OT: The Second Book of Chronicles, Chapter 12

2 Chronicles 12:1-16

12:1 Rehoboam became drunk with his own power and position. He abandoned his faith and obedience to God and began to feel godly himself. He was the king over a strong and fortified nation; he allowed arrogance to convince him that he was responsibility for the success rather than God. 

The tribes of Israel also abandoned God. Their situation became dangerous, though they were not yet aware. When we walk away from God, we walk out of His defenses. When we leave God, we return to vulnerability. The king and people forsook the law of God. God's instruction and life philosophy became irrelevant to them. Their lifestyles turned away from righteousness, justice, humility and compassion. 

12:2-4 Rendered defenseless by their rejection of God, it was easy for another nation to conquer them. Egypt attacked many of the cities Rehoboam had dedicated his life to fortifying. Egypt broke Judah's defenses because it was through God's orchestration that the kingdom had remained safe.

12:5 Man of God, Shemaiah was quick to explain the reason for the attack. A message was delivered directly from God: You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak. Do not allow yourself to be left in anyone else's hands but God's!

12:6 The leaders and king humbled themselves. To their credit, they acknowledge their digression and were remorseful. Remorse is a requirement of forgiveness because it identifies that there is authenticity in the person.

12:7-8 Our God is a father, our father, and He parents us with loving discipline. Even when we are remorseful, we must learn from our actions. God did not allow Egypt to destroy Judah, but he did allow Egypt to rule over it for a time. The reason: the people and king would have personal experience of the difference between the compassionate and competent authority of God compared to another's authority. 

They had taken God for granted. God knew that they would benefit from learning the true beauty of what they had: an honest, merciful, kind, and able authority by Him. Other leaders are not as wise, magnanimous or skillful as God. This is a lesson most (if not all) of us will learn in our own journey of faith. After a period of time away from God, we are quite able to distinguish the difference between life with Him and life without Him. 

The lesson is not meant as a punishment, it is meant to bring us closer to Him! Wiser and more steadfast in faith. And subsequently, it is meant to ensure that we choose the best provision and defense for ourselves.

12:9-12 Shishak, king of Egypt, emptied the king's house of treasures. What the secular world values, the spiritual do not. The real treasure lie in a solid relationship with God. All of those worldly treasures had been (and are!) a distraction from what actually matters.

Through His expert and king parenting, God will have the distractions removed. It might seem like a punishment but it is actually a good father's effort to restore you and free you from the temptation of those things.

12:13-16 Rehoboam reached the end of his life on earth. He reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem and his son Abijah became king after him. Rehoboam's entire life culimanted in this sentence: he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek God. All of the problems in his life and deficiencies in his character came down to the fact that he did not seek God! 

We must seek God for expert counseling and instruction. God ensures provision for our bodies but He nourishes our spirits as well. He protects what really matters: our heart, our character, our soul. He gives us righteous direction and compassionate support. Humans have the tendency to make mistakes that only God can thoroughly correct. Through our faith in Him, we are brought into alignment with righteousness and joy, justice and wisdom, peace and love.

There are many things we can spend our lives chasing, but God is the only thing worth chasing.

OT: The Second Book of Chronicles, Chapter 11

2 Chronicles 11:1-23

11:1 The twelve tribes of Israel had split into two:

• Judah consisted of: Judah and Benjamin 
• Israel consisted of: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, and Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh)

Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem (headquarters and in the southern territory of Judah) and organized an army with the intention of reclaiming Israel.

11:2-4 However, Rehoboam was thwarted by God. The commanding word of God was given to a faithful man named Shemaiah. Effectively the message was: stand down. God instructed Shemaiah to speak with Rehoboam and tell him to cease operation against Israel. Perhaps God knew that the separation was inevitable and thus allowed it at the onset. We know that God has a plan for all of His children and evidently, Israel and Judah had different futures planned by Him.

11:5-12 Rehoboam strengthened his kingdom by having cities of defense built, by ensuring that those cities were fortified against enemies. He placed captains throughout the region and stored food, oil and wine. He armed every city with shields and spears. Humanity today puts a lot of time and effort into defense. Ironically, if we put that much effort into diplomacy, defense would be irrelevant. 

God must have a sense of humor to deal with our choices! Humans scramble and scrape to defend themselves, living in near constant fear and altercation. When, if we simply choose God as our defense, we could have joy and peace. Rehoboam poured money and labor into a defense plan, was afraid to lose more of the kingdom. He could have kept it all simply through compassion! 

