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The Bible Teaching Commentary on Genesis: The Book of Foundations
Commentaries that specialize on training the teacher!
The Godly Man: Transformed by God's Faithfulness
God's Rich Faithfulness
Paul J. Bucknell
Faith & Faithfulness | Hebrews 11 | Counterfeit Faith | Righteous live by Faith | God's Faithfulness | Words of Faith | Cultivating Faith | God's Extreme Faithfulness | Faithfulness in Temptation | Testimonies on Faithfulness
God's unchanging person leads to unchanging principles. It is absolutely wonderful to set apart some time and meditate on how God's faithful workings derived from His unchanging character and plans. Just as we see the sun regularly rising and setting and the seas waxing and waning, so we see God's regular dealings with mankind. These are beautiful truths to reflect upon. However, if we are going to practically understand God's faithfulness, we need to go to the sinfulness of our lives to find the utter rich and glorious faithfulness of God.
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When things remain good or the same, we do not expect God's dealings with us to change. For example, we would never expect His dealings to change with respect to His angels. We do not need to talk about God's faithfulness to them because there is no change of circumstance that challenges His faithfulness. God simply does not change with respect to them.
We get to see the full glory of His faithfulness only when we observe His dealings with the waywardness of man.
"THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD." (Romans 3:10,11)
God's redemptive plan becomes a special place where His grace, holiness, love and faithfulness are highlighted for all of His creation to see.
King Solomon captured this perspective at the dedication of the temple. He cleverly prayed for God's faithfulness to His unfaithful people. Solomon knew about man's unfaithfulness. Perhaps he saw it in his own soul. We actually see he was convinced that man would not be faithful.
"When they sin against Thee (for there is no man who does not sin) ..." 2 Chronicles 6:36
"Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins." Ecclesiastes 7:20
Solomon's was not concerned if man did not sin. He did not have any delusions of man's innocence. If man did not sin, then God's dealings with man would not be challenged. Nothing would change. His faithfulness would be taken for granted. God is that way. He knew man, even his nation, would fall in sin. It was then that God's faithfulness needed to be seen. Actually, Solomon knew more of the temple's real purpose than we. The temple was needed because man could not simply come before God as if nothing was wrong. Sacrifices were needed, laws were given, priests were consecrated, etc. all because man did sin and would sin. The temple, then, is where we would hope to find God's faithfulness largely pronounced. King Solomon very appropriately pleads for God's faithfulness to unfaithful Israel at the temple's consecration in 2 Chronicles 6.
In verses 1-17 Solomon rehearses the faithfulness of God.
The key word is 'fulfilled.' In other words, God was faithful to His promises. In the NASB we find the word 'fulfilled' three times (4,10,15).{1} The word to fulfill is the same literal word meaning to fill something. We see in 2 Chronicles 7:1 how 'the glory of the LORD filled the house.'
1) Solomon saw this temple as God's temple, not his. God built it. Note how he mentions it was God being faithful to what He formerly spoke to David, his father. Solomon actually quoted the Lord's previous words in verses 5-7. God promised to build a house in Jerusalem and for David to rule over this kingdom.
Solomon continues to record God's faithfulness to His Word by mentioning that even the promise about David's own son to build the temple was fulfilled.
"Now the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for I have risen in the place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel."King Solomon interestingly drew no special attention to himself. He did build it, but he knew it was really God completing it just like He promised. He says in verse 15,
"who has kept with Thy servant David, my father, that which Thou hast promised him; indeed, Thou hast spoken with Thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with Thy hand, as it is this day." (2 Chronicles 6:15)
This is the way to dedicate something new. We emphasize God's purpose and provision for it. (2) As mentioned above, Solomon went on in a very lengthy prayer. It is here that we see Solomon pleading for the temple of God to be a place that God's people can always humble themselves before God, come back to Him, and find God's faithful mercy.
Solomon understands the covenant. He does not speak of unconditional blessings.(3) The blessing is given only to those who obey and call upon the Lord's name. He was most concerned for those who had fallen away and would want to restore things.
King Solomon's prayer established the temple to be the place of refuge even for the very hardened man or nation. When we remember this, we think of Hezekiah. Judgment had come, but it was postponed because he called out to God. Judgment came in the end, not because God did not care, but because God's people did not call out to thier Lord. They could have. God would have intervened. It was not as if God's mery was not there. God was utterly faithful to those who called upon His Name. The problem was that even in their desperate conditions, they had lost faith in God.
