What If …

By Jerry D. Ousley

            If … A small word that carries vast meaning and weight in each of its two letters.  “If” makes whatever follows it conditional.  A wonderful verse in scripture is so often misused and misquoted.  It is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14 and says, “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.”  What a wonderful promise!  What profound and powerful words spoken by God Almighty.  There’s just one thing though; they were spoken to Solomon in regard to the nation Israel.  Not to the United States of America, nor any other country.  Only to Israel.

            First let’s back up and realize the full story.  In the final chapters of the Book of 1 Chronicles, we see that King David wanted with all his heart to build a temple for God.  Because of his mighty deeds in bringing peace to Israel, which had required war and bloodshed, God didn’t allow David to build it but proclaimed to him that his son, Solomon, would do the work.  David spent the rest of his life collecting materials, lumber, stones, gold, silver and precious things so that all would be ready when Solomon took over.  He also had established the orders of the priests, the singers for the temple, those who would be its caretakers, its temple guards and all their terms of duty as well as their tours of duty.  It was all organized and ready to go.

            Then we see in the first few chapters of 2 Chronicles, Solomon taking over after the death of his father, David, and God putting it in his heart to carry out the plans of his father.  We are told in detail how the temple was erected and set up; how the furnishings were placed and all the gold that was used to overlay nearly everything.  Solomon also built himself a house.  The building of his house and the temple took twenty years (2 Chronicles 8:1).

            After it was completed, Solomon gave a long speech in chapter 5 and in chapter 6 he made an overwhelmingly great number of animal sacrifices in the ceremony of dedication, ending with an elaborate prayer asking God to bless the temple and the people using it.  In the first part of chapter 7, after Solomon had finished his prayer, the Bible says that fire fell from the sky and consumed the burnt offering and sacrifices and that the glory of God filled the temple to the point that the priests could not even enter into it.  More sacrifices were made, so many in fact, that the altar could not contain them and the middle of the outer court was sanctified and the excess of offerings were made there.

            Later, that night, God once again appeared to Solomon telling him that He had heard his prayer and chosen the temple as a house of sacrifice.  In a nut shell, God told Solomon that if the people sinned to the point that He had to remove them from the land, and bring pestilence and famine in punishment for their sin, that IF … and He spoke the words of 2 Chronicles 7:14.  What a great promise God gave to the Israeli people.  That promise was given to them, and as we previously said, to no other nation.  It still holds today.  If every ally Isreal has, would turn their backs to the tiny nation, God will still keep His promise to them.  Why?  Because they are God’s chosen people.

            Contrary to popular belief, the Church does not take the place of Israel.  Many want to spiritualize the promises given to Israel and make them promises to us.  Israel is not done away with.  Yes, they made a great and grave mistake when they rejected Jesus as the Messiah.  But one day they will acknowledge Him.  Just read the Book of Revelation.  It’s all there.

            “But,” I hear some say, “can we not claim the promises given in the Old Testament as being applied to us as well?”  They answer is a conditional “yes.”  Paul outlined it all in Romans 11.  He was speaking of the art of grafting branches into an olive tree.  Read it for yourself.  Basically, he is saying that we (the gentiles) were a wild olive tree and were grafted into the olive tree which is Israel.  So, we, as the Church, don’t take the place of Israel, rather we are made a part of Israel – God’s Chosen People. Yes, we inherit those promises because we have been placed into the family of God’s Chosen.

            That great promise given in 2 Chronicles 7:14 does apply to the Church because we are a part of Israel.  We have long used it in attempt to say that if America turns back to God, then He will restore our land.  Maybe He will. But it is more likely that He will restore His people and the land of Israel.

            The big “ifs” – If we – God’s people – called by His name – will turn to him, if we will humble ourselves, if we will pray, if we will seek His face, and if we will turn from our wicked ways, then He will hear from Heaven, He will forgive our sin and heal our land – our inheritance from Him.

            What if God’s people would do this?  What if we would stop bickering over nothing, fighting over our opinions, turn to what the Bible actually says, believe it, turn to God in prayer, seek Him with all our hearts, be obedient to the call upon our lives, and become a living witness for His Name?  What if this would happen?  What witness would we be to the world if we would submit and allow this great miracle to happen?  It is conditional in the “if.”  The restoration follows the “if.”  But what a blessing, what a witness, what a mighty miracle can take place if we yield to the “IF!”

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.?  Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.