11:13-15 Rehoboam made poor choices in the south, but Jeroboam made worse choices from his territory in the north. Jeroboam dismissed the priests and Levites of God and replaced them with idol worship. God had given Jeroboam the space he was now perverting with false gods.

11:16-17 All of the people faithful to God in the northern tribes left their homes and traveled south to live in Judah. They chose the high taxation and heavy labor of the north in rejection of the God-less south. For three years, the kingdom of Judah did well because for three years, they walked in the way of David. They lived, behaved, interacted with the same obedience to God David had. 

They were faced with two bad options, neither king was competent. But their choice to live where God was still acknowledged (if not entirely obeyed) is an example to us. Always choose to space where God is because that place has hope. 

11:18-19 Rehoboam married a woman named Mahalath of the tribe of Judah. Their children's names were: Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham. 

11:20 Rehoboam then married Maachah. Their children's names were: Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. 

11:21 Though Rehoboam loved Maachah the most, he acquired many wives and had many children. In Deteronomy 17:17, God instructed men not to marry multiple wives. Rehoboam was an imperfect man and unqualified king but it was his disobedience to God that ruined him. 

We are imperfect. We are unqualified. It is our obedience to God that makes us able. God supplements what we lack with His perfection and absolute qualification.

11:22 Just as Samuel warned a human king would when Israel rejected God's leadership in 1 Samuel 8:10-18, Rehoboam set his family up in positions of power and prosperity around the kingdom. He took wives for his sons. Nepotism pervaded the country: relation to Rehoboam made one powerful rather than quality and ability.

The tribes rejected the prophet Samuel's warning. Will you? Appoint God as the true and full and rightful authority in your life.  Not yourself. Not your desire for power or money or fame. Not another person claiming to be wise and powerful. Only God.

OT: The Second Book of Chronicles, Chapter 10

2 Chronicles 10:1-19

10:1 Solomon's son, Rehoboam, traveled to Shechem to be anointed as the new king. As we know from reading the books of Kings, this was the beginning of a split between the northern tribes (Israel) and the southern tribes (Judah). Solomon was not able to inspire the same faith and cohesion as David and neither was his son able.

10:2-4 The people of Israel brought their case of hardship to Rehoboam. They felt their labor was too arduous, the taxation too high. The offered their service to him as king if he would make reforms that supported them.

10:5 Rehoboam asked for three days of deliberation. Although he did not end up making the right choice, Rehoboam did not outright lie or make false promises, either. He wanted to consider the problem and solutions before promising anything to Israel.

10:6 Wisely, Rehoboam consulted the same elders that advised Solomon.

10:7 The elders are honest with Rehoboam and provide simple advice: serve the people and they will loyally serve you, listen to their plight and respond to it as an advocate for their well-being. It sounds simple but so many of us are resistant to a life of service; instead, we want power and fame and wealth. 

10:8 He rejected the advice. Rehoboam was poised to become king: perhaps the authority of the position meant more to him than the service and responsibility required by it. Humanity dreams often of a throne but rarely to be a pillar. We dream of rest, not work. But these blessed positions God places us in require work. It was Rehoboam's responsibility to work for the people, to lighten their financial and physical burden so that they too could do their spiritual work. 

10:9 Rehoboam next consulted the younger men he had grown up with. Rehoboam knew the selfish answer he was looking for, but he was too cowardly to make the decision on his own. He wanted someone else to suggest it, someone to validate his desire to reject the people. He found that support. 

10:10-11 Rehoboam's cohorts suggested that he rule as a harsh dictator. Rehoboam refused to be dictated to by the people (even though it was his responsibility to hear and respond productively to their troubles). How often do people take advantage of their position? It is an ugly and selfish choice and goes directly against God's instruction to serve rather than be served, Matthew 20:28.

10:12-14 The people returned after three days and Rehoboam answered them cruelly. He denied their plea. 

10:15-16 The fissure between the twelve tribes broke apart and as God prophesied, Jeroboam would become king over the other piece of them. Suddenly the northern tribes felt permanently disconnected from Judah, David's line. 

