“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 will heal their land.”
~ 2 Chronicles 7:14
Hi James and Ellen,
There are going to be days and times which you will never forget. A day or a time which you will never forget may be a special event – such as a birthday party or a Christmas or a visit to a zoo or graduating from kindergarten. Something special will take place during the event which will help you to never forget the day or the time. You may be given during a birthday party for you a gift that you have really wanted. It may be a day while visiting a zoo that you saw a new animal. A day which you will never forget – when you do it, will be the day when you are baptized. You are publicly saying when you are being baptized by immersion that you want to be identified with Jesus Christ as being your Lord and Savior. Your grandpaa will never forget the day when he and your grandmaa were baptized by immersion in the Aberdeen Christian and Missionary Alliance Church. Your dad and ma one day will explain to you what the significance of baptism by immersion means. Your grandpaa baptized your dad and your Aunt Lynn. Your grandmaa and grandpaa have a lot of special memories. Your grandmaa and grandpaa would like you to have these memories, too. This is why your grandmaa and grandpaa are sending you these letters. Your grandmaa and grandpaa also want you to remember with us what God has done on this earth. God has given us a book – the Bible, to tell us about things that He has done for us. God teaches us from the Bible. Your grandmaa and grandpaa want you to learn from the Bible. The Bible often talks about special days and times. The Israelite people group is told to in 2 Chronicles 7 to celebrate a really special time. This very special time is the dedication of a temple. This temple was built by Solomon for God’s sake. It was a place where God would live while He was with His specially chosen people – the Israelite people group. You will hear a lot about Solomon. Solomon is one of David’s sons. Solomon was a very smart dude – probably the smartest guy who ever lived on planet Earth. God gave Solomon wisdom as a gift. God gave Solomon the blessing – which is a privilege, of building a temple on this earth where He would live.
The temple which Solomon built for God had to have been awesome. It was a place where sacrifices were to be made to God. Another thing which God did for Solomon was to allow him to become very rich. Solomon had probably more possessions than anyone else who lived when Solomon lived. When Solomon finished building the temple, Solomon planned a week of activities to dedicate the temple. During this week of activities, Solomon had sacrifices placed on an altar to God. Before burning the sacrifices, Solomon prayed to God. Because God was so pleased with everything, God sent fire from heaven to burn the sacrifices which were already on the altar. God’s specially chosen people – the Israelites, saw the fire come down from heaven. They saw that God was very pleased. They saw that God was going to live in the temple that they had helped build. It was a happy day and time – which you would think that God’s specially chosen people and especially Solomon would never ever forget. The chapter’s author – who very possibly could have been the prophet Ezra, remembers the day when the temple’s dedication took place. The chapter’s author said the week long celebration ended in the seventh month on the twenty-third day. The chapter’s author said the people went home ‘joyful and glad in their heart for the good things the LORD had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel’. Solomon seemed to be especially thankful for what God had done through him after God allowed him to have the privilege of constructing a magnificent temple for Him to reside. Solomon offered sacrifices to God as a way to thank God. Sacrifices were something which God expected from His specially chosen people. Sacrifices to God could be special incense or doves or animals such as cattle or sheep or goats. Solomon gave 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats as sacrifices to God. God knew though what the future held for Solomon and for His specially chosen people. God knew that His specially chosen people would forget this time. God unambiguously warned His specially chosen people what He would do to them if they were to forget Him. God explicitly explained to Solomon and to His specially chosen people in verse 14 what they were to always do “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 will heal their land” if they really wanted to always live in peace and with joy.
During the summer between the two years when your grandpaa was going to Dordt College, something special happened one night which your grandpaa will never forget. Your grandpaa’s ma and dad taught your grandpaa to read the Bible and to pray each night. Your grandpaa does not remember what he read in the Bible that night; your grandpaa does remember though telling God that night that he believed in what he had just read and that he would do whatever God asked your grandpaa to do. Your grandpaa believes that God heard your grandpaa even though your grandpaa forgot the promise that he had made to God. God reminded your grandpaa years later of the promise that your grandpaa had made to Him. Your grandmaa and grandpaa are praying that God will lead you to times when you remember how special it is to know God. The only sacrifice that you need to make to God today is your life. God will make sure that you will never forget that you made a promise to do whatever God might ask you to do. Because God is doing that for your grandmaa and for your grandpaa today, your grandmaa and your grandpaa know that joy is the reward that God gives the guys, gals and kids who promise and who do whatever He asks them to do.
2 Chronicles 7 (9)