He is not just another person, he is God. It is so easy and tempting to make my life about making my point, making sure I am heard, making sure I am not accused, making sure my pride is fed, demanding respect, demanding honor. All of these desires and motives turn my focus inward to make sure I am lifted up.
Blasting through that barrier, my focus and attention needs to be upward and outward on Jesus and using my tools and instruments and life to praise Him. When I do this, I create something that is visible to others. My honest praise of God feeds and helps others. It invites others to join in the celebration. A attitude of feeding my ego invites no one in and is not a help nor an encouragement to anyone.
Revelation 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
It is all about Jesus. The last verse in the Bible says, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” When I pick up my instrument, or other tools of praise, it will be with a pause to rid myself of any effort to lift myself up or any other attitude that will prevent my focus and praise toward the Lord.
When you pick up your tools, or your hymn book don’t assume that it will automatically bring you to a attitude of praising the Lord. The tool has no power to do that. You must break down those barriers, any effort to lift yourself above others, so that that tool can be used to praise the Lord.
Related Bible Passages:
2 Chronicles 3-4
Psalms 150
Proverbs 30-31
Revelation 22
Have a face to face conversation with your Lord:
Lord, how do I genuinely praise you?
Lord, what tools do I use to praise you?
Lord, when I am lifting myself up, what am I focused on?
Lord, I want to praise you and use my tools to build something beautiful for you.
If you are interested in having a collection of these devotional conversations, consider purchasing the devotional book, Conversations: Face to Face with Your Lord Book 1 or Conversations: Face to Face with Your Lord Book 2. Book 3 is coming soon! They are available from Amazon by clicking on the titles above.
Glory, Strength, & Beauty 