10:17-19 Rehoboam attempted to retain full control of the tribes but Israel stoned his man, Hadoram (collector of revenue). Rehoboam fled back to Jerusalem (effectively leaving Israel's northern territory). Notice how quickly a strong and prosperous kingdom became to crumble when its leaders defected from God. Selfish choices fracture while selfless ones heal.

OT: The Second Book of Chronicles, Chapter 9

2 Chronicles 9:1-31

9:1 A prominent queen from a southern nation, queen of Sheba, traveled to meet with Solomon because of all that she had heard about him. The success of Israel and the wisdom of their king spread far and wide; the queen of Sheba traveled with the intention of questioning Solomon and discerning for herself whether his qualities were fact or fiction. 

9:2 Solomon was able to answer all of the queen's questions. God had gifted Solomon wisdom many years before; Solomon had anticipated that it would be a benefit for him to be a wise king, able to lead the people with skill and deal with other nations diplomatically. 

The queen did not, could not deny Solomon's wisdom. We do not know the content of their conversation but considering that the hearts of humans do not change (we always have personal and national existential questions) we can guess that Solomon was able to give her peace by the word of God. After all, Israel's success was due entirely to their adherence to God's instruction. 

The queen traveled to have her questions answered. Similarly do  we travel on a journey of faith. God answers our questions throughout the journey. In the Old Testament, people looked to their kinds for leadership. The New Testament encourages us to look to God's complete leadership. The queen of Sheba had the fortune of a private audience with the wisest man alive; we have the private audience of the creator of the universe! Wisdom Itself. The benefits of such (utilized) access are inevitable as well as undeniable. 

9:3-4 Evidence of God's provision was all around her while she was in the kingdom of Israel: the house that Solomon had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel,..etc. Everywhere she looked, she saw an ordered and prosperous nation. Her own personal observation and experience was enough to convince her that Solomon's fame was indeed not fiction and his God was fact. 

When we follow God faithfully, our own lives are a representation of God's care-taking abilities. People may not at first understand our faith or believe in our God but our well-being is undeniable. His light in our lives inspires others to seek out its source. The most effective preaching we can ever do is the manner in which we live our lives. 

Being a christian is more important that proclaiming yourself so. Meaning that, your behavior and interactions have a more profound impact than the religious name you use to identify yourself. In fact, a lot of people are skeptical and even resistant to the mention of religion/spirituality; people might turn away from the name but they are far less likely to turn away from what it represents, being represented by your happy life. 

9:5-8 Most apparent to the queen of Sheba: the happiness within the kingdom. The queen was skeptical of everything she had heard but the sheer abundance of joy within Israel exceeded the hype. It was evident to her that God loved His people. How sweet is it that the love and attention and nourishment God provides us is evident even to others? In your smile, in your life, in your ability hope and persevere people will see that God loves you.  

People in the world want (and think they want) a lot of different things. Various are our aspirations: to be a dancer, a singer, a businessperson, a mother, a husband, an astronaut. But all of those things are wanted to achieve the same thing: happiness. The queen of Sheba found herself in a place where people had happiness regardless of their position in society. God's love supplemented every void they had felt, every desire they thought they needed. They were made happy by Him, and so can we be made. 

God provides blessings; often we do receive the things we want (to be a husband, a dancer, a writer). But the real miracle is that even without those things, His light ensures happiness within us. Happiness during the whole journey of life: career, parenthood, childhood... whatever it is, the creator of the universe is creating happiness in you. 

9:9-12 Solomon and the queen exchange gifts, a custom of diplomacy. But the queen departed with everything she wanted, everything she asked for, and much more than she expected. More than she gave to Solomon. God's children have so much to offer the world! Discipleship makes us strong and wise, brave and patient, tolerant and respectful, observation and meticulous; the skills He gifts us with and grows us with are tools He has given us to change the world.

9:13-28 Solomon was the most prosperous king of his generation and of all the kings before him. The inception of the kingdom exuded God's ability to provide and provide abundantly. Solomon was blessed with wisdom and wealth. This chapter omits what 1 Kings 11 focuses on: Solomon's downfall. Solomon allowed the gifts and opportunities God provided him to take God's place.

To whom much is given, much is expected... if we, like Solomon, pray for wisdom or anything else, we should only do so with the intention of handling the responsibility that will also come with it. A lot of things want desperately to be our master: the desires of our bodies, the desires of our minds, the desires of our hearts. We must shut them all out and allow only the Master of our soul to have authority. Because only He really knows and cares about what you want and need and only He is able to provide it, prepare you for it, sustain it. 

