Imagine yourself the president of a major country. You want to be a good leader and you want your nation to prosper. Suppose you cannot sleep so you wander to the local chapel and ponder how best to govern and what to do about the current economy. Suddenly God walks beside you and begins to tell you what to do.
Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 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 will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:12–14)
Sometimes I read the letters to the editor section of the local newspaper and find at least one person complaining about the government, either local, provincial or federal. In their mind, everything that goes wrong is the fault of the leader, whatever his jurisdiction. They threaten to vote him or her out of office unless great change happens.
In some cases and some situations, they could be right. Leaders make mistakes and the results grieve their people. However, these Old Testament verses take a different view. God tells Solomon to be a good king in other passages, but here He says that if trouble happens, He is sending it as a warning or a punishment to the people. The way that their trouble can be “fixed” is if the people turn from what they are doing wrong and seek God and His forgiveness.
Many countries will not tolerate a mixture of religion and politics. In ancient Rome, the church was the state. It didn’t work very well. Many modern countries are ruled by their current religious ideals and the zealots who hold them. This isn’t working either.
In history, the Christian church has been government controlled. That was never the intention of God. While Christians need to submit to laws and legislation, our leader is Jesus Christ, not the current head of government or any governing body. He tells us to obey our leaders, but we obey because He says so; He is our leader. At the same time, separation of church and state should never forbid a political leader from having religious views and beliefs. Those nations whose leaders are atheists have suffered greatly under that rule.
However, not all national calamities are the fault of the leaders, as God says in this passage. God is bigger than government. What political entity can shut up heaven and stop the rain? What politician can tell locusts to eat up the crops, or send a virus to destroy lives? God reigns over all political systems and leaders. If He sees a people group going a certain direction, He has the power to influence a change or even stop them. Government might try, but they do not have the omnipotence of God.
Beyond that, God is most concerned with how His people behave. As a Christian, I am aware of my responsibility toward government, but also toward God. While these verses are directed to Solomon and Israel, they show what God is like and describe His power and His values. What I do, and what those in my church and the church at large do, can affect how God deals with our entire nation.
These and other verses also tell me that God controls climate and natural disaster. Much of the world panics and struggles to be good stewards of our environment. Our failures in that area could be a part of the problem, but perhaps the greater bottom line is that nations and people groups are simply ignoring God. When we try doing what we think needs to be done — as if we have no moral or spiritual responsibilities toward God — then we can expect Him to demonstrate who is actually in charge.
Throughout the Bible God affirms that the wicked will be punished. Psalm 9:17 says, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Jeremiah 16:4 describes this condemnation far too vividly for some who disobey God.
They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.
Lest anyone thinks this is Old Testament only, Jesus also warned, “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:49-50).
These are terrifying thoughts, yet my commentaries say that the word translated “wicked” is never used for Christians. In the past, my wicked works alienated me from God (Colossians 1:21), but I now have faith and am progressing in my faith. The Scripture says I have “overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2:13) because God gave me faith as a shield and a sure defense against Satan’s attack and promises that my destiny is not that of the wicked.
This does not mean that I never sin, but it does mean that my sin will not result in eternal damnation. Instead, my penalty for sin has been overcome by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The power of sin to mess up my life is also being overcome as God gives me the wherewithal to battle it. Today’s devotional verse prompted all these thoughts.
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 will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
This was written to the Jews in the Old Testament. Christians often use this promise for us today, but does this verse apply to us? I checked out some study sources and found this in Nelson’s Bible Commentary. It is slightly edited for length . . .
Is this a verse on which Christians should base efforts at national renewal? In answering that question, it is important to notice that God was speaking to Israel, as indicated by the phrase, “My people who are called by My name.” Israel enjoyed a special covenant relationship with the Lord that no other nation has ever had. The words of the Lord, of which the promise of healing the land was a part, were essentially a restatement of the covenant from Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 29.
This covenant was continually tested. In one instance, a king turned away from the Lord and the nation was attacked. He and the other leaders humbled themselves, turned back to God and He delivered them.
