2nd Chronicles 7:14 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.
The scripture is clear. The above passages refer to those times when nations and individuals run into a host of difficulties on account of sin, and from which they cannot extricate themselves except The God of heaven delivers, or intervenes, for believe it or not, there are situations where only God can deliver.
Such situations are referenced by Christ when He speaks of earth’s final crisis, and aptly describes it as perplexity. Perplexities are difficulties and problems that avoid solution, for men may not know how to handle a perplexing situation which defies logic and rational modes of thought.
Not long ago, when covid 19 ravaged the earth, and brought normal business, and life as we know it to a screeching halt nations and individuals became very perplexed, and as a result, the virus sent the nations of earth, scrambling in different directions, looking for a cure.
After desperate and herculean efforts, the remedies were made available, but not before very many folks were deceased, and thousands of businesses went under. In fact, right here in the U.S, it is stated that over 7000 churches closed their doors permanently, while others are still struggling with membership, and attendance issues.
When our opening passages are read in context, we will see that they are referring to such instances as Covid and other pandemics and epidemics that are scheduled to ramp up significantly as the coming of Jesus draws near. Let’s read:
2nd Chronicles 7: 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.
Therefore, whenever these situations may occur, we should view them as a call to prayer, not merely for deliverance from the perplexity, but a call to repent, because in the overwhelming majority of cases, it is the result of sin, in one form or another that causes the natural consequence.
Even though this is an inconvenient truth that most persons prefer not to hear, it is the truth, and it will be necessary for us to come to come to grips with it, if nations and individuals may desire any meaningful change of fortunes. Let’s read:
Proverbs 26: 2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
Thus, our first passages teach us what we ought to do in such situations, for God delights in mercy, and as such, God lays out in the clearest terms possible the correct course of action to pursue, if nations or individuals seek a reprieve.
The following therefore are the distinct instructions to be followed, and as we read and explain we must bear in mind that the expected results would follow like clockwork only after the stated prerequisites are fulfilled. Here they are:
The prerequisites: Humble themselves, Pray, Seek My face, Turn from their wicked ways.
The results we can expect: I will hear, I will forgive, I will heal the land, I will listen to your prayer.
Let’s begin with the first requirement: The humbling of ourselves. This includes the acknowledgement of any sin that triggered the perplexity in the first place since we must reason from cause to effect, in order for our prayers to make sense.
Persons can say whatsoever the want about David, but one thing you have to give him is that he would always acknowledge his sin when he did wrong. He did it when he sinned with Bathsheba, and he did it when he sinned by numbering the people and it was because of this, why in so many instances, he was spared the full consequence of his wrong actions. Let’s read:
Psalms 51: 2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
2nd Samuel 24: 10 And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
Jeremiah 3: 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever.
13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord.
Like David, you and I we have our issues and sins to confront, for here we are struggling by the grace of God to live in an increasingly difficult and dangerous world, and yes, like David we also may make grave mistakes at times.
The problem is not so much with the committed sin, even though much prefers that we do not err in the first place, the problem is what we do with and how we apply the remedies. If we have run into difficulty as a nation or individually, like David, it will be very important for us to acknowledge where we have gone wrong.
This is what the king of Nineveh did, when he and his people were facing an existential threat. In that episode, the king, and people alike, acknowledged their sin, they repented, and they prayed.
But most importantly, they turned from their wicked ways, which is a critically important aspect of prayer for deliverance, and the rest is history, because the stated results followed like clockwork. Let’s read:
Jonah 3:1 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything: let them not feed, nor drink water.
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
True repentance also took place in ancient Babylon, after Nebuchadnezzar was made to eat grass for 7 years. As he emerged from dwelling with the beasts of the field, he acknowledged his sin and his folly, as did the king of Nineveh.
And God, who is rich in mercy, and always quick to forgive, changes his fortune and restores him to his former position, because the prerequisites stated in our first passages were fulfilled. As the king retraced his steps, he saw, and he pointed out to all who will take heed, the reasons for his fall.
Then, just like David did, he acknowledges the God of heaven, in bringing righteous judgements upon him, and Nebuchadnezzar makes a U-Turn for the better, not only confessing and forsaking his sin, but also encouraging every citizen under his jurisdiction to follow his lead. Let’s read:
Daniel 4: 4 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace.
5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
12 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.
That last verse, which speaks of Babylon having fruit and food for all, means that it was the bread basket of the then known world, for all the nations of earth had to trade with Babylon, since that kingdom was represented as the head of gold, in the image that was depicted in Nebuchadnezzars dream.
Thus, when the scripture states the following: “The beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it” we should understand it to mean that ancient Babylon was the dominant kingdom at that time, and all nations were more or less dependent on it for survival.
But like so many other kings, Nebuchadnezzar was ill affected with pride, as he relished, and reveled in the thought that his kingdom was the greatest, and that everyone was dependent on him.
This led him to take the glory of his achievements to himself, and it required the distinct intervention by God, to bring him to his senses. There are times in the history of the nations of earth, when God finds it necessary to stop kings and people in their tracks, lest they be destined to irretrievable ruin. Let’s read:
Daniel 4:13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;
14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches.
15 Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:
16 Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.
17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will, and sets up over it the basest of men.
26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.
27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility.
34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most-High, and I praised and honored him that lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.
35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.
37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
However, the next example given in the Bible is very different, for Amenhotep 2, the pharaoh that ruled during the Exodus, tracked a different course, after he was humbled by The God of heaven.
Instead of doing like David, Nebuchadnezzar and the king of Nineveh, he dug in his heels, buried his head in the sand, and utterly refused to repent, pray, and turn from his wicked ways.
