TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 7:11-22
TO CHEW ON: "If my people, who are called by my name, will 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 heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
After Solomon had finished the temple, he built a luxurious palace for himself. One night when both those projects were done, God appeared to him again.
“I heard your prayer and chose your temple,” He said. Then God gave Solomon some advice. “Keep my laws like David your father did. Worship only me. If you do this, kings will always come from your family.
“But if you turn away from me and start worshiping idols, bad things will happen.”
1. Pick out the three bad things God named in 2 Chronicles 7:20:
A. I will send Israel back to Egypt to be slaves.
B. I will uproot Israel from my land.
C. I will reject this temple.
D. I will burn your palace.
E. I will make this temple an object of ridicule.
Then God told Solomon if he and the people went away from God, there was a way back.
2. Unscramble the words, below, that tell how Solomon, the Israelites and us how to come back to God if we stray (2 Chronicles 7:14):
A. lebmuh evlesshmte : __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
B. ypar: __ __ __ __
C. ekes my ecfa: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
D. nrtu mfro icwkde aswy: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Do you feel far away from God? Do the four things God told Solomon long ago. They are still the way back to Him.
PRAYER: Dear God, the wrong things in my life make me feel far away from you. Help me to admit I’m wrong, to pray, to find out what pleases You, and to stop sinning. Amen.
MORE: Repent
When we follow God’s advice to Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14, we repent.
1. Look up the word “repent” in a dictionary. What does it mean?
2. Using a Bible concordance or the internet, find three Bible verses with the word “repent” in them. Write out your favorite on a paper and put it up where you can see it and read it often.