As for Christians today, does this promise of God apply only to Israel or does it relate indirectly to believers too? Nelson’s commentary says it does, but only to a certain degree. We are not like Israel in that Christians have not been called as a nation. Therefore, we cannot apply God’s promise of healing the land to all national and international issues. However, the principle still applies to us when we humble ourselves by praying and confessing our individual and corporate sins. God hears our prayers, forgives our sins, and brings a measure of healing. This healing can be personal or perhaps have broader coverage.
God always blesses honesty, obedience and humility. He resists the proud and has a terrible destiny in store for those who disobey and are wicked. In the big picture, no matter its context, 2 Chronicles 7:14 describes a good attitude for me. I need humility. I need to seek God’s face, turn from sin, and be forgiven. This may affect the world I live in, but even if it does not, it does honor the God who has and keeps on rescuing me from sin.
I also read to see what is wrong with me. Applause is nice. Nevertheless, I grow only when I’m willing to see and confess my sin. Although sin shows up in life’s activities, it seems easier to face when God talks to me about my attitudes, rather than after I’ve done something that reveals them.
This week an unkept man stepped in front of me as I was going into a store. He asked if I was having a good week. I immediately thought of the telemarketers that begin their sales pitch with a similar inquiry. They do not really care how I am; they just want my money. So I walked past the man without responding.
Last Sunday’s sermon was about compassion. As soon as I got inside the store, I was convicted that I had not done very well in that department. It wasn’t the fact that I had not spoken to this man. (Didn’t our mother’s teach us not to talk to strangers?) What bothered me the most was the attitude of my heart. I felt extreme rudeness rising in me. Whether the guy was a professional panhandler or genuinely down and out didn’t enter my head. I just wanted him out of my space. Either way, I was not very compassionate.
Today’s verses are not about compassion but they are about God and about me.
And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent. (1 Samuel 15:29). . . . For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (Romans 11:29)
In the original, the word ‘relent’ is translated in other verses as ‘repent’ — which means to change one’s mind and direction. These verses say that God does not do that. He is the same, and while He may deal with each of us differently, or work in various ways, His heart and intentions are always true and righteous.
One Bible version translates one of these verses with, “God is not a man that He should have regrets.” This means that He is not like me, implying that I do have regrets, and that I do change my mind all the time. It also implies that I need to wish that I had done things differently, and that I need to repent and change.
What would Jesus do? I’m not sure, but it would not be what I did. As a woman, I probably should not engage in conversation with a strange man, even in a public place because that can be dangerous these days. I even wonder of God didn’t give me a friendlier response to protect me. I will never know that, and I cannot blame Him for my bad attitude. I know that whenever I see someone like that man, my first thoughts should not be rude or even assuming. As long as I have any sort of self-protective, superior notion, the Holy Spirit will not use me.
The bottom line is that the sermon, as good as it was, didn’t challenge or change my lack of compassion. God knew that I needed to see that my innermost thoughts are still not what they should be. He does not need to relent or repent, but I do.
Today’s devotional reading puts together two verses, one from the Old Testament and one from the New. They are about the character of God in relation to His dealings with His people.
And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent. (1 Samuel 15:29). . . . For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (Romans 11:29)
Israel had forsaken God, but he promised that He would not forsake them. He assured them that He did not lie, nor would He change His mind about His intentions for them. Paul repeats this in the New Testament. When God says He will do something, He does it. He keeps His Word.
Knowing that God is like this is a comfort for me and an anchor for my soul. God is the one thing that never changes. He is reliable when all else is unpredictable. Because of that, I trust Him with my life.
Besides giving me a solid hope and another reason for my faith, there is at least one other way to apply these verses. It is related to God’s goal for me. He calls me to be transformed into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Because Jesus is “the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person”(Hebrews 1:3), then this transformation mean that God wants me to be like Him. That includes being someone who does not lie, who keeps her word and does what I say I will do.
Being like God is an incredible goal. This is different from the new-age idea that we are gods. Rather it is about being transformed into what God intended when He created people in His image. That first sin by the first people marred the image and that propensity to sin has been passed down to every member of the human race.