9:29-31 We benefit from our perspective: reading about kings who existed thousands of years before us allows us to see how God's children have constantly fluctuated in faith. They were gathered and rescued and loved and provided for by God... and then they took their blessings for granted. And then they left God. Chaos and desolation ensued, personally and nationally. Then they would repent and repeat the process over and over again. We do not have to be caught in such a cycle anymore. From their example, we learn to have steadfast faith, faith that sustains. 

OT:The Second Book of Chronicles, Chapter 8

2 Chronicles 8:1-18

8:1 After a significant portion of his life, Solomon finished the house of God as well as his own house: seven years dedicated to building the house of God and thirteen years for his home. Solomon had become accustomed to a rather materialistically indulgent lifestyle. 

8:2-6 Solomon continued to build the kingdom: he had cities built for the children of Israel to settle within. He took new cities and built within them. He fortified the kingdom with walls and gates and bars. He designated storage cities and military sites. 

8:7-10 Whoever remained in the land the children of Israel claimed became forced laborers (we are able to glean from this more of Solomon's imperfect character, a participant in the then-not uncommon practice of using prisoners as free labor). The children of Israel were not forced to work; their contributions were self-decided. 

8:11 Solomon married an Egyptian woman who did not believe in God. Instead, she believed in false gods and idols. Solomon knew that she could not dwell in holy places without love for God or a relationship with Him. 

Solomon was therefore quite aware of God's instruction in Deuteronomy 7:3-5,

Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. But thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire.

The woman was unwilling and uninterested in a relationship with God. Because of his marriage to her, he created a vacuum through which he faith was sucked out. His devotion to an ungodly woman, put him in the presence and temptation of a different lifestyle.

From Solomon we can learn that our faith must be comprehensive! We cannot have elements of our lives in which we live in opposition to the philosophy and word of God. God gives us instruction for our benefit; He knew that this woman's influence would ruin Solomon (and it did). There were elements to Solomon's character which were susceptible to greed and desire, and by marrying an unfaithful women, he gave into those temptations... and worsened from there. 

An element of wisdom is to know to stay away from things and people we know tempt us to do or live in ways we should not. Ironically, Solomon abandoned what he was most known for: wisdom given to him by God. 

8:12-16 Solomon was faithful, and even meticulous, in his behavior elsewhere but his commitment became fractured. Solomon thought that it would be okay if he kept the less/unfaithful elements of his life separate. There is no such thing! All in or all out. 

In Mark 7:7-13, Jesus explained that our heart must be toward God. Solomon did as he was supposed to in many areas of his life but he gave his heart to idolatry and in effect, made the word of God void in his life. 

8:17-18 Solomon had not yet entirely fallen away and the kingdom of Israel still prospered. Solomon visited cities on the seacoast and working with Hiram, commissioned seaports and ships for the kingdom of Israel.

OT: The Second Book of Chronicles, Chapter 7

2 Chronicles 7:1-22

7:1-2 By fire, God made His presence known. As His children, we can anticipate and rely on God's presence in all aspects of our lives that we have invited Him into. Solomon and the people of Israel were gathered together in praise of God and in celebration of the completion of the temple. When we dedicate ourselves, and our lives, to construction within the kingdom of God (restoring justice, promoting compassion, stifling greed, battling evil) we can expect the fire, passion and power of God to illuminate our lives. 

7:3 Everyone bowed their faces to the ground for God with this in their heart and on their tongue: He is good, His mercy endures forever.  Humbly keep the perspective of gratitude and awareness that God is both good and merciful. Our God is a creator of the proliferation of life and He cherishes what He has made. He is worthy of our reverence and obedience; there is no greater cause to dedicate our lives to. 

7:4-6 Following David's example, Solomon and the people praise and worship God with sacrifice and music. A spirit of joy in prayer was a precedent David started, 2 Samuel 6. Our submission to God and obedience to His will is a celebration, for to be claimed by God is to become eternal. To be led by God is to step toward eternity. 

The tribes and new king celebrated their covenant with God. They had elected to become fellow-workers with Him (just as we have been invited to become). It is arduous and lifelong work but it is honorable work. It is work that heals and warms and lights and hopes and dreams and fulfills. It is work that strengthens and advocates and delights. 