The same God who restored and forgave David and Nebuchadnezzar would have done the same for this Pharaoh, but, like satan, when he was reproved, he only became more desperate, stubborn, and bitter.
In other words, he would never acknowledge God, for doing so would damage personal, and national pride, and thus, pharaoh decided to drag the entire nation down the drain with him. Let’s read:
Exodus 12: 29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.
33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
One would think that after the burial of his son, the king of Egypt would repent and turn from his wicked ways. But no, after the initial shock and awe of that fateful night, he continues to dig in his heels, for he regroups, and instead of repenting, he determines to pursue the Hebrews.
In desperation, he tries to save face, by endeavoring to bring the captives back, with a very strong show of force for if he were to succeed, Egypt would again be exalted in the eyes of the nations, and pharaoh himself would be like Robinhood, in the eyes of his people.
Then, all the devastation which took place during the plagues could be attributed to natural causes such as global warming, and in this way intervention by the God of heaven could be removed from the equation and the records permanently, as being the cause.
The question is why. What on earth would drive him to do the unthinkable, after having burying his first born, and what on earth would cause his people to continue to support him, even as Egypt was brought to ruins?
There is one answer, and one answer only, Pride. It was national and personal pride that pharaoh had indulged over the years, and which he tenaciously clung to, that caused the very thought of repenting to rankle in his mind.
To confess that he was wrong would humiliate him in the eyes of his subjects, and he would thereby be blamed for the trainwreck that brought Egypt to its knees.
Therefore, rather than go that route the king then decides to dig in, and let the chips fall where they may, even if it meant that in the process, his entire army together with the magicians, and counselors would also perish.
The following excerpts should be closely studied, for they give us a window into the mind of pharaoh, as he comes to that final, and fatal decision, never to repent. Pay very close attention to the thinking of his supporters, as they desperately search for any excuse to save face. Let’s read:
[Patriarchs 7 Prophets pp 283] Pharaoh's counselors declared to the king that their bondmen had fled, never to return. The people deplored their folly in attributing the death of the first-born to the power of God.
Their great men, recovering from their fears, accounted for the plagues as the result of natural causes. “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” was the bitter cry.
Pharaoh collected his forces, “six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt,” horsemen, captains, and foot soldiers. The king himself, attended by the great men of his realm, headed the attacking army.
To secure the favor of the gods, and thus ensure the success of their undertaking the priests also accompanied them. The king was resolved to intimidate the Israelites by a grand display of his power.
The Egyptians feared lest their forced submission to the God of Israel should subject them to derision of other nations; but if they should now go forth with a great show of power, and bring back the fugitives, they would redeem their glory, as well as recover the services of their bondmen.
Now, there is one more king whose doings we must examine before we close for his experience contains a very dire warning for kings and peoples of our day. King Belshazzar knew of the history of his father and the great change that took place after he was made to eat grass.
He knew of Nebuchadnezzar’s repentance, and his acknowledgement of the God of heaven, and yet, he went even further by adding insult to injury, when he called for the sacred vessels of God to be used to drink wine with his concubines and counselors.
Persons who know better, and who deliberately do what they clearly know to be wrong are accountable in a much greater degree, than persons who might commit the same sins ignorantly.
Therefore, when Belshazzar did the unthinkable, by insulting the same God who reproved, forgave, and restored his father, his sin became much greater in magnitude, and it called for the rarest, and singular intervention by God, as The Lord intruded into their festivities, to make the final announcement of their impending doom. Let’s read:
Daniel 5:3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
6 Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
9 Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.
17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
18 O thou king, the Most-High God gave unto Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor.
19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the Most-High God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appoints over it whomsoever he will.
22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knew all this;
23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
4 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.
25 And this is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.
26 This is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
27 Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
28 Peres; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
In our day, if you are a king, or if you are a people, that same merciful God of yesterday, today, and forever, is now calling on you to consider your ways. If you have made decisions without consulting God, and if you are suffering greatly as a result, the same God will forgive and heal when the prerequisites are met.
But just as it was in bygone years, we will have to humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways. Let no one be deceived by smooth words and promises, if the prerequisites are not met, for The Lord does not change.
As was stated before, God is not too concerned with the sin of a king or a people because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. What The Lord is most concerned about is what folks will do with the remedies provided.
God delights in mercy, and He takes no pleasure in the destruction of nations and individuals. Yet, there is an invisible tipping point, where mercy gives way to judgment, if and when kings and people wouldn’t repent, nor turn from doing evil. Let’s read:
[S.T August 24, 1882, par. 5] There is a limit beyond which men may not go on in sin, a hidden boundary between God's mercy and his wrath. Our gracious God still bears long with the impenitent.
He gives them light from Heaven, that they may understand the holiness of his character, and the justice of his requirements. He calls them to repentance, and assures them of his willingness to forgive. But if they continue to reject his mercy, the mandate goes forth devoting them to destruction.
We sincerely hope and pray that this will not be the case with the you and me in the here and now, for as the storm clouds are gathering on the horizon, it will become even more urgent, and necessary that both kings and people be found on the right side of history, by repenting and turning from our wicked ways.
In other words, it may be that the writing is almost on the wall, meaning that we may be just a stone’s throw away from that invisible boundary, between God’s forbearance, and His judgments.
We will end with the same passage of Scripture that we began with so that we would be encouraged to make our move while we can, because the doors of mercy are still open for business, and God’s grace still lingers for all who will see the need to humble themselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from doing evil. Let’s read:
2nd Chronicles 7:14 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.
God Bless!