2 Chronicles 7:14
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
The bible clearly teaches God is just, and will one day judge each nation for its wickedness. The farther a nation strays from the ways of God, the weaker it becomes, and the closer it gets to its final hour. This was true of Israel, Judah, and the surrounding nations; and remains true today. One cannot read the pages of God’s Word and not conclude, there will come a time for judgment for those who turn their back on God. That being said, it is also true, God does not take pleasure in judgment, but delights in extending mercy. It is His desire to pardon and restore. To that end, a promise is given to Solomon which remains true today. This promise is directed at the child of God, for the purpose of forgiveness and restoration.
Notice this promise is conditional, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, . . .” The present condition of our nation is calling us, not to rise in judgment of those who are following the course of the world, but to fall on our knees in intercessory prayer. A church full of men and women who will bow before the Lord, and cry out for the salvation of souls, will have a tremendous impact upon the world, no matter how dark it has become.
We are also called to turn from our own sin and seek the Lord. I once read a book on the history of revival. The purpose was not only to remind the reader of what God did in the past, but to stir up a future work of God on earth. The author wrote, if we want to see a revival begin in our community, then spread to impact our nation, we should start by drawing a circle on the ground, kneeling within the circle, and praying for God to begin the revival there. Too many Christians are outraged by the sins around them, without giving any conscious thought to the sins within them.
God wants to forgive and restore, but He wants to do it through the lives of those who have chosen to follow Him. Will you rise to the challenge by falling on your knees? Are you willing to remove sin from your own life, and seek God to work in the lives of others? Our nation is on the edge of a cliff; it is time for the children of God to take Him seriously and seek His face.
Pastor Jim
The psalmist is calling us to action. He desperately wants our attention, and calls us to look at the brethren dwelling together in unity. The unity he was speaking of was a united desire to seek after and worship Jehovah. This Psalm was one of the many songs the travelers to Jerusalem would sing as they made their way up the mountain to celebrate the feasts of the Lord. People from all over Israel congregated together with the unified purpose of devoting themselves more wholeheartedly to the Lord. The Psalmist declares, it is a good and pleasant thing, something worthy of our attention. This uniting of the brethren is good and pleasant for many reasons; not the least of which is the result it brings. David declares, it is like the anointing oil that was poured out upon the priests.
Once the Temple was erected and the altar and priesthood put in place, Solomon explained the purpose of the Temple. It was designed as a means for sinful men to have relationship with a holy God. As Solomon prayed, he revealed the great benefits of the Temple. We might say, 2Chronicles 6 gives us the doctrine of the Temple. It became clear, no matter what the cause, turning to the Lord was the cure. If the people were suffering loss, pain, sorrow, sickness, or defeat, they could turn toward the Temple, pray, and find restoration with the Lord. Since the Temple provided access to God, it was the means to receiving mercy from the Lord.
This psalm is referring to a time when King David took a spiritual inventory of his life. His days of fleeing from Saul and living in caves were no more than a memory; he now dwelt within the palace. The Philistines, who had plagued the nation for so long, had been conquered, and Israel was at peace with the surrounding nations. As David began to muse over his life, he saw an area of inconsistency; while he dwelt in a palace, the ark of God still resided in a tent.
The primary purpose of the Temple was to serve as a place where God and man could meet, however, it also serves as an illustration of the our salvation. Each of the furnishing depicts an aspect of our relationship with God. We can walk through the courts of the Temple and be reminded of the main elements of our salvation.
In addition to building the Temple, Solomon had two large pillars erected, which he named Jachin and Boaz. Jachin means to establish and Boaz means strength. Whenever a person approached the Temple, they would see these two massive pillars. A reminder that the nation, the kingdom, the Temple, and each of our individual lives, are established and strengthened by God.
The Psalmist is rejoicing in the pardon the Lord provides. In doing so, he considers what would happen to us if the Lord treated our wrongdoings the way we do. What would happen to us if, instead of forgiving sin, God kept a detailed record of it. Instead of removing it as far as the East is from the West, or casting it into the depths of the sea, He held it close by, to remind us of it each time we struggled or fell.
Solomon faced a great predicament, he desired to build a temple where God and man could meet, but he realized that all the heavens were too small to contain Him. He knew the dwelling place for God must be grand, but he also knew that no earthly building could ever truly reflect the glory of God. The temple he would build would be a mere shadow of the real glory of God, and was designed to point Israel to the Lord. For generations to come, this building would serve as a place where man worshipped God, and was the focal point of many revivals within the nation. It interests me that this glorious building was the byproduct of a multitude of people investing their many different gifts. In fact, we find thousands of men were hired for the work of quarrying stones alone. Seemingly, innumerable man hours were spent doing nothing more than working with rocks.
After Solomon ascended to the throne of David, he was gifted by God with everything necessary to become the greatest king the world had ever known. Because of his father’s military campaigns, the nation would experience a time of peace unlike anything they had ever known. The wisdom of Solomon and the wealth of the nation made it seem as though they would have years and years of abiding peace, strength and growth. It seemed as though nothing could stop the nation that had been birthed by God. Tragically, in a few short decades, this nation would go through a heated civil war, dividing the nation, and costing many their lives. Not too much later, this nation would be defeated over and over again by their enemies, until they were finally overthrown and carried captive to Babylon. What happened? What caused the rapid fall of a nation with such promise?
The Psalmist is describing a scenario common to all of us. There are times, when the hand life deals us is difficult to cope with; sleep is effected, and our minds are tormented. There are many terms that describe this condition, but perhaps the most common is worry. One dictionary defines worry as, “to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; to fret.” I think that is a pretty apt description of worrying; to torment yourself. When we lay in bed unable to sleep, or rise up to pace the floor, filling our minds with what-ifs and worse case scenarios, we are really tormenting ourselves. It is as if we are waterboarding ourselves, and wondering why we are suffering so greatly. The question is not whether we will face things that fill us with dread, concern and anxiety, the question is how we will react. What is the proper response for the child of God when he is faced with things bigger than himself?
