WEDNESDAY
After the temple dedication ceremony, the Lord speaks to Solomon.
2 Chronicles 7:11–22 (NIV) 11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, 12 the Lord appeared to him at night and said: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. 13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.* 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. 17 “As for you (singular, Solomon), if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’ 19 “But if you (plural, Israel) turn away and forsake the decrees and 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, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’ ”
Like the tabernacle, the temple represents God’s presence in the midst of sinful people. Verses 13-16 don’t even entertain the possibility of the people living righteously. That’s out of the question. What remains to be seen is what they will do when they sin. Will they turn to God in repentance, or will they continue in their sinful pride and idolatry?
You likely know the answer to that question. The story of Israel looks more like the warnings of verses 19-22 than the promises of 13-18. The people constantly worship other gods and fail to revere God as holy in the temple. God patiently gives them time to repent. They will have seasons of repentance and God will forgive them. Eventually, however, God justly brings about the punishments he prescribed all the way back in Exodus for the people’s apostasy and disobedience. He will send foreign armies to overtake Israel and send them into exile. In 586 BC the Babylonians overtake Jerusalem and destroy Solomon’s temple, leaving it as a “heap of rubble.” (v. 21)
*2 Chronicles 7:14 is a commonly quoted verse in Christian nationalist circles, even today. It is usually used in an effort to convince Americans to live righteously and pray, followed by the promise that God will heal our country. The problem with this interpretation is obvious, but often overlooked—we are currently in a different era of redemption history, no longer under the Law of Moses. This means that America is not Israel. The nation of America is not the chosen people of God, as the nation of Israel was under the old covenant. Under the new covenant the people of God are all believers across the globe. Also, the new covenant does not carry the same stipulations—namely, physical protection and provision if God’s people follow his laws. Christian nationalists will often quote this passage and apply it to America. In doing so they both distort the meaning of the text and leave Christians with the impression that America is equated with the people of God.
Reflection
Similar to the temple in the Old Testament, we are all today presented with the two paths described here. We are all sinners. What will we do in response to our sin? Will we continue on in our pride and idolatry? Will we attempt to define good and evil for ourselves, excusing our sin? Will we simply remain indifferent to our sin and pursue a life of unbridled sinful pleasure? Or will we live a life of repentance—going to God, the one who can forgive our sins and freely offers forgiveness when we believe in Jesus?