When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 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 I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.   2 Chronicles 7:13-14 NKJV

Many people like to quote verse 14 of this Scripture passage. Verse 14 begins with the word “if”. The Lord is saying that if His people will humble themselves and turn to Him, He will heal their land. Many use this verse to encourage our nation to turn back to the Lord. When we read this passage, however, we must consider the context in which this is being said.

The Lord is speaking to Solomon. The Israelites have had a habit of worshiping idols and turning away from God. God would punish them and they would cry out and God would save them and they would start all over again. God knows the future and God knew that after Solomon’s death, there would be division. The Israelites would divide into two kingdoms. They would fall into idol worship and reach a point of no return. It would come to the point where God would have enough and allow their enemies to take them captive and remove them from the Promised Land. In verse 20, the Lord tells Solomon that if they turn away from Him and forsake His commandments and serve and worship other Gods, He will uproot them from this land that He had given them. In the coming years, God would use evil, pagan people to punish the Israelites. He would allow these people to take them captive, and they would have to serve 70 years in captivity before returning to their homeland.

Many people like to quote Jeremiah 29:11 which is a verse I love, but we must consider the context. In Jeremiah 29:11 it says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” But if we read verse 10 it says, “For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word toward you and cause you to return to this place.” So, they will have to spend 70 years in captivity first.

And in verses 12-14, we see that the Lord requires a few things of them. He says, “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place which I cause you to be carried away from.

God warned Solomon. He sent great prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah to warn the people, but they refused to listen. They remained stubborn and continued in their sin. They finally reached the point of no return. God planned for them to be taken captive and remain in captivity for 70 years, but He also planned their redemption. He planned on bringing them back once they turned to Him and prayed to Him and sought Him with all their hearts.

I often wonder what the point of no return for our nation will be. We have come a long way in the wrong direction in the last few of these 250 years. Has God already planned our punishment? Is it too late for us.

I truly believe if Israel had come together as a nation and committed to the Lord, He would have relented from their harsh punishment. But they never did, they just continued on in their sin.

Maybe we should seek Him with all our hearts and turn to Him before it’s too late. As individuals, we never know when it will be too late for us.

Turn to Him today. If we want to save our nation, we must first accept God’s salvation for ourselves.

Have a great day!