Tag Archives: 2 Chronicles 5-7

Daily Bible Study

May 19, 2024 Bible Study — “If My People Will Humble Themselves and Turn From Their Wicked Ways, I Will Heal Their Land”

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 5-7.

My title today is a paraphrase of what God said to Solomon about what would happen when God sent disasters upon the land in response to the people’s sin.  The full quote is, “ 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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  When God says, “my people”, He clarifies who He means by that by telling us that His people are those who are called by His name.  So, God’s people can be interpreted as either those who serve Jesus Christ and are called by His name, or those who identify as descendants of Abraham.  I believe that any of those who are part of the second group who truly follow what God says here, they will become part of the first group.

So, I am going to write the rest of this blog to the first group (and if you are reading this blog I suspect that you are part of that group).  If you look at our land, at our world, it sure looks to me like most of it is experiencing some form of judgement from God (wars, extreme civil disorder, severe weather, plague).  Therefore, we, who are called by God’s name, must humble ourselves and pray.    We must seek God’s face, and root out the wickedness which inhabits our hearts.   Notice that God does not say that we need to turn others from their wicked ways; we must turn from our wicked ways.  If we humbly admit that we have failed to faithfully follow all of God’s commands, God promises that He will heal the land.  And at this point I want to go back to Solomon’s prayer of dedication in chapter six verse thirty-six where he reminds us, “for there is no one who does not sin.”   I want to emphasize that God makes this promise based on those who are called by His name doing as He commands here.  Healing the land does not depend on those who deny His existence, or rebel against Him, turning to Him.  No, if we want our land to be healed than we, who are called by His name, must humble ourselves and pray.  That is all it will take.  So, what are we waiting for?

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 19, 2023 Bible Study — A Temple For The Name Of The Lord

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 5-7.

I want to start today’s blog by noting more about the compilation of this book.   A few days ago I had noted that the genealogies at the beginning suggested that this book was compiled after the return from exile.  I still believe that to be true.  However, today’s passage was originally written before the Exile.  We know this because Solomon’s temple was destroyed at the time of Exile, but this passage tells us that the carrying poles for the ark of the covenant could still be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary at the time of writing.  This tells us that the genealogies, and perhaps other notes, were added on to copies being made of a source document which predated the Exile.  It would not surprise me to someday learn that parts of multiple source documents were combined into this one document.

I have always thought of the temple which Solomon had built as a temple of God or a temple for God.  However, as I was reading the passage today, I noticed that while Solomon was addressing the people during the dedication of the temple he referred to it as “temple for the Name of the Lord.”  So, Solomon did not perceive himself to have built a temple for the Lord, he only considered it as being for the Name of the Lord.  I take two things from this.  On the one hand it indicates, as Solomon noted in his prayer of dedication, no building, or even city or nation, can contain God.  So, we do not need to go to a specific location in order to call on God.  God can hear us and come to our aid, no matter where we are on earth.  On the other hand, the Name of God is no small thing to be used without care or thought.  We must be careful to give God’s Name the honor it is due.   And I just realized there is a third thing that I take from this.  Solomon built the temple for the Name of the Lord rather than for the Lord in an attempt to keep people from starting to worship the temple itself.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 19, 2021 Bible Study If My People Will Humble Themselves, Pray, Seek My Face, and Turn From Their Wicked Ways

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 5-7.

When I read Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the Temple I am always moved.  In many ways the events described here, and those which led up to this point foreshadow the coming of the Messiah, Jesus.  Solomon built a Temple of cedar, marble, and gold.  Jesus built a Temple of those who follow His teachings.  Solomon asked God to have His eyes and ears open upon the Temple he had built day and night.  Jesus asked the same thing.  In both cases, God granted their requests.

So, God’s answer to Solomon applies as much to us today as it did to the people of Israel when He gave it to Solomon.  Right now it is especially important that we allow ourselves to be shaped by what God told Solomon: “…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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ”  In that God gives us four things which we must do.

  • We must humble ourselves.
    • That means, among other things, being willing to admit to those around us that we have not lived up to what we claim to believe.
  • We must pray.
  • We must seek His face.
    • This means opening ourselves up for examination by the righteousness of God.  Allowing Him to reveal to us sins we did not know we were committing.
  • We must turn from our wicked ways.
    • It is not enough to confess our sins and to seek to act righteously.  We must also stop committing those sins, even the ones which “don’t hurt anybody”.

Will you join me in seeking to do as God asks?

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 19, 2020 Bible Study If My People Will Humble Themselves, Pray, and Turn From Their Wicked Ways

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 5-7.

