Word of Encouragement (01/22/2025)
“If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near, 37 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 38 if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity to which they were carried captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, 39 then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you. 40 Now, O my God, let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place. (2 Chron. 6:36–40)
Solomon foresaw a time when Israel would not only be defeated in a battle but also cast out of the promised land. This was God’s ultimate punishment on Israel. We know this because it is listed at the end of all the curses that God promised for Israel’s disobedience (Deut. 28:64ff). This is understandable. Israel’s blessings revolved around the promised land—their nationhood as God’s people, their inheritance of the land, the produce of the land, etc. Before they took possession of the land, they were wandering in the wilderness and, before that, they were slaves in Egypt. We can say that the land was the foundation of God’s blessings on them as His people. Furthermore, to be cast out of the land would mean going through the same fate as the Canaanites before them, who were dispossessed of the land for their sin.
As the ultimate punishment, it would come only at the end of God’s patient forbearance with Israel’s long rebellion. But Solomon seemed to have understood that this was inevitable: “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy...” (v. 46). Indeed, even before Israel entered the promised land, Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit predicted it: “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you...” (Deut. 30:1). These words came after the sanctions (the list of blessings and curses in Ch. 28) and the covenant renewal (Ch. 29). Moses prophesied that, after Israel experienced “the blessing and the curse” in the land (possibly in that order), she would be cast out of the land.
Even then, Solomon was certain that God would show mercy to His people if they repented of their sins and cried out to God for deliverance. That was why he concluded his prayer of dedication with this petition. This was exactly what Moses said after his prediction about Israel’s exile from the land: “...and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you” (Deut. 30:1-3).
If a just God could extend mercy to such a sinful people, it was because Someone would bear the curse for their sins and satisfy His justice. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’” (Gal. 3:13). Those who trust in Him need not fear that they should ever be cast out of God’s presence. How readily God will forgive and restore us when we confess our sins and repent in the name of Jesus Christ! So, let us not delay. Let our confession be sincere and our repentance quick and decisive!