God, in mercy, has provided a way to reverse this. Redemption through faith in Jesus Christ and the power of God to recreate means that anyone can have their sin forgiven and their life restored, once again reflecting the image of their Creator. But I know I cannot do this myself, although Scripture is full of commands to imitate God.
Along with those commands, God gives the invitation to come to Him for restoration. Because I have done that, He gives assurance of new life, and hope because He lives in me. Because of Him I can do as He asks. Galatians 2:20 says,
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Rules, commands, high values, good morals, strong convictions and so on are all good things, but being like God is not about my efforts to be good. Verse 21 adds, “I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” (Galatians 2:21)
The Bible is clear that I am saved by grace through faith, not by good works such as keeping rules and laws, or by self-effort. However, grace is not abandoned after that new life begins. I also continue to live my Christian life by grace through faith. Galatians 3:3 asks, “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” and 3:11 adds, “That no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith.’”
Sometimes I’m tempted to slide into trying to do it myself. Foolishly abandoning faith, I get hung up with efforts to be “good” and keep the rules. One of my favorite passages reminds me that this is folly and there is only one way to be like God. It says, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6)
The higher moral traditions of men teach integrity and reliability, but they forget the part about sin and about human nature that so easily reverts to self-effort. I know that apart from Christ and His cleansing power, it is impossible to please God. If I want to be a person of my word, have integrity and be 100% reliable, then I must be a person who is like God.
For instance, when my children were small, I tried to discipline them for disobedience, but be lenient for childishness. Kids will be kids. When they make mistakes because they do not know any better, teaching is required. When they deliberately choose to do something wrong, punishment and discipline are required.
An onlooker might not know the difference. Even as a mother, I didn’t always know the difference. Yet as God deals with His children, I’m sure that He has all things figured out. He knows the hearts of everyone and treats us according to our need.
Such was the case with King Saul in the Old Testament. He was supposed to defeat a particular enemy and take no spoil. However, he disobeyed God and God had him disposed. The prophet and priest, Samuel, delivered the message. He told Saul that he was finished as king. Of course Saul began begging. He asked Samuel to plead with God and get his throne back. Nevertheless, Samuel said to him, “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.” (1 Samuel 15:29)
That was the end of the matter. God knew the heart of this man, and He knew that Saul was more interested in doing his own thing than he was in doing what He told him. God stood His ground.
This quality of God not changing His mind has a positive side too. In Romans 11, Paul explains that Israel has been chosen by God, and although they are in a state of unbelief and disobedience, He still has a plan for them. One day their situation will change and God still considers them His beloved, “for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29)
As a follower of Jesus Christ, this is great assurance for me. God has called me, given me spiritual gifts, and invested much into my life. He has a plan for me and He will not change His mind. I mess up, and sometimes I disobey Him wilfully, yet He always rebukes me, brings me to repentance, and pulls me back on track. I can count on His faithfulness to save me from my sin. It is for this that Christ died.
While some think that such faithfulness on the part of God gives His people freedom to do whatever they please, it has the opposite effect. His love changes the hearts of those who have been chosen. Instead of acting like spoiled brats who know we will be forgiven, His love and forgiveness create new life and a new heart that deeply desires to please Him.
If I thought God was fickle and could never know for sure what He would do with me, I could not trust and rely on Him. It is His faithfulness that is like an anchor for me, a solid place for my soul to rest. To live is Christ means that I am secure, not because of what I do, but because of who He is.
Since we tend to polarize such issues, people take one of two options. I could tie into life with the attitude that we are only here once and for a short time, so make the best of it. Grab what I can and enjoy it because I cannot take it with me. Or I could neglect all but the essentials like brushing my teeth, and spend my days preaching and teaching others about God, perhaps losing my family and gaining a yard full of weeds in the process.
As an ordinary person with ordinary responsibilities, I’m aware that some of what I do is temporary. It has value for the moment, but no eternal impact. The things that I possess will not go into glory with me, none of my books, none of the quilts that I make, nothing from my computer files will last forever. While some of it could be enjoyed by those after me, eventually all of it will perish.
What is eternal? The human soul lasts, with its eternal location determined by each individual’s relationship (or lack of it) with Jesus Christ. Things done in the power of Christ will have some sort of eternal reward too. That may indicate that those actions will live on.