When we enter into a covenant with God, we elect to become refined, restored... new, in character and ability, purpose and potential. 

7:7 Solomon made an offering to God, a sacrifice. The practice of sacrifice is now defunct, Isaiah 1:11. The element of sacrifice has changed; in Micah 6:6-8 we are taught that God wants for us to love mercy. God now hopes that we will be generous in a new way: as compassionate, merciful individuals.

God offers so much to us that worship is almost a relief, an expression of near-bursting gratitude. Whether through song or fasting or oaths to God, what we offer in the way of worship to Him matters. Our connection with Him is a relationship, capable of depth and intimacy. In Malachi 3:10, God makes it known that what He receives from us, He returns to us tenfold. (Though we must be willing and cheerful givers! Humble and authentically in love with Him). 

7:8-11 Solomon and the people remained assembled and feasted. After an extensive time of thanks and praise, the people returned to their tents. They returned to their tents as nourished souls: joyful and glad in their hearts; grateful and inspired by God's generosity. They were fulfilled; the kingdom had completed the temple and declared all that it represented: their relationship with God. 

When we endeavor to encounter God, we never walk away unchanged. When we enter the sphere of God, we are made new. As the creator of our body and souls, minds and hearts, He knows precisely what we need to be joyful and glad and inspired. Our God is an over-achiever in the best of ways. The light and life and joy He works to pulse into our lives is over-the-top, extraordinary, Psalm 23:5. God ensured that the tribes of Israel were full-to-bursting with joy and He will ensure the same for you, if you invite Him to. 

Through faith we open broad avenues within ourselves and our lives, through which God is able to deliver massive love and blessing. 

7:12-18 God appears to Solomon a second time in Solomon's life. This second appearance has even more depth and love: God has returned to answer a prayer with an emphatic yes. Solomon had asked God to remain with humanity (fickle and unfortunate though we sometimes are) and here God agrees to. God promises to be attentive to those who seek His counsel; He promises to be present with those who seek Him and forsake evil. He promises to forgive our transgressions and heal our hurts. God answered each particular point of Solomon's prayer, evidencing that He is indeed attentive to His children's pleas. 

The quality of our lives is quite related to the quality of our communication of God. Our lives are heard and healed and forgiven by Him but they are also lead and propelled and protected by Him when we also become receptive, attentive to what He communicates back to us. 

Listen to Him, in scripture and nature and in the soft way He inhabits your soul. Talk to Him, invite Him into your hopes and hurts and decisions. God is invested in your life; He loves you deeply Luke 12:7; it is His great pleasure to help you and advocate for you, Luke 12:32.

7:16-18 It is helpful to keep the foundation of God's advice at heart: life your life as David lived his: full of praise and trust and faith and humility; follow God's instructions; keep His statues and judgement (they were all made for your benefit, not restriction, after all).  And if we are able to listen to Him and follow Him, He establishes us. He gives us peace and purpose and potential. Impact and security and good character. God eliminates the uncertainty in our life and replaces it with God-divined-and-orchestrated surety of joy.

7:19-20 Conversely, adherence to wickedness and opposition to righteousness results in an uprooting. The opposite of establishment: destruction, elimination, irrelevance. All these can injustice, greed, and evil expect. 

7:21-22 God's intention was always to reach all of humanity. The righteous kingdom of Israel (when it was righteous) was meant to serve as an example of how God can transform a person, a people, a nation, the world. The Bible is the story of God proffering blessing and order, a relationship with Him, to humanity.

As His children, we are living testimonies of His goodness. Even without preaching a word of scripture, the righteous manner in which we live our lives will inspire others to seek their own relationship with Him. Because a righteous child is always blessed by God; the quality of life of a child of God illuminates, inspires and comforts. 

In Deuteronomy 7:7, God explained that the tribes of Israel were chosen because they were small and weak. They were made great because they were willing to listen, because they allowed greatness, God Himself, into their lives. Their transformation of small to large, weak to strong was due in all part to God; they served as an amazing example of His mercy and power. Let your life be transformed in such a way that serves as an example to your own generation. 

OT: The Second Book of Chronicles, Chapter 6

2 Chronicles 6:1-42

6:1-2 Solomon opened his speech with a statement made my God, "Then Solomon spoke: The Lord said He would dwell in the dark cloud." Solomon referred to Exodus 19:9 in which God reassured Moses that He would travel with the tribes of Israel in order that the people would hear and trust. 

