2Chron.
7:13-14: 13If I shut up heaven
that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I
send pestilence among my people; 14If 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.
2 Chronicles 7:14 is made up of an
address to God’s people, that when they fulfil the conditions outlined in the
verse, God promises to bestow upon them a set of three blessings.
God normally has no formula in doing
things but here recorded in 2 Chronicles is one of the most amazing passages of
scripture that contains a formula for revival.
There are four conditions to be met and then three promises that God
will bestow on His people.
Verse 13 describes a situation where
God’s people find themselves under God’s judgment/ punishment. The Bible has many
examples throughout history where God’s people found themselves in just such a
situation as this. But verse 14 contains
a formula that can be used by God’s people to avert God’s anger and judgment
and usher in a time of God’s blessing.
Background
This passage of scripture was not given
through a prophet; it was given directly to King Solomon the reigning king of
Israel at the time. Unfortunately Israel suffered the results of disobeying
God’s warning along the line. To the extent that Israel was divided into two (2)
kingdoms- Israel and Judah. Both
Kingdoms rebelled against God and began to worship idols. Within a few decades
God’s people found themselves in a place where this verse applied.. Century’s
later The Bible records that the Assyrian empire emptied the land of the people
of the Kingdom of Israel only leaving a remnant -only a few peasants and farmers remained.
But this
verse seem addressed to both Ancient Israel and Christians because we are the
people called by God’s name today. God’s people today are those who have
accepted Jesus as their saviour and Lord, these are God’s people. (John 1:12)
i.e. you and I. We are grafted into the vine, and therefore by biblical
definition we are God’s people. So Just
as with Israel, if we the church (Christians, not church-goers) do not keep the
covenant we have entered into with God, God will call us to repentance.
The conditions
In 2 Chronicles 7:14, after God stating
to whom this passage of scripture is addressed to, God goes on to outline four
conditions He requires from His people if they are to receive the three
promises or blessings He has promised:
1) Humble themselves
The
first condition God requires of His people is that they humble themselves. What does it mean to be humble before
God? To be humble is to behave in an
unassuming manner although you have the ability, resources or position; or to
have a modest view of yourself. Humility is a very important character for the
Christians success. Pride precedes fall (Prov. 16:18) and God makes low the
proud (Matt. 23:12)
Jesus
himself humbled himself at his crucifixion (Phil 2:8). Matthew chapter 27:11-14 tells us that Jesus
made no defense to the accusations made against him by the chief priests. As the son of God, Jesus could have defended
himself and proven his innocence and even Pilate knew that Jesus had done no
wrong; to the extent that Pilate, the Roman governor of Israel publicly washed
his hands of any responsibility from crucifying Jesus.
Instead
of defending himself Jesus remained quiet, allowing his accusers to manipulate
events that would result in his crucifixion.
Jesus allowed himself to be mocked, humiliated, and ridiculed by his
accusers, so that the Father’s will would be done and God’s plan fulfilled.
When
God said He requires His people to humble themselves, He wants us to give up
our rights, our authority, to subdue our will, not to live our lives the way we
want to and have God direct our decisions. James 4:10 says “Humble yourselves in the presence of the
Lord, and He will exalt you”.
2) Pray
The
second condition God requires of His people is that they pray. Prayer is a means for God’s people to
approach the throne of God and make requests, or supplication for their
needs. Prayer is essentially a means by
which God’s people can communicate with God.
God desires that His people talk to Him, get to know Him and let Him
know He is in charge so that His will would be worked out in our lives. Today,
man has reneged God into the background and believes in humanism/ science
(1Tim. 6:20kjb) than reliance on God. What is the result? The world is in chaos
and heading towards self-destruction.
3) Seek My Face
The
third condition God requires of His people is that they seek His face. What does it mean to seek God’s face? This
means to search for with diligence, to earnestly pursue, look for, or search out.
Jesus also taught this principle in Matt. 7:7-8.
God
has promised that if His people will seek Him out, if they will desire with the
utmost of their hearts to find Him, he will not hide Himself from His people,
He will open the door, and allow them to come into His presence like the Judge
who yielded to the woman’s persistence. Do you seek man or God?
4) Turn From Their Wicked Ways
The
final condition God requires of His people is that they turn from their wicked ways.
For centuries the human race has been debating what is wicked and as time goes
on our definition of what is right and wrong and therefore wicked changes. For example certain immoral behaviours has
been re-branded to make them acceptable living (e.g. homosexuality = gay; prostitution=commercial
sex worker, Fornication= live-in girlfriend or co-habitation), and today, in most
parts of the world, these are lawful and acceptable. Man has turned himself into God and manipulating
the word of God (Rev. 22:18-19, Rom.
1:25).The problem changing the definition of what is right and wrong is that
God is an unchanging God, and what He considers as right and wrong does not
change with time or with each generation.
God’s standards never change (Hebrews 13:8, Isa. 55:8-9, Mal. 3:6, 1Cor.
1:25)
Wicked
means anything that displeases God. Does
it displease God if we murder or steal?
Does it displease God if we tell a lie, or if we dishonour our
parents? Does it displease God if we
worship another God, or worship an idol?
Does it displease God if we disobey His commandments? Does it displease God if we do not love Him?
Does it displease God if we commit adultery and fornication? Does it displease God
if we don’t pay the worker’s due wages? Does it please God if we do not witness
but rather gossip about one another?
God
wants us (His people) to return to the point before we displeased Him, to
repent of our sins and allow Him to bless us. God wants his people to stop
disobeying Him, to stop doing evil, to put away our wicked ways, and live lives
of righteousness, according to His will and His standards.
Let’s
not conform to worldly standards of sin any more (Rom. 12:2, James 4:4, Matt.
5:13). Let us turn from wickedness unto righteousness!
... see Part 2
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