Been Restored? Proclaim It; Him!

Reunions are can be great, but restorations; even sweeter. Few things match the joy of having blown it, to be estranged, face consequences, and then be brought back into fellowship. No one does this better than the Lord.

        In many ways, that is the point of 1 & 2 Chronicles. More than just a 65 chapters chronicling their sin-filled history in the land, it ends with God using a pagan king to restore His people, again.

        “… the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:… ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’”  (2 Chron. 36:22-23 – ESV)

        In an earlier story of restoration from 1 Chronicles 13-16, King David writes a song, prompting God’s people to thank, trust and tell about Him. Take note & join the song.

            Humbled to proclaim His grace with you to others,

        Kerry

God’s Loved & Forgiven are to “Tell it!” Amen?

- from  1 Chron. 13-16

        No wonder King David wrote a song of thanks and gave it to the Worship Team! After deadly, sinful spiritual sloppiness with the ark of God, the Lord again received David & the people worship. Though they were unfaithful to the Lord’s covenant, He stayed true. He still does, even for unfaithful ones like us. This, He, is to be proclaimed.  

Context:  Doing God’s Work BUT Ignoring God’s Word

Ø  Great Motives: “Let’s bring the ark to Jerusalem”  (1 Chronicles 13)

Ø  +  Sinful Methods:  Didn’t obey His Word (Ex. 25:12-15)

Ø  =  Deadly & Demoralizing Consequences (Rom. 3:23; 6:23; 8:6-8)

Ø  A holy re-do! His will + His way (1 Chron. 15:11ff)

Ø  = Rejoicing, worship, thanksgiving (15:25-16:6)

David’s Calls the Restored People to Proclaim:

            “And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God… Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel… Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.  (16:1, 4, 7)

Proclaim to Him Thanks and Praise!

    “Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;

     make known his deeds among the peoples!”  (16:8-10; cf. Ps. 105:1-15)

Proclaim to Yourself His Character, Truth:

Ø  Seek Him; He is powerful, does wonderful works (11-12)

Ø  He chose us & keeps covenant with us  (13-18)

Ø  He is our Lord, sovereign over all  (14)

Ø  He keeps, restores and protects His people  (vs. 15-22)

Proclaim to the World Him!

Ø  He saves, rescues, delivers (23, 33; cf. Ps. 96:1-13;  Jn. 3:16, 36)

Ø  He is glorious & does marvelous works (24, 27-29;  Rom. 1:18-23)

Ø  He is great, above all gods, who are mere idols (25-27; cf. Isaiah)

Ø  He is majestic, strong and the source of joy (27; Ps. 28:7; Neh. 8:10)

Ø  Worship, reverence & give Him His due, credit  (vs. 28-31)  

        “Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD. So David left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister regularly before the ark as each day required…  Then all the people departed each to his house, and David went home to bless his household.” (36, 37, 43 - ESV)

•  God delivers, restores so we can proclaim Him (35; Ps. 106)
•  Will you say “amen” to the task of proclaiming Him? (36)
•  Our praise and worship should make you a blessing (43)