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I am using the YouVersion 49 Week Bible Challenge for these devotions. Today’s readings are Luke 2:1-38; Exodus 13; Leviticus 12; 2 Chronicles 7. In today’s readings, do you notice a promise to trust, a command to obey, a truth to embrace, a warning to heed, or an encouragement to rest in? What do you learn about God, about yourself, or about the world? Is there one verse or thought that stands out to you today? Talk to God about it.
Luke 2:10-14
The angel said to [the shepherds], “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
2 Chronicles 7: 3
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.”
Luke 2:28-32
[Simeon] took [the eight-day old Jesus] up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
The glory of the Lord shone around them. The people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple. I noticed today the connection between the appearance of the Glory of the LORD at the dedication of Solomon’s temple in the Old Testament, and the glory of the Lord surrounding the angels at their announcement of Jesus’ birth.
“The glory of the Lord” refers to God’s revealed presence, his holiness, and power – especially as he makes himself known in mercy and judgment, in history and ultimately in Jesus Christ. It inspires reverence, worship, and awe and is the destiny for which creation longs. John witnesses to it in his account of the incarnation, “the Word became flesh…and we have seen his glory” (John 1:14).
Christ embodies the glory of God in humility, suffering, death, and resurrection. Hebrews 1:3 says Jesus is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature.”
God’s splendor, holiness, majesty, might, and power, as magnificent as they are, only begin to describe His glory. God’s glory is also bound up in his humility, his grace, mercy, and specifically seen in Jesus’ birth, life, suffering, resurrection, ascension, and final coming.
This is all connected with the initial reports of the glory of the Lord in the Old Testament. The glory of the Lord was seen in the pillar of cloud as God lead the children of Israel through the wilderness. It showed up on Mount Sinai for six days as Moses ascends to receive the Law of God. The glory of the Lord comes down when the Tabernacle is dedicated. And it shows up in our readings today at the dedication of Solomon’s temple.
But look more closely – especially at the passage from 2 Chronicles 7 today.
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.” – 2 Chronicles 7:3
And at Jesus’ birth the angels say, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” At his baptism and at his Transfiguration God says clearly that he is pleased with Jesus. We who honor him, recognize that the fullness of God’s glory dwells in Jesus, will seek to love God and neighbor and will find in his steadfast and gracious love power to live to his glory.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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