25 November

Today's the day when in 1952 Agatha Christie's murder-mystery The Mousetrap opened on the stage at the Ambassadors' Theatre in London. The crowd-pleasing whodunit went on to be the longest continuously running play in history. More than ten million people have attended over 20,000 West End performances of this classic play set in a remote country house, with a plot full of twists and turns, dark comedy and light relief.

The enduring quality of The Mousetrap is in sharp contrast to the many plays that have opened and closed within a week and it makes other classic stage-shows that have run for a few years seem short-lived. Its enduring quality is beyond question.

Endurance is the thought that filled the minds of the Israelites when Solomon dedicated the new temple to God. Through the awesome mystery of his glory filling the temple they saw the God whose love endures for ever. This is how the moment is described in 2 Chronicles 7:

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying,
"He is good;
his love endures forever."