Words could be included. God’s Word lasts forever. If I speak in the name of the Lord and by His enabling power, will my words have some sort of eternal value too? The passage I am reading talks about the things that abide forever.
Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:22–25)
From these verses, it seems to me that anyone who has been reborn through the eternal Word of God has the potential to love others with a pure heart. Although my flesh is like grass as are the successes I might experience in this life, that kind of love contrasts the temporary stuff. That is, I may accomplish great things, become famous, have the respect of my peers, or gain many possessions. Nevertheless, these are the “glory of man” and will wither. However, the Word of God endures forever and so does the love of God.
My question is: What if that love of God is expressed through my life? It seems safe to assume that no matter the vessel, God’s love is an eternal thing. It will endure when all else fades away.
This is where the daily things of life come in. All those things that seem temporary and without eternal value can be infused with that which lasts for eternity. In other words, when I do what I do because the love of God compels me, then those actions have eternal value. At the very least, they can change current situations and affect them for eternity.
In contrast, I could do what I do for my own glory or gain. If motivated by selfish ambition rather than love, or pride rather than love, or the desire for personal comfort rather than the love of God, then whatever I have done will not go with me into glory.
To live is Christ means to live every day with meaning — because His love gives everything significance. My life or the lives of most people may seem ordinary, but with Jesus, all life has purpose because what is done in Christian love makes an impact on life everlasting.
After nearly a week of not getting enough sleep, I am not happy to identify with some words in the verses I’m studying, words like wither and falls away . . .
“All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:24–25)
A young person may not appreciate the analogy in these verses. When a youth, the idea of fading and withering was not on my mind. I didn’t think about death or dying, never mind aging. But contrasted with the Word of God and put in this context, I’m face to face with a fact of life. I cannot endure what I once thought nothing of. I cannot stay up late and get up early. I cannot expect the bloom of youth to never fade.
Last week I was talking with my granddaughter on Skype (she is on the other side of the world). I told her that I was having trouble getting to sleep at night, although I am exhausted. She said, “Grandma, I was just reading about that. When you get older, your sleep patterns change. You are overtired. You need to start taking a nap every day.”
She blessed my heart with her wisdom, but I hate that “nap” word. All my life I’ve seldom taken a rest during the day because it seems to make me wider awake at night and begins a vicious circle. Also, I’ve too much on my mind. When I try to turn off my body for a few minutes, my head will not cooperate. Nevertheless, I need to give napping a try. At this rate, I’ll not have trouble falling asleep. It is 9:00 a.m. and I’m about to snooze at my keyboard.
As for the rest of this passage, I’m blessed every time I read it. My life changes constantly. The world we live in changes constantly. Ideas about how to live, including everything from diet, exercise, medications, raising children, gardening, you name it — all change continually. I remember someone asking my mother if she wanted an egg for breakfast. Mom replied, “I don’t know, are eggs ‘in’ this year?”
The Word of God doesn’t stand on fads or changing fancies. It stands forever. It is truth for the ages, a solid foundation for my life. It withstands all attacks and has changed the lives of those who read it. I get gray and faded, but it is new every morning, with fresh counsel each day.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man (and woman) of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)
Along with this, the Bible says much about getting older. The word “retirement” is not in it. Older people are valuable and useful assets in the kingdom of God. He promises to give us what we need, young or old, and throughout life. As for aging, 2 Corinthians 4:14–18 also comforts me concerning this sense of fading away.
Knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus. . . . Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
Each day, God uses His Word to give me a sense of spiritual renewal, even when my body craves sleep or I feel old and tired. This passage goes on to remind me that my “light affliction is but for a moment, and working for me a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while I do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
I personalized these verses because the Holy Spirit does the same. He makes me aware that God is speaking to me, bidding me to rest in Jesus, taking up His “light burden” and finding rest for my soul, but also to wait on Him and again experience His faithfulness to renew my strength (Isaiah 40:31) and to minister to me in very practical ways. This life, after all, is temporary; a better life is coming.
Meanwhile, I need to remember this . . . “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2) and go take a nap.
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