2 Chronicles 6:32-42 Click here for Bible VersesHi GAMErs,
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 2 Chronicles 6:32-42. Let’s go!
2 Chronicles 6:32-33 (NIV)
32 “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm–when he comes and prays toward this temple,
33 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.
On verses 32-33: Solomon prays that God would hear and work on behalf of the foreigner who is not an Israelite by blood but who comes to Israel from a distant land and prays toward the temple. Solomon asks God to hear that foreigner and help that foreigner, “so that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You” (v33).
What can we learn from this?
- Solomon’s heart was that the temple would not just be a place that would bless and benefit the Israelites, but a place that God would use to bring the nations to Himself. That must be our heart as well for our church. Like Solomon, pray often that God would use your church to bring people who are far from Him close to Himself, that because of their interaction with the church, people who did not have anything to do with Jesus would find Him, be found by Him, and come to a saving relationship with Him.
- Solomon’s hope was that foreigners who prayed toward the temple would experience God working on their behalf. It reminds me of how Jesus once compared himself to the temple when he said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (John 2:19) When we pray toward that temple – that is, when we direct our faith and trust toward Jesus – God hears and works on our behalf, turning us who were once foreigners to His kingdom into born again children of God.
2 Chronicles 6:34-35 (NIV)
34 “When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you toward this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name,
35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.
On verses 34-35: Here Solomon prays for the Israelites, that when they are at war against their enemies, they would pray toward the temple and find God helping them be victorious over their enemies. Likewise, the Bible says that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers (Ephesians 6:11-12) led by Satan, who agenda is to steal, kill, and destroy our lives (John 10:10). Praise God that when we pray toward our temple that is Jesus (John 2:19), when we place our faith and hope in Him, we find all the resources we need to be victorious over our enemy.
2 Chronicles 6:36-39 (NIV)
36 “When they sin against you–for there is no one who does not sin–and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near;
37 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’;
38 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name;
39 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.
On verses 36-39: Here Solomon describes the situation where God’s people sin so greatly against God that God hands them over to their enemies to be taken captive. Solomon prays that if the people turn back to God with all their heart and soul and pray toward the temple, God would hear their prayer and uphold their cause. What can we learn from this?
1. Notice in verse 36 where Solomon says “for there is no one who does not sin”. Because all of us have sinned, none of us deserves to be with God. We are all in need of God’s mercy (see Romans 3:23-24).
2. Not only have all of us sinned, but the Bible says that all of us have been held captive by sin. Because of sin, we were separated from the kingdom we were made to be a part of. But the great promise of the Bible is that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). If we will turn back to God and cry out toward the temple that is Jesus Christ (John 2:19), God hears our prayer, upholds our cause, and saves us. As Colossians 1:13 says, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves”.
2 Chronicles 6:40-42 (NIV)
40 “Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
41 “Now arise, O LORD God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, may your saints rejoice in your goodness.
42 O LORD God, do not reject your anointed one. Remember the great love promised to David your servant.”
On verses 40-42: In my sharing on verses 32-39, I have been comparing the Lord Jesus to the temple that Solomon built, how when we pray toward our temple that is Jesus, God hears and acts on our behalf. But don’t forget that the Bible also calls us – those who have trusted in Jesus Christ – His temple too (See for example 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Just as Solomon prays in verse 41 that God would come to His resting place (i.e. the temple), when we place our faith in Jesus Christ, God by His Spirit comes into our lives and makes us His temple and His resting place. When Jesus come into our lives, we become God’s priests who are clothed with salvation (“may your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation (v41)). We also become God’s saints who rejoice in His goodness (“may your saints rejoice in your goodness” (v41)). Just as in verse 42 Solomon stands on the promises God made to David (“Remember the great love promised to David your servant” (v42), so we stand on the promises that God makes about His Son Jesus and about all who trust in Him.
Heavenly Father, thank You that while Solomon and the Israelites had the temple to pray toward, a temple which has since been destroyed, we have a far greater and indestructible “temple” we can pray toward: Your Son Jesus. Thank You that when we direct our faith and hope toward Jesus, we are brought into Your kingdom, we are rescued from sin, we gain victory over the devil, and You by Your Spirit come into our lives and make us Your resting place. Thank You for being the God who met our every need through Your Son Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
