II Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
The above verse has often been taken out of context and used improperly. That verse was given to king Solomon at a time when Israel was riding high with the Lord. God had granted great peace and wealth to the nation. He had given Solomon wisdom like no other man.
The Gentile world can make application from this verse, but the immediate context is to Israel. It remains with the nation of Israel. They were given a land. The forgiveness of sin is available to all who will humble themselves in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
At the time of king Solomon, God knew there was a need to put out a very sober warning to the nation. They were riding high. They were acknowledging God at that moment. However, God knew there was trouble ahead. God knows the heart of man. In Genesis 8 God declared:
Genesis 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
We have a problem, that most refuse to acknowledge. We treat sin as a minor glitch that the person might get over or they might not. We still want to praise the person because they may have been cheerful or smiled nicely or done some caring deed in the midst of all the evil they have done.
As mentioned, the context of our verse is toward the nation of Israel. God gave them a land back in the days of Abraham. He promised to bless them and to make them a great nation. He promised to bless all nations through that one nation.
Things began to crumble before king Solomon ever died. They did not just crumble around him. They crumbled in him. He chose many strange women and he allowed those strange women to turn his heart away from the Lord. The result of his unrepentant heart was that God split the nation into two units after Solomon’s death.
God did not forsake Israel, but He withdrew His hand of blessing somewhat. He wanted them to turn back to Him, but they never did. Eventually He sent the Assyrians to punish the northern ten tribes, known as Israel. God allowed the Assyrians to kill many Jews and to take over the land. They intermarried with the Jews who were so evil that they did not mind losing their God-given culture and identity.
Not many years later, God sent the Babylonians into the south, known as Judah. They plundered the Temple and took of the vessels to Babylon. They destroyed the Temple and broke down some of the wall of Jerusalem. They also murdered many Jews and took others captive.
The nation of Israel was greatly humiliated. Sadly, they did not repent as our opening verse commanded them to do. God could not bless them again as He had in Solomon’s earlier years.
God did allow them to go back to their land after seventy years of exile. However, they would not have the same privileges as before. God raised up four pagan empires, that would successively rule the world. Israel would be under foreign rule for hundreds of years. At the time of Jesus, Israel was under Roman rule.
In 1948 God once again granted the Jews the privilege of going back to part of the land He had promised to Abraham. The Jews still did not turn back to God in repentance, even though they had just come through a massive suffering at the hands of Hitler with the aid of the Catholic religion and the Muslims.
After 1948, there have been several massive attacks against Israel, but they have survived them all. They have never been able to live in peace due to their unwillingness to acknowledge the Prince of Peace.
Three years ago today, Israel suffered another massive invasion. The media, including most Jewish media are speaking of that horrific invasion. Some 1,200 men women and children were slaughtered at the hands of the Iranian led Hamas. It was a major shock to the Jews and parts of the world. The Muslim world cheered this evil action. Many other Jews were taken captive at that time. It took several years before those taken captive would be released. 970 Israeli soldiers have died over the past three years, as they have tried to clean up Gaza, where Hamas is located. They are still finding tunnels and destroying them.
Israel had failed to recognize the build up to that horrific attack. Of greater concern, which is not spoken of much, is that Israel was throwing a massive pagan party at the time of that recent attack. God removed His hand of protection from the land and allowed the wicked Muslim people to come in and attack.
God will never remove His hand completely from Israel. However, since the fall of king Solomon, and the unwillingness of the nation to repent toward God, He has withdrawn some of His blessings from that land and that people. Like most others who profess “Christianity”, the religious nature of Israel is still quite pagan. They love the same type of contemporary music that most Gentile “Christians” love. They love the immodesty and they love the false teachers who know how to make wicked sinners feel good in their sin.
There will be thousands of false teachers who will spend eternity in the lake of fire. They are riding high today, drawing crowds and making a name for themselves, but eternity is a long time.
We need to continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. God still loves Israel. He still wants to see Jews saved. He is still showing the world, that it is never wise to fight against Israel. Those who have fought against Israel, have all been just as wicked, or more wicked than the Jews. God is just. He raised up Abram and gave him a new name and a land for which he did not fight. He was not good enough or rich enough to be given that land. However, God chose him, and God worked in him to reveal Himself to him in a great way. Abraham learned and God blessed him and his descendants.
Today, as we remember that tragic day, three years ago, it is wise to consider our own relationship with God. God loves all people. He wants all people to be saved. He reserves particular blessings for the few who will repent toward Him and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. It is important for those few to also be reminded of the importance of submission to God as the Lord of their lives. I am not talking of the false “lordship” teaching that is out there. The Bible tells us many times, that those who are truly born again, belong to the Lord and need to be submissive to Him.
Israel will still face more terror. They still refuse to bow to the God Who made them a nation and gave them a land. Those who are truly born again need to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. God still wants to bless all people, but He particularly wants to bless those who know Him and are submissive to Him.
Be sure you know the true God today. Serve Him. He is good.
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Pastor Bartel