Category: 2 Chronicles

Today you should read: 2 Chronicles 7

Today’s reading is an exciting and motivating chapter… don’t even think about just reading the commentary and not reading this chapter today.

Solomon just finished praying the dedication prayer on the temple, then… fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple. The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it. (v.1b-2) CAN you even imagine this? Makes me excited for heaven!

The people of God has worship and repented of their sin and God responds in verses 14 and 15…

If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. My eyes will be open and my hears attentive to every prayer made in this place.

God gave very clear instructions to His people about the parameters of repentance and what steps to take. These are applicable to us as well. If you have issues with the Lord and need to repent then please, review these critical steps. Do them in order! We want to jump to the last one and get it over with – but true repentance takes time – it’s a process.

1) Humble Yourself
Pride is at the root of all sin. It’s what started it all (Lucifer) and it was the motive of the first human sin (Eve). Humility is the critical propellant to repentance.

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time. 1 Peter 5:6

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6

Don’t RUSH or SHORTCUT this step!

2) Pray
Get on your knees – alone with God – phone off – and don’t get up until you feel released. Cry out to God. Confess your sin.

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 1 John 1:5-10

3) Seek the Face of God
Spend sometime in the presence of God that you’ve missed out on because of your sin. Adore Him. Read His Word. Talk with Him. Seek His Face.

4) Turn from your sin
Now – get up and take action. Take steps to remove the sin. Get accountability. Move forward in the grace of God.

Posted by: Tim Parsons

Today you should read: 2 Chronicles 6

​The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

 
Solomon in his prayer did not know the magnitude of his statements. He asked a question in verse 18 “But will God really dwell on earth with humans?” He was asking this question in terms of the temple but God had a greater plan in mind. In Solomon’s day the focus of the messiah was in terms of a earthly king coming through the line of David. In his mind God was to dwell in the temple he built and the messiah would come and rule over Israel as an earthly kingdom. However, the picture of the Davidic king in terms of an earthly king was only foreshadowing to what God had in mind. Solomon thought of the messiah in terms of restoring Israel but God had a desire to restore the whole world through the messiah.

 
Through Jesus Christ God answered Solomon’s prayer. Jesus came and defeated death through his resurrection and has forever established the throne of David as the one true king. The earthly temple has been replaced by the temple of His people (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). All of God’s enemies have been defeated (Hebrews 1:13). Through his death and resurrection he now gives everyone the chance to become children of God (John 1:12-13).

 
So the question for the day is this, are you a child of God? If so, are you living in such a way that others know it too?

Posted by: Chad Wiles

Today you should read: 2 Chronicles 5

The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, (2 Chronicles 5:13)

There are many people who, when they think of the Old Testament and the Law, see a god of judgment and wrath. There are many who see God as loving in the New Testament but vengeful and angry in the Old. Today’s chapter is such a beautiful picture of how the people of the Old Testament saw God and His law.

As they are dedicating the temple and about to put all of the items in it they are singing praises to God and playing music to Him. As the ark of the covenant, containing the law of Moses, is put into the temple, this is the song they are singing:

“He is good; his love endures forever”

Nothing about His justice or holiness. Nothing about His wrath against evil or his vengeance against sin. All those things are real and as much a part of God as His love and goodness but here, in this Old Testament passage about God’s Law, we see the people singing of God’s love and goodness.

As you meditate on God’s love and goodness today take a look at some other Old Testament passages about God’s love and goodness and know this:

God is the same yesterday, today and forever

Psalm 100
Psalm 106
Psalm 107
Psalm 118
Psalm 136
1 Chronicles 16:34

​
Posted by: Robbie Byrd