Second Chronicles 6:31

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 6:31-33, “That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.[32] Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;[33] Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.” Notice the phrase that Solomon makes to God at the end of verse thirty-one: “in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.” Solomon did not forget what God had already done for them. God gave. God is the greatest giver of all. “For God so loved the world that He gave…” If God gives you something, He wants you to do something with it. He wants you to serve Him on this earth. And God wants you to be concerned about others. God loves everyone, and He wants to use you to help spread the Gospel of Christ. Solomon prayed for the “stranger” in verses thirty-two and thirty-three. The “stranger” referred to foreigners: people who were from a different country and a different part of the world. Think about their needs to be saved and to know God. Pray for them and for their salvation.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 6:34-35, “If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;[35] Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.” For the Christian, war symbolizes spiritual war. Every Christian must be prepared for the spiritual war in life. This truth is stated very clearly in Ephesians chapter 6. It says in Ephesians 6:11-13, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.[12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.[13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” It also says in First Timothy 1:17-18, “This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;[19] Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:” If you do not fight a good warfare, your spiritual life will be a shipwreck. Prayer is an important part of that warfare, because we need the Lord. Confession of sin is an important part of that warfare because we fail easily and often.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 6:36-42, “If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;[37] Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;[38] If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:[39] Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.[40] Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.[41] Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.[42] O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.” Solomon said to God in verse thirty-six, “for there is no man which sinneth not.” This is an important truth about understanding human beings and human behavior. Everyone is a sinner. “There is no man who doeth good, and sinneth not.” It says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” This is the reason that everyone needs to be saved through faith in Christ. You cannot go to heaven without being saved from your sins. But once you are saved, that does not mean that you will stop sinning completely. Solomon was praying about the people of God: people who were believers. Christians still sin. No one has arrived to the point of perfection. The book of First John is writing to Christians, and it says in First John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” And then again in First John 1:10, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Christians sin even more than they know because the standard is perfection, and the greatest commandment is to love God with all the heart, all the soul, all the mind, and all the strength. The blood of Christ is so powerful that it is constantly cleansing believers from the sins that we do not know about, as it says in the last part of First John 1:7, “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” For the sins that we do know about, we are supposed to confess daily in order to stay in fellowship with the Lord Jesus. It says in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Make sure you confess your sins so that you can avoid the chastisement of the Lord, or confess your sins to get out of a chastising situation that your sins have gotten you into. That is exactly what Solomon was praying about in the above passage. In the last phrase of verse forty-two Solomon prayed, “remember the mercies of David thy servant.” God definitely was merciful to David. And the new covenant through faith in Christ is based upon that same type of mercy. We can count on getting mercy from the Lord Jesus when we repent and ask for forgiveness. This is called the sure mercies of David.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 7:1-3, “Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.[2] And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's house.[3] And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” God was pleased with Solomon’s prayer. That is why fire came down from heaven. The power of God was manifested. That was a prayer of honesty: confession of sin and the request for mercy. We are sinners, and we are honest when we confess our sins to our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the truth, and He wants us to tell the truth about ourselves to Him. The glory of the Lord filling the temple was symbolic of the Holy Spirit filling a believer. In the New Testament our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We have the power of God and the glory of God with us when we are in close fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Confess your sins daily to keep that close contact with your Lord and Savior. Notice the last phrase of verse three where the people said, “For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” God always does good things for us, and the best thing that He does is to have mercy on us. When we have His mercy, He does not punish us for our sins: He forgives us when we confess our sins.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 7:4-7, “Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD.[5] And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.[6] And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.[7] Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the brasen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat.” Let’s mention the 142,000 animals that were sacrificed first. That was a lot of death and a lot of blood. We want to always remember that Jesus is our sacrifice. The animal sacrifices symbolized what Jesus would one day do for us. Jesus gave His blood so that our sins could be forgiven. We must never forget that great truth, and we must always be thankful to Him for His great sacrifice and suffering that He was willing to go through on our behalf. He suffered for our sins so that we would not have to suffer. When we believe in Jesus, we are free from all condemnation and judgement. God looks at us and sees no sin. He calls us His holy children. We have a home reserved in heaven. It does not get any better than that. As it says in verse six, “his mercy endureth for ever.” That is the reason to praise Him above all other things. And they did praise him with music and with singing. Singing is a very important part of church services. Hopefully, your church uses the old time Gospel songs that are spiritual and full of meaning and blessing.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 7:8-11, “Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt.[9] And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.[10] And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had shewed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.[11] Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected.” Solomon led the nation in prayer and in praise to God. They had a great feast and a great national celebration centered around the new temple, and it all happened because Solomon led the people to pray to the Lord and to be thankful to the Lord. That is the kind of leaders we need. Some day King Jesus will do that for the whole world. Jesus will return, and He will be king in Jerusalem. Notice that it says in verse ten that the people were “glad and merry in heart.” If you want to be happy, get right with God. Confess your sins, and enjoy the mercy that He will give you.

Notice in verse eleven that it says that “Solomon finished the house of the LORD.” If God puts something on your heart, make sure that you finish it. Finish the job. There will be a lot of things to knock you off the track. If that happens, get back to work on the right project that God has for you. After Solomon finished the temple, he finished his own house too. Solomon had his priorities right: God first and everything else second. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

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