Hearing and trust are two elements on which our faith is dependent. As individuals and nations, we have to be receptive to the philosophy of God, that is, the wisdom, instruction and promises of God. Blessing can only engage with us when we engage with it. And without the trust to hold on, that which God has expertly projected toward us will have nothing to hold onto. 

In the wilderness, the presence of God was represented by a dense cloud of protection. Once established as a kingdom, Solomon proclaims the completion of the exalted house, the temple of God dedicated to God. More than a structure, it was an invitation. The temple was Israel's way of serving as host to the Spirit of God and all His principles. Eternally. 

6:3-7 Solomon's speech continued with an emphasis on fulfillment. God had been faithful to the tribes of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham. With precision, persistence and generosity, He fulfilled each promise He had made. God had promised to claim them and declare them separate from the rest of the world. 

The New Testament opened God's promise to all who would receive Him, John 1:12. As His children, we are separate. Our souls have divested themselves of the systems of the world and have been adopted into the kingdom of God. Different rules and laws apply to us: the law of God, the rule of righteousness. We are made holy by Him because of our adoption into a life of compassionate servitude. The children of Israel elected to become obedient to justice and mercy, compassion and righteousness.  

God will fulfill that promise, as He had for Solomon and the fledgling, (not yet so named) Christian nation. 

6:8-11 But we also have our part in fulfillment. As fellow-workers with God, 1 Corinthians 3:9, there is much for us to accomplish as well. As His children, we accept the blessed responsibility of constructing His kingdom on earth. David wanted so to be the one to build the temple but was redirected by God; David's purpose and potential were directed elsewhere by God. Our portion of fulfillment is to live obedient to the direction of God: trusting consistently that He leads and plants us in the specific place we need to be, to do specifically what needs to be done, by us specifically.

David was a soldier for Israel. His God-divined defense allowed Israel to establish the kingdom. Solomon was born in peaceful times and that allowed him time to contemplate the wisdom of God and simultaneously build a temple. Each individual's purpose is different, though rests on the same foundation. Building the temple now, in our time, is done by building relationships and opportunities, by promoting justice and defending the meek. There are many positions in our societies from which to do such work: as teachers and doctors, siblings and parents, friends and coworkers, artists and writers, preachers and animal-lovers... there are so many mediums through which to serve obediently. To make direct impact with your individual life. 

God appointed Solomon for the construction of the temple and Solomon fulfilled that purpose (often we have more than one). It is a blessing to be planted by God, to be provided for and protected by God. With that establishment, provision and protection, we take the torch and fulfill our half. 

6:12-13 On his knees in reverence and love for God, with his hands spread wide, Solomon humbled himself before God and the kingdom of Israel: a servant king; a servant son. The greatest in the Bible prostrated themselves before God; Jesus Himself came as a servant rather than a king, even though He had every ability and authority to reign, Matthew 20:28.

Solomon's declaration of himself as a servant of God and the kingdom was a strong message to the people. We are not always conscious of the ways in which we influence others, but if each day, in heart and spirit we are humbled before God, we send a strong message. Our ascription to God's principles influences what we do. What we do is seen by others, and so naturally, subsequently, our behavior becomes beneficially influential. 

Before the assembly of people, Solomon declared and reminded of God's faithfulness and fulfillment of promises. It makes such a difference in our day and home and life and nation to simply have the word and fulfillment of God declared and reminded. 

6:14-17 Solomon's reminder that God had been good, was great for morale that God would continue to be good. If Solomon and the kingdom would remain faithful to Him, they could count on continued freedom and prosperity.

Remember that the books of Chronicles were intended to boost the morale of Israel and Judah as they came out of captivity once again. They were not faithful to God; He was faithful, they were not. They walked out of His protection and directly back into slavery. They became slaves to their greed and impulses and anger and forfeited the freedom their mercy and humility had afforded them.

Such is a cycle individuals and nations both face. From the example of the Old Testament, might we learn to declare, remember and remain in our covenant with God?

6:18 Like his father (and perhaps many of us), Solomon was overwhelmed by the generosity of our immense God. It was an honor to be a nation that hosted God... an honor that felt undeserved. Our imperfect juxtaposed His perfection is astounding. In Psalm 8, David speaks:

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

Our relationship with God is a blessing, an opportunity, a responsibility but most of all, it is an honor. That God would find significance in us speaks of the magnitude of His tender heart. 

