GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
2 CHRONICLES 7:17-22
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17 “As for you: If you walk before me as David your father did, and if you do all I command, and observe my statutes and judgments, 18 I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I said in my covenant with David your father. I said, ‘You will never fail to have a man to rule over Israel.’
David told Solomon about this promise shortly before he died (1 Kings 2:4). Now the Lord himself affirms this to Solomon. But this is a string of conditions: “If you walk… if you do all I command… if you observe my statutes (God’s law in all its permanence )… if you observe my judgments (God’s verdicts; his commands to be obeyed ). If you do these things, God says. “You” here is singular, meaning that God is talking to Solomon alone. You are accountable, O king. If you are faithful to me, I will be faithful to you. But the inspired author knows, and the Holy Spirit who inspired him knows that we know that Solomon was not faithful, and neither were his descendants. Therefore this passage shows us God’s culpability toward the painfully obvious truth at the time when this was written: This magnificent temple of Solomon’s no longer existed. It would stand for just about 387 years until the Babylonians burned and smashed and pulverized it. And that day was not only the end of Solomon’s temple, but the end of David and Solomon’s dynasty. But here in the Lord’s answer to Solomon’s prayer, the condition turns to the sinful hearts and faithless actions of the people:
19 “But if your people turn away and forsake my statutes and the commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land which I have given them. I will throw away this house that I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a proverb and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This house is so imposing now, but all who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this house?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they embraced other gods, worshiping them and serving them– that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”
The summary of this and the future sin of the people is given by Stephen in his speech to the Sanhedrin. There in the rebuilt second temple, knowing the history of how Solomon’s great temple had been destroyed and razed completely to the ground, to rubble and dust by the Babylonians, the Sanhedrin had to listen to Stephen as he corrected their theology: “The Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things?’” (Acts 7:48-50). If the Israelites had kept the Lord in their hearts and had given him first place in their lives, the temple of Solomon would have been improved upon with every passing generation. Gold? The walls could be remade all in emerald. A bronze altar? Let it be remade with diamonds. The floors of marble and stone? Later kings might have remade them with crystal inlaid with the most precious stones—perhaps even spelling out passages of the law, such as the Ten Commandments, in beautiful letters for all to read as they stood waiting to present their sacrifices.
But these things never took place. The Holy Spirit knows, and the author knew, and we know, that all of this collapsed. The people would do everything just as God warned them not to do. And the Lord even warns that the reason for the magnificent temple, which was to give him glory, would be hurt by all of this. How? This is summed up by the Catechism question in verses 21-22:
Question: “Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this house?”
Answer: “Because they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they embraced other gods, worshiping them and serving them– that is why he brought all this disaster on them.”
Would this bring glory to God? Everything brings glory to God. But this would only show that he is glorified when he punishes sin and unbelief, because he is truly holy, and he does not break his promises.
Now, this scene of chapter 7 is presented as a moment of great achievement and glory in the life of Solomon, bringing the dream of his father David to a glorious and successful close. But it serves as a clear warning for the Christian churches of today. The church will stand until the end of time (Daniel 11:35; Matthew 24:14), but what happens to those congregations or church groups that are unfaithful to the word of God? There will be Christians until the end of time (1 Corinthians 15:23-24), but what will God’s judgment be on those who live in open sin, and who do not look to Christ for forgiveness and as the only way to heaven? “Many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and drive out demons in your name, and perform many miracles in your name?’ But I will say to them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Get away, you evildoers’” (Matthew 7:22-23). Don’t be afraid. Do not let fear drive out faith. There was one descendant of David and Solomon who was indeed faithful. Perfectly faithful. He did what everyone else failed to do. Through his faithfulness, God gives us righteousness.
You know your Savior and you know you are forgiven in Jesus. But pray for your leaders and their faithfulness. Pray for your family and those who doubt that their sins are serious (Job 1:5). Pray that the Lord would send his holy angels to guard and protect you from sin and every evil. And put your faith in Jesus our Lord.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Archives at St Paul’s Lutheran Church https://splnewulm.org/daily-devotions/ and Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: www.wlchapel.org/connect-grow/ministries/adults/daily-devotions/gwfy-archive/2024
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – 2 Chronicles 7:17-22 Warnings