It’s epic. After years of planning, preparing and building, Solomon’s temple is complete. Over 150,000 workers have labored to take the almost immeasurable quantities of stock-piled gold, silver, bronze, and wood to build for the LORD a place for His presence to dwell. The magnificent structure built to hold the ark of the covenant is complete . . . the ark has been moved in . . . the temple furniture in place . . . the altar of sacrifice is ready to go. The people gather . . . the Levitical musicians play . . . the priestly singers sing . . . Solomon gets on his knees, lifts his hands toward heaven, and cries out to God asking that when His people pray to this place, He would hear from heaven. And then . . . then, the glory came down . . .

As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “For He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.”
.                                                                     (2Chronicles 7:1-3 ESV)

O’ to have beheld the glory of God visibly descend upon the place. The fire from heaven consuming the offerings . . . the cloud from heaven, a visible manifestation of the presence of God, descending upon the house of the LORD . . . filling the temple . . . such that all who were there knew He was in their midst. The glory in their midst . . . but a glory that stood apart . . . for even the priests could not enter the house of the LORD for the glory that filled it.

Though they could not approach the glory . . . the could respond to the glory. Bowing their faces to the ground . . . lifting their voices to the skies . . . the people worshiped . . . God’s chosen gave thanks . . . and they declared the goodness of His being . . . and the faithfulness of His steadfast love.

O’ to have been there.

But in a sense I have been . . . in a sense I continue to be.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.    (John 1:14 ESV)

I have beheld His glory through the eyes of faith. That glory manifest in the eternal Word . . . the second person of the Triune God . . . the Son of God . . . and from His fullness . . . the fullness of grace and truth . . . the fullness of deity itself (Col. 2:9) . . . I have experienced the glory come down.

The temple of Solomon replaced with temples of flesh (2Cor. 6:16) . . . the cloud having given way to the Spirit which takes up residence in the body of the believer . . . filling us with His glory. What’s more, far from the glory being unapproachable, He now desires to sup with us . . . to share in intimate communion . . . to know . . . and to be known.

But the response of those who have known the glory come down is the same . . . face to the ground . . . hearts lifted toward heaven . . . voices raised in worshipful adoration, “For He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!”

Praise God . . . for the glory came down!