The Solemn Assembly, an Introduction

By Richard Owen Roberts Published Date: November 30, 2010 Part 1 of 3 The Sad Fact Most professing Christians have never heard of a Solemn Assembly. Of the relatively small number who has, a substantial portion considers it as merely an Old Testament practice of no particular relevance today. THE BIBLICAL BACKGROUND There are not less than twelve revival movements in the Old Testament. While each of these revivals is very different from the others, there are at least four factors preceding each revival which they all hold in common. A Tragic Declension Every revival of the Old Testament is preceded by a period of moral and spiritual decline among the people of God. As illustrations of this problem, consider that preceding the revival of Exodus 32-33, the decline included the building of the golden calf and its worship, while the revival under David was preceded by a period of more than six decades in which the Ark of the Covenant of God was out of its rightful place in Jerusalem. A Righteous Judgment from God Without any exception, Old Testament revivals have always been preceded by some kind of a righteous judgment from God. While some of these judgments are immediate and final, resulting in deaths among the wicked, others are gracious and remedial, resulting in brokenness, prayer, repentance and extraordinary seeking of God’s face. The Raising Up of an Immensely Burdened Leader or Leaders This fact can illustrated by a simple listing of the Old Testament revivals themselves: The Revival under Moses – Exodus 32ff. The Revival under Samuel – 1 Samuel 7 (with chapters 1-6 providing the background). The Revival under David – 2 Samuel 6, 7. The Revival under Asa – 2 Chronicles 14-16. The Revival under Jehoshaphat – 2 Chronicles 17-20. The Revival under Jehoida – 2 Chronicles 23-24. The Revival under Hezekiah – 2 Chronicles 29-32. The Revival under Joash – 2 Chronicles 34-35. The Revival under Zerubbabel – Ezra 1-6. The Revival under Ezra – Ezra 7-10. The Revival under Nehemiah – Nehemiah 1-13. The Revival under Joel – Joel 1-2:27. Obviously, in each case God Himself raised up a leader who was under the heavy burden of the moral and spiritual needs of his people. The words of Moses in Exodus 32:32 forcefully emphasize this: “But now, if Thou wilt, forgive their sin – if not, please blot me out from Thy book which Thou hast written.” For the rest of the article…