At two separate points in today’s passage it tells us that the Lord’s presence filled the Temple.  The way the passage is written one might conclude that these were two different events.  However, it looks to me that the first time it mentions God’s presence entering the Temple was the end of an abbreviated description of the dedication of the Temple which described the priestly activity connected with bringing the Ark into the Temple while the second time was the end of a longer description of the event from the perspective of the general populace.  The other interpretation of these two clouds of God’s presence filling the Temple is that the first time it filled the parts of the Temple where only the priests went and the second time God’s presence spread out and filled the entire Temple including the Temple courtyard. I tend towards the first interpretation, but see valid understandings of God that can come from the second.

I like looking at Solomon’s prayer asking God to watch over the Temple and God’s answer at the same time. Solomon asks God to put His name on the Temple and to watch over it.  He also asks that God answer prayers directed towards the Temple and to God.  There is one specific request Solomon makes to which I think we should pay special attention.  Solomon asks God to hear and answer the prayers of those who are not part of His people so that all people may have the opportunity to become God’s people (my simplification of Solomon’s request).  God’s answer to Solomon was that He had chosen the Temple to be set apart as holy.  However, God rejected Solomon’s request to put the condition of praying towards the Temple on people’s prayer.  God’s answer to that part of Solomon’s prayer was, “if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. ”  God promised it to the people of Israel in Solomon’s time and He promises it to us today.  Let us humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways.  That is what it will take for God to restore our land.

Daily Bible Study

May 19, 2019 Bible Study — Prayer and Becoming One Of God’s People

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 5-7.

I commented yesterday how before this year it had never registered to me that the Tabernacle was not in Jerusalem with the Ark of the Covenant.  As a result, when I read how Solomon had the ‘special tent” brought into the Temple along with the Ark I thought it meant the Tabernacle.  Now I realize that this “special tent” was one which King David had had made when he brought the Ark to Jerusalem.  Another interesting detail mentioned here is that the only thing in the Ark when it was brought into the Temple were the stone tablets which Moses had placed in the Ark at Mount Sinai.  This is noteworthy for two reasons.  First, Moses had also placed a jar of manna and Aaron’s staff in the Ark.  The writer tells us that they were gone when the Ark was moved to the Temple.  Second, this means that someone looked into the Ark. The only previous account where someone looked into the Ark was 1 Samuel 6:19, where 70 men died because they looked into the Ark. 

Once the Ark had been moved into the Temple, Solomon dedicated the Temple to God.  Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the Temple and God’s reply provide us with several lessons about prayer and whose prayer God will answer.  Actually there is more than even that. 

Solomon begins his prayer by acknowledging that God is unique among gods and that He cannot be contained in any temple, city, or geographical location.  He goes on to ask God to nevertheless treat the Temple and Jerusalem as special.  Further Solomon asks God to always respond to prayers prayed towards the Temple.  God responds to Solomon’s prayer by saying that the Temple is dear to His heart and He will always watch over it.  However, before He said that God replied that if His people (we will come back to who they are in a moment) will humble themselves, pray and seek His face, and turn from wickedness, He will hear, forgive, and restore.  Notice that while God places special significance on the Temple, praying towards it is not one of the conditions on Him hearing and answering our prayers.

Now I want to touch on who God’s people are.  Solomon asked God to hear and answer the prayers of those foreigners who hear of God and pray to Him.  In His reply to Solomon God tells Solomon, and us, that His people are those who are called by His name.  Not just the descendants of Jacob, or Isaac, or Abraham, but everyone who chooses to be called by His name.  That sounds simple and inclusive, and it is every bit as simple and inclusive as it sounds.  In fact it is as universal as Universalist and Unitarians often make it out to be.  But there is a catch, if God’s people do not obey His commands, or if they worship other gods (which right there is a failure to obey His commands), they will suffer, God will bring disasters upon them. 

 

Daily Bible Study

May 19, 2018 Bible Study — Solomon’s Prayer and God’s Reply

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 5-7.

    I like Solomon’s prayer dedicating the Temple. I just noticed that it is similarly constructed to Jesus’ prayer which we call the Lord’s Prayer (I am not going to go over those similarities). It starts out praising God and thanking Him for keeping His promises. It reaffirms our need to follow God’s commands. Solomon went on to admit that the Temple, or any other structure, is incapable of containing God. He then lists a series of things that he asks God to listen to our prayers if we pray in the direction of the Temple. So, in addition to praying towards the Temple are the conditions which Solomon acknowledges must be part of these prayers?

