INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Last week we began our series, Binge Reading the Bible, by examining the Pentateuch.
• We learned that the Pentateuch is the foundation of what we know about God, and it is the foundation of our faith.
• We should have noticed that God’s desire for people to love and to be devoted to Him.
• Today, we move on to the historical books.
• This section of the Bible makes up the twelve books that record a historical narrative of events in the lives of the children of Israel; Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, and Esther.
• This history includes the possession and loss of the land of Canaan, the rule of judges and kings, the division of kingdoms, the exiles, and a return to Jerusalem.
• To understand the Historical Books, we must look at them as a cohesive narrative rooted in Israel and Judah's back-and-forth movement between obedience and disobedience.
• In a nutshell, the Historical Books contain a cycle of Israel’s rebellion, God’s judgment, Israel’s repentance, and God’s deliverance.
• This cycle plays itself out in a very public way in the book of Judges.
• God’s revelation of himself and his will within this portion of Scripture is revealed through imposing his statutes through a variety of means.
• Within the Historical Books, these means consist of men and women he raised up, like Joshua, the judges, prophets, kings, and Queen Esther.
• These individuals all represent the medium by which God imposes his statutes, all the while revealing repetitive cycles, including Israel's disobedience, followed by judgment, followed by their turnaround and repentance.
• The two books of Chronicles detail the underlying context of much of what takes place in the later Historical Books and can be seen as a parallel to much of the history that is recorded. (Intro section comes from Ministry Pass. www.ministrypass.com)
• One thing we have to keep in mind with this passage is the context.
• The context for our passage today is the Lord tells Solomon he is pleased with the recently built Temple and gives an answer to the king regarding how he will forgive the people them once they have repented.
• This passage was God’s response to Solomon’s lengthy prayer as he is dedicating the newly built Temple to the Lord.
• God’s message divides into two parts. First, God speaks to Solomon (2 Chr 7:11–18) in response to his prayer.
• Second, God speaks to the people (2 Chr 7:19–22).
• The second part is particularly appropriate for a postexilic community, which still sees the visible evidence of God's devastation in Jerusalem, but the first part reminds that community of God's merciful disposition. Given the devastation (2 Chr 7:19–22), the people should humble themselves and trust God’s grace (2 Chr 7:13–14). (College Press Commentary 1 & 2 Chronicles).
• Even though the context limits this passage to Solomon, the nation of Israel, and the Temple, the principles are valid for us here today.
• Today we will see that God shows his faithfulness to his word given to Israel by blessing and judging them based on their loyalty to or rebellion from him.
• God is faithful to both the good promises as well as the bad.
• This message also builds on what the love and loyalty that God wants from us look like in life, not just on paper.
• Let’s turn to 2 Chronicles 7:12-14 to begin.
• SLIDE #2
• 2 Chronicles 7:12–14 (CSB) — 12 Then the LORD appeared to Solomon at night and said to him: I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple of sacrifice. 13 If I shut the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on my people, 14 and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. God’s desire.
• One of the things we know about God is that He detests sin and that when we commit our first sin, it kills us spiritually and separates us from fellowship with God.
• Now, knowing when He created us that we would choose to sin, we can surmise that when God created us, He KNEW we would sin and rebel against Him.
• Yet, here we are.
• God is the same God yesterday, today, and always.
• God’s desire is simple.
• SLIDE #4
• 1 Timothy 2:3–4 (CSB) — 3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
• God desires to have a relationship with us, His desire is for us to be in fellowship with Him.
• The love and loyalty we talked about last week is a two-way street.
• God offers a path that allows us to be in fellowship with Him.
• For us today, the path is Jesus, and 2 Chronicles shows us that before the incarnation of Jesus, God offered a way to have fellowship with Him.
• The nation of Israel was in a constant state of rebellion, yet no matter how bad it God, God always kept the door open.
• God heard Solomon’s prayer and was offering a resounding YES!
• Also, take note of verse 13.
• 13 If I shut the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on my people,…
• 2 Chronicles 7:14 is probably the most well-known verse in Chronicles.
• It has been the theme for revivals throughout history.
• Chronicles offers hope to fallen Israel.
• Whenever Israel finds itself amid a drought, crop devastation, or a plague, their hope is God.
• Consequently, throughout the history of God’s people, 2 Chronicles 7:14 has been recalled again and again to revive hope among broken people.
• But verse 13 shows us that when God disciplines, it is to get our attention, to help get us to realize how much we need to be right with God!
• Sometimes when our parents disciplined us, we thought it was the end of the world.
