Yesterday we thought on things which display God’s glory, including the ways in which we should do this. Solomon was glorious because of his attitude and service to God. 2 Chronicles 9 contains the account of the Queen of Sheba being overwhelmed by the magnificent glory she witnessed in Jerusalem.

Each year Solomon received “666 talents of gold” (verse 13). The only other place in Scripture that refers to 666 tells us it is “the number of the beast” (Revelation 13:18)! Gold, as the most valuable currency in the world, corrupts those who worship it instead of God (Matthew 6:24) and at the end of his life (1 Kings 11:4) Solomon’s heart was “turned away”. God had tested him by the abundance of things He gave him! Many of us live with relative abundance and must be aware how this is testing us.

When Ezekiel’s sees the vision of the future Temple he says, “I looked, and behold the glory of the LORD filled the temple of the LORD. And I fell on my face” (44:4). He was evidence of God’s presence! We will see this when we “see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27).

Now notice the words in John 11. Jesus comes to the grieving sisters in Bethany. Their beloved brother Lazarus had been dead four days. Jesus told his disciples, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son God may be glorified through it” (11:4). Outside his burial place, all were weeping and even “Jesus wept” (verse 35). He was tuned in to their emotion: with the power of the Spirit he knew all thoughts which must have been an overwhelming experience.

Jesus says, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God” (verse 40). What did they see? Some saw, only to run and tell the Pharisees (verse 46). Others saw – and believed (verse 45)! Today we know more of the marvels in nature but less and less are these seen as the glory of God’s creative handiwork. Paul told the Corinthians to “do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). The small things matter just as much.