  • humble and ernest
  • turn back to God
  • acknowledge God’s name
  • turn from our sins
  • pray about our troubles or sorrow

There are a couple of other types of prayer which Solomon asks God to honor, but the essence of Solomon’s prayer is a request to God that if we do these things He will forgive our sins and uphold our cause.

    Sometime later God replied to Solomon’s request. God’s reply was that if people humble themselves, pray and seek God, and turn from their sins He will forgive their sins and answer their prayers. The way that reads to me is that God told Solomon (and us) that He would grant Solomon’s request to hear prayers, but would not require people to pray towards the Temple. But God added one more thing to His reply. If God’s people served other gods and disobeyed God, God would turn the Temple into an example for the whole world of the results of doing so.

    In some ways, modern Israel shows the fruition of Solomon’s prayer and God’s reply. The Jewish people sinned and went into exile. There, many of them turned back to God and prayed for His deliverance. God heard their prayers and brought them back to the land which He had promised to Abraham’s descendants. Yet, the Temple still lies in ruins, standing as an example for us of what happens when God’s people turn their backs on Him.

Daily Bible Study

May 19, 2017 Bible Study — The Dedication of the Temple

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 5-7.

    This passage describes the ceremony which took place when Solomon had the Ark of the Covenant brought into the Temple and the dedication of the Temple which took place at the same time. It is really two separate descriptions of that ceremony. The first is a description of the process of bringing the Ark into the Temple and it ends with the following:

At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.

The second is a description of the dedication of the Temple, which occurred at the same time as the Ark being brought into the Temple, but continued beyond. In the middle of this second is the following:

When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple. The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it.

I am convinced that this second quote is meant to be another description of the event which happened in the first quote. It seems to me that the thick cloud which filled the Temple was a result of the burning of the massive number of sacrifices which were made as part of this dedication. I am tempted to say that the description of fire falling from heaven to burn the burned offerings was hyperbole, but clearly something amazing happened which caused all of the witnesses to fall face down and the ground and worship God. We must remember that a dispassionate observer will often see something different when a miracle happens. Of course, we must also remember that very few of those who witness a miracle will still be a dispassionate observer after the miracle has happened. There is a reason for this: miracles are designed by God to overcome our ennui, they are designed to arouse our enthusiasm.

    In today’s passage there is a record of Solomon’s prayer of dedication and God’s response to that prayer. These are very similar to that recorded in 1 Kings 8 and 9. However, there is a difference in what is recorded of God’s response. Solomon asked that when people turned from their sins, turned to God, AND prayed towards the Temple that God would hear and answer their prayers. In Kings it tells us that God heard Solomon’s prayer and had set the Temple apart to be Holy. In this passage, God responds that He had heard Solomon’s prayer and chosen the Temple as the place for sacrifices. Then the passage records that God further responded that when people are suffering because of their sin, if they humble themselves, pray, seek God, and turn from their wicked ways, He will hear their prayer and rescue them. There is no mention in either place about facing the Temple when making this prayer of repentance in God’s answer (but this one makes that absence more clear than the one in Kings).
    The important thing about this is that God has promised that when we humble ourselves, pray and seek Him, and turn from our sins, He will answer our prayers. As in the passage in Kings, Solomon asked that foreigners who have heard of God’s name and glory and turn to God be counted among those whom God will hear when they turn to Him. Solomon sought for all people to come to know, fear, and worship God. Let us do the same. As a follower of Christ, it is my deepest desire, not that sinners, no matter how wicked, receive punishment for their sin, but that they come to know, fear, and then love God.

Daily Bible Study

May 19, 2016 Bible Study — Jerusalem As An Object Lesson

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 5-7.

    This passage contains an account of Solomon’s dedication of the Temple which is very similar to the one found in 1 Kings. As part of that dedication Solomon asked God to listen when people repented of their sins, faced the Temple, and called out to Him. I remember reading that in 1 Kings and noting that Solomon asked God to accept foreigners who turn to Him. What I do not remember noticing is that in God’s reply, while He says that He will indeed listen and respond when people repent of their sins and cry out to Him, He makes no mention of them facing the Temple when they do so. On the other hand, God does tell Solomon that He has chosen the temple and set it apart to be holy. However, God also warned Solomon and the people that if they, or their descendants were to fail to obey His commands and decrees, He would bring destruction on the city and the Temple. Destruction which would serve as an object lesson to people for all time. Even today, Jerusalem serves as an object lesson, both to God’s love for His people and for what happens when they fail to follow His commands.