Let's now look at the rest of 2 Chronicles 6. Note how there are three parts to each section: the judgment upon man for his sin, the humbleness required and the prayer for healing.
| The Judgment from God | The Change of Heart Required | Man's Call to God |
Generally
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that Thine eyes may be open toward this house day and night, toward the place of which Thou hast said that Thou wouldst put Thy name there, to listen to the prayer which Thy servant shall pray toward this place. |
And listen to the supplications of Thy servant and of Thy people Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear Thou from Thy dwelling place, from heaven; hear Thou and forgive.” |
Sin against a neighbor
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and he comes and takes an oath before Thine altar in this house |
then hear Thou from heaven and act and judge Thy servants, punishing the wicked by bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness. |
Defeated before an enemy because of sin
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and they return to Thee and confess Thy name, and pray and make supplication before Thee in this house |
then hear Thou from heaven and forgive the sin of Thy people Israel, and bring them back to the land which Thou hast given to them and to their fathers. |
No rain because of sin
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and they pray toward this place and confess Thy name, and turn from their sin when Thou dost afflict them |
then hear Thou in heaven and forgive the sin of Thy servants and Thy people Israel, indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on Thy land, which Thou hast given to Thy people for an inheritance. |
Famine, pestilence, blight, mildew, locust, grasshopper, enemies, whatever plague or sickness
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whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Thy people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own pain, and spreading his hands toward this house |
then hear Thou from heaven Thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart Thou knowest for Thou alone dost know the hearts of the sons of men |
For God-fearing foreigner who pray
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when they come and pray toward this house |
then hear Thou from heaven, from Thy dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to Thee, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Thy name, and fear Thee, as do Thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Thy name. |
Wage war against enemy
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and they pray to Thee toward this city which Thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for Thy name, |
then hear Thou from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. |
When they sin and taken captive
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if they return to Thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been taken captive, and pray toward their land which Thou hast given to their fathers, and the city which Thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Thy name (2 Chronicles 6:38) |
then hear from heaven, from Thy dwelling place, their prayer and supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive Thy people who have sinned against Thee. |
Conclusion
ApplicationWe should never say we have sinned too much or that God has given up on us. We always can find forgiveness if we humble our heart and turn to Him. We know He has given up on a person only when He takes him home through death. |
The wisdom of this prayer was seen in how God would always be faithful to His people. This faithfulness stands out most clearly when His people have been unfaithful. What they would need is to humble their heart, turn to God and pray.
Solomon didn't ask God for benefits if they obeyed and were good. Those would always be there. This kind of faithfulness could be presumed upon because they were God's people. The most marvelous and amazing grace was seen that even in the future, God's people always had a recourse. They might do all sorts of wrong things, but if they turned back, there was hope. That is the ultimate faithfulness of God.
King Solomon in the end (42) pleaded for God to "remember Thy lovingkindness to Thy servant David." Solomon had enough holes in his faith to know that God's real blessing that day was not because of his faith but because of David's faith. God's ongoing faithfulness was because of God's faithfulness to David, a man after God's own heart. In time, we see this fulfilled by the Messiah Jesus Christ being from the lineage of David (both from Joseph and Mary).
We know God agreed to this prayer when everything on the altar was consumed by the glory of God (7:1). In a similar way, we know the forgiveness of sin can always be found because Christ's sacrifice was also accepted. May we live in constant humbleness so that we might find that great refuge of help in Christ in time of our sin. The cross is the symbol for God's ultimate faithfulness.
Notes:
(1)The KJV uses the word performed for another Hebrew word in verse 10.
(2) We can do this only when it is true such as when God commanded something and provided for it. Today, we see man building what he wants and giving God the credit when all along, everyone knows the bank has the loan or mortgage. This brings discredit to God.
(3) The church has again failed to preach the ins and outs of being part of the New Covenant. We hardly ever hear of God's expectations of us and what will happen if we fail Him. Because of this, the church blames God when troubles arise rather than humbling her heart.
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Scriptures typically quoted from the New American Standard Bible unless noted:
(C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1988