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12 And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said
unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an
house of sacrifice. 13 If I shut up heaven that there be no
rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence
among my people; 14 If my people, which are called by my
name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their
wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will
heal their land. 15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine
ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may
be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. 17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father
walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe
my statutes and my judgments; 18 Then will I stablish the throne of thy
kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There
shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. 19 But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments,
which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship
them; 20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land
which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name,
will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword
among all nations. 21 And this house, which is high, shall
be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why
hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house? 22 And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of
their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold
on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought
all this evil upon them. (2 Chron 7:12-22 (KJV)
God is able to cram profound meaning
in profoundly FEW words. Consider two words that highlight today’s devotion –
IF and BUT! Having been raised in the South, I am sure you will understand my
meaning if I say, “Old so-and-so is a fine fellow but, bless his heard, he
possesses all of the qualities of a dog – except loyalty!” The one word
that enlarges the negative here is the word BUT. God uses this word often in scripture
to contrast the difference in righteous obedience of His Word and wanton
disregard thereof. He also uses it to contrast circumstances that are starkly
opposed to one another. Take our old friend Naaman as related in 2 Kings: 1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of
Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD
had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. (2 Kings 5:1) You will note that the first
mentioned prospects of Naaman were far reduced by the last which follow the
word, BUT.
Naaman had everything – all of
material wealth and advantage a man could desire. BUT, the satisfaction of
material desire does not satisfy the growing hunger and thirst of the soul. It
is perhaps true that Naaman, a great commander of the armies of the Syrian
nation, did all that he could to cover the outward symptoms of leprosy. Had it
become general knowledge, he would have been ostracized and committed to the
life of the leper colony. He may have worn expensive perfumes to cover the
disgusting odor of his rotting flesh which only grew worse with time. He
probably covered his eroding flesh with fine robes and shiny armor; but this
battle with leprosy was not one that this man of valor could win. Great shades
and shadows of the abyss loomed large in his mind constantly. He could not have
been happy despite his power and pelf. He had it all, BUT, he was a leper. Of
course, we all will remember that Naaman was healed of his leprosy by following
the advice of a little servant girl who told him that there was healing even of
leprosy if Naaman would consult the prophet in Israel (Elisha).
So Naaman took leave of his sovereign
and traveled to Jerusalem where he expected a prophet of the Lord to find the
comfort and opulence of living. He took with him many precious treasures as
gifts. When he showed the king of Israel the note from his own powerful king
requesting healing, the king of Israel was terrified that this was a ruse to
pick a fight with him. “Who can heal a leper?” thundered the king. Elisha, upon
hearing of the king’s distress, sent him a message to have Naaman come to him.
So Naaman appeared on the dusty road outside Naaman’s humble shack miles
outside the gates of Jerusalem. When Elisha did not com out we read of Naaman’s
anger: But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He
will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his
God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. (2 Kings 5:11 ) It is obvious Naaman had been watching too much of Benny Hinn and
Joel Osteen for the Holy Ghost is not at the beck and call of the TV hour
programming.
All Naaman had to do was so simple
that he was offended by it – “wash in the River Jordan seven times.”
Such an act would have required a simple faith that was beneath man of Naaman’s
dignity. He rebelled at first against such an idea, but his subordinates
convinced him – and he was made whole at the seventh washing. There was no
healing at the first, fifth or sixth washing, but only at the completion of
faith in the seventh.
We are all like Naaman. We are either
like the pre-washed Naaman, or the humble and completely washed Naaman. We all
began as lepers with a deadly blood disease, and by the grace of God, faith has
healed us. This troublesome little word, BUT, appears in many parts of
Scripture and it always adds a modicum of displeasure to our souls. It always
represents a reversal of the narrative preceding.
There is another conditional and even
shorter word ‘IF’ that places a responsibility to heed that which follows, else
the condition promised is withdrawn. To the general mind of the Millennial
generation, we are not to mention the negatives – only the positives; however,
there is an even balance of negatives and positives in God’s Holy Word. It is
true of the natural law as well. An equal and opposing positive force is
required to overcome the negative pull of gravity in walking. Newton’s 1st Law of Motion) And electric current
could not flow without a negative and a positive pole to attract the flow of
electrons.
In Deuteronomy 28, there are a number
of wonderful blessings of the Lord that are based upon the obedience that
follows the word ‘IF.’ (verses 1-14) Then comes a slew of NEGATIVE curses that
befall the commission of disobedience to the terms of the Lord – all following
the conditional ‘IF!’ and in a far greater number of negatives – see verses
15-68!
Our very salvation follows the
conditional ‘IF.’ Of Abraham God says: 17 (As it is written, I have made
thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, evenGod, who quickeneth the dead, and
calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18 Who against hope believed in
hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which
was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he
considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old,
neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that,
what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to
him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his
sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it
shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the
dead; 25 Who was delivered for our
offences, and was raised again for our justification. (Romans
4:17-25)
The IF’s of God’s Word are as certain
as the rising and setting of the sun. They are promises of blessing, but also
of curses. Which shall we heed? Which would render more joyful our situation on
earth and in eternity as well? Now review the leading text at the top of this
devotion. The IF’s of this passage is based upon a resort to prayer in order to
bridge the gap between what God demands, and what man, under the inspiration of
the Holy Ghost, can perform. 12 And the LORD appeared to Solomon by
night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place
to myself for an house of sacrifice. 13 If I shut up heaven that there be no
rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence
among my people. . .
. those are fairly harsh if’s that
precede the curses. But there is a conditional IF that follows that should
assuage our alarm: “14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall
humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways;
then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their
land.” There are only four conditions that follow these profound IF’, as a
nation we must:
1.
Humble
ourselves;
2.
Pray;
3.
Seek
His face;
4.
Turn
from our wicked ways.
But note: this
counsel is directed – not to the entire nation – but rather to those only “who
are called by my name.” There are many in America who call themselves
Christians but would not be enough to constitute a wart on the nose of a true
and faithful Christian and Bible scholar. The unbelievers do not count in this
equation!
Now, suppose we simply reject the
‘IF’s” of Verses 13-18 of 2 Chron 7 – what then? Read for yourselves: 19 But if ye turn away, and forsake
my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and
serve other gods, and worship them; 20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots
out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified
for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and
a byword among all nations. 21 And this house, which is high, shall
be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why
hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house? 22 And
it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which
brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and
worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon
them.”
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call, Partner!