• When God disciplines, it is not meant to be the end, it is intended to lead us on a path back to Him.
• God seeks an authentic relationship. Consequently, God's forgiveness and healing are conditioned on the hearts of his people. Hicks, J. M. (2001). 1 & 2 Chronicles (p. 296). Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co.
• That path is found in verse 14.
• If God’s ultimate desire was to see us all go to hell, He would not offer a way back.
• Even though this verse is specific to Israel, the principle is valid today.
• 14 and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
• The first step to getting on the path is humility!
• To be humble means to submit, to reduce your rank and elevate the status of another, in this case, God.
• Humble themselves means they acknowledge their wrongdoing and repent. The NCV says “are sorry for what they have done,” and GNT has simply “repent.”
• Humility says that you acknowledge that you need God. I KNOW AND TRUST that God’s ways are the best and I willing to place myself under those ways.
• The second step is to PRAY.
• This means that I will communicate my heart and sorrow to God.
• The third step is to seek His face!
• This means to turn away from the sin that has drawn you in, and instead, turn to God, to decide to obey God.
• The fourth step is to turn from evil ways.
• This means forsake what you were doing and now start on the path of obedience.
• God says He would do two things in response.
• He would hear from heaven, and He still does today.
• He also said He would heal their land.
• To heal their land means God will restore the land of Israel to its former productivity.
• When you turn to God, He will heal your life, He will help your life be fruitful for Him.
• In the Gospels, Jesus tells us we are to be fruitful and productive for the Lord!
• No matter what, God has always desired a relationship with us built on love and trust!
• To follow Him requires that we trust that He always has our best interests at heart!
• Let’s look at verse 14-16.
• SLIDE #5
• 2 Chronicles 7:14–16 (CSB) — 14 and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. 15 My eyes will now be open and my ears attentive to prayer from this place. 16 And I have now chosen and consecrated this Temple so that my name may be there forever; my eyes and my heart will be there at all times.
• SLIDE #6
II. God’s disposition.
• We see that God’s disposition is one of openness. He does not allow sin to turn His back on us that we are toast, He is open to repentance and restoration.
• In the context of the nation of Israel, they did things that we so bad that God allows some bad things to happen to them; however, He was ALWAYS opened to them turning back to Him even though He knew they would turn away again and again.
• When we get mad at someone, we have a tendency to shut down, to turn our back on them.
• We tend to not listen to them, and then we are SLOW to accept repentance and offer forgiveness.
• On the other hand, God is always open, also hoping for folks to turn back to Him.
• We all know how hard it is to be open to someone who has wronged us, hurt us, or taken advantage of us.
• God shows us His great love by being open to us. True love, the love that is looking out for what is spiritually best for us is always open to offer forgiveness, to offer a path to redemption.
• God’s disposition is one of openness. This is important for us to grasp because it lets us know that God as ALWAYS open to our return to Him!
• Let’s examine our final thought.
• SLIDE #7
III. God’s dependability.
• When you look at verses 17-22, you will a view of God's dependability, or put another way, His faithfulness to His word.
• Verses 17–18 form a conditional sentence. Verse 17 expresses the conditions that Solomon must fulfill, and verse 18 states what God will do if Solomon does what is expected of him.
• He tells Solomon, if he walks in the ways of his father David, that God would establish his royal throne.
• In this verse, Solomon is assured not only that he will rule over Israel, but that his dynasty will continue permanently according to the promise given to David, his father.
• The unconditionality of the Davidic promise, realized from a messianic standpoint in Jesus Christ, is not the subject here. Instead, Solomon's royal throne (lit., "your kingdom throne") is.
• The Davidic promise does not fail because Solomon and other kings were unfaithful. The Davidic line is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
• Verses 19-22 are a promise to the people.
• If the people of Israel were to turn their backs on the Lord and worship other gods, the downfall of both them and the Temple would be so great that it would serve as an example to other nations who saw (vv. 19–22).
• The clear message about sin and unfaithfulness would be seen and understood by those who saw such a great downfall of God’s people.
• For our purposes, what God says is if the people forsake God, bad things were going to happen.
• They were not going to benefit from God’s blessing or protection.
• What we see is that God not only can be depended on to keep the good promise, but also the bad.
• The balancing act of God’s mercy and justice demand it.
CONCLUSION
• We can use the Historical Books of the Old Testament to understand God’s faithfulness, his loving discipline, and how our obedience to him can draw others to faith.
• We can also see that God is ALWAYS open to us returning to Him.
• You do not have to fear rejection from God when you come to Him!