Solomon was aware of his deficiency. The best he could do for God, as a king or as a man, was not very much at all. The temple, no matter how grand and massive, could not contain the creator of the universe. The only thing we can built that will house God is a compassionate heart. A just life. A faithful soul. When we utilize our life experiences to build the temple of God within us, 1 Corinthians 6:19, we have... incredibly, contained a piece of God. A piece designated expressly for us. 

6:19-20 In effect, Solomon asked God: even though I am inadequate, will You regard me anyway? Solomon asks to matter to God, to be heard and seen and loved by Him. This is an innocent, humble and sincere prayer we can each make to God. We all have our list of reasons why others do not like us or why we do not like ourselves or an aspect of our lives... it's all a big heap we thump onto the doorstep of God. We indicate at our heap and with weariness, doubtfulness and we ask Him: will You regard me anyway? Despite all of this, do I matter to You?

And every time. Every. Time. God says: Yes.

6:21 Solomon requests the forgiveness of God (and he ended up really needing it); but we all do, which is why it is prudent not only to ask for magnanimity from God but also to be grateful for it in all seasons of our lives. 

6:22-23 Solomon welcomed the discipline of God. Solomon felt that, if we approach God with dishonesty or insincerity, we should be prepared to be approached by Him with reproach and retribution. Favoritism should not ever be what we seek from God. We should love that God will call us out for foolish behavior. We should celebrate that He is adhered to righteous principles. His rules of justice are rigid and it is a blessing that, with a firm hand, He will insist that we remain in alignment or we will not remain at all. 

God offers a pure and potent love. Not one watered down by leniency that would allow us to flounder. His compassionate heart sees great potential in each of us and because of that, He holds us to high, personal standards. Celebrate the fact He will not settle for a lesser version of yourself. His discipline is love and direction and encouragement.  

6:24-25 Perhaps unknowingly, in this prayer Solomon foresaw that the tribes would require the forgiveness of God and would need to be led back into their land:

“Or if Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and return and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this temple, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to them and their fathers.

And yet, it is not so surprising that Solomon would ask for God's forgiveness in advance: the tribes of Israel did fall away (this very book is a testament to that). As humans, we can expect imperfection from ourselves. It is not an excuse but it is a reality. Effectively, Solomon asked: if, when we realize our mistake, we call out to return to You, will You answer? Will you lead us back home to You?

Fortunately, the answer is another definite yes from God. 

6:26-27 When we create a drought for ourselves, will You send rain? Will You still hear us when we are surrounded by the noise of chaos we have created? Will you forgive us? Will you teach us? Thousands of years later, we are still asking God the same questions. We are so blessed that in all that time, God has not changed. He still rescues us out of slavery and out of desert wildernesses. 

6:28-31 Sincerity is a key ingredient of activating God's strength on our behalf. Solomon's request was that God would exact His power over pain, plague and pestilence (literal and figurative) for any child who prostrated himself before God with sincerity. 

6:32-33 Solomon prayed that even the people outside of Israel would have the ear and love of God if they came to Him. From the beginning, it has always been God's intention to reach out to all of humanity. Anyone who will undertake the journey of faith will reach the destination of God. Anyone who will reach out to God will be plucked up and embraced by Him. Solomon was ahead of his time in this aspect; in the New Testament, "outsiders" were regarded as less until the apostles opened up the gospels to the whole of humanity.

6:34-35 The next request of Solomon, the king made sage by God: will You go into battle with us? If we are following the leadership of God in life and scripture, we can be reassured that God will indeed go into battle with us. Will provide us with the best armor Ephesians 6:10-20. Will win the battle for us. God is our defense and our offense; shield and blade; border and army.

God is all of that for us when we pray for Him to be!

6:36-39 When we pray, repent and return with all of our heart and soul to God, we will be received by Him. Only God provides such assurance, such forgiveness. A restored relationship with Him is never irretrievable.

6:40-41 In the conclusion of his prayer, Solomon invites the Spirit of God to dwell in the space that has been created in the kingdom of Israel and in the hearts of the Israelites. Let us be clothed in You, surrounded by You, submerged in You. Let us rejoice in your mercy. 

6:42 The final plea: for our God to never turn Himself or His mercy away.