““For if you return to the LORD, your relatives and your children will be treated mercifully by their captors, and they will be able to return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful. If you return to him, he will not continue to turn his face from you.”” (2 Chronicles 30:9, NLT)
Long ago, King Ahaz of Israel took a liking to foreign alliances and foreign gods. He stole money from the Temple and used it to pay tribute to Assyria as a way to ingratiate him with its leader and stave off its armies. He also took a liking to the gods of Damascus. During Ahaz’s reign idols became popular. People kept them. Public areas were adorned with them. The worship of the one true God began to wane. Few remained faithful. Even priests of the Temple became in short supply. At the time Ahaz died, Israel was changed. The northern territory of Israel was enveloped in war. Jerusalem barely survived the invading armies. Many people from Israel were made captives in Assyrian lands.
After King Ahaz died, a miracle occurred. King Hezekiah took the throne. He was “night and day” different from Ahaz. Hezekiah wanted all of Judah and Israel to return fully to the worship of God Almighty. Hezekiah believed wholeheartedly that all the problems befalling the Holy Land were due to the loss of faith in God combined with the worship of idols. Hezekiah did his best to rid the land of idols. Many idols that found their way into Jerusalem during the reign of Ahaz were torn down and tossed into the Kidron Valley, removed from places of honor (2 Chronicles 30:14). Hezekiah oversaw the cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem. He also reinitiated the Feast of the Passover at the Temple, which had been neglected and remained unkept during the reign of Ahaz. King Hezekiah informed the people of Israel who had so sinned under the leadership of Ahaz that God was merciful. In the scripture for today, the words of King Hezekiah are remembered: “if you return to the Lord, your relatives and children will be treated mercifully …for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful. If you return to HIM, HE will not continue to turn HIS face from you.” (2 Chronicles 30:9).
Something wonderful is revealed yet again in the verse for today. God is both “gracious” and “merciful”. God forgives sin. God is ready to receive back into the fold those who have sinned. God desires for people to repent rather than live for all eternity in the shame and disgrace of their mistakes. God is open to the cry of those who desire to make things right after sinning greatly.
A young woman grew up under the thumb of a very overbearing mother. Carrie could do nothing right. When Carrie brought home almost all A’s and just two B’s, her mother chastised her failure to do better. After Carrie got the flu or a cold, her mother blamed the lack of good friends for the reason she was sick. Carrie was chided for her weight, teased mercilessly when she made a mistake, and the brunt of jokes at the kitchen table during meals. Being the only girl in the household, Carrie’s mother forced the girl to do much of the cooking and cleaning, while the mother monitored her work with high scrutiny.
Because Carrie was so gifted and intelligent a student, she was recognized by the Honor Society. She ended up with two scholarships for college nearby. When Carrie went to college, she felt free for the first time in her life. However, this was only a limited freedom. You see, Carrie learned from her mother to scrutinize everything. Carrie became a perfectionist. When Carrie made a mistake in college, Carrie instantly berated herself. When Carrie messed up a test, she agonized over it for weeks. By age twenty, Carrie had her first big bout of depression. She almost took her own life while grappling with its torment.
During her junior year of college, still fighting off the worst of her depression, Carrie took a class in New Testament Studies. The class fulfilled some of the requirements for her degree, so she took it, otherwise she would never have considered it. Carrie’s family was not religious. Neither was she. However, the teacher in that New Testament class was a pastor who spent a lot of extra time looking out for his students. He spoke about the love of Jesus, about Jesus’ forgiveness of sinners, about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Sometime during that semester, Carrie’s heart began to soften toward Jesus. She saw his suffering as not unlike her own. She saw Jesus’ offering of the forgiveness of sins as freedom from the prison of her perfectionism. Carrie was baptized one Sunday morning in 1974.
Today, Carrie is a grandmother. She is also an active Christian. Totally unlike her mother, Carrie is neither perfectionistic nor the epitome of scrutiny. Carrie enjoys showing love to her family, to her church family, and to her friends. When someone she knows faces illness or need, Carrie shows up with a home cooked meal or offers a smile and a prayer. Carrie smiles when reading her Bible, pondering the love and grace of God. Carrie sings hymns during worship loudly and beautifully, her heart full of joy at the God who saved her from a life of self-criticism and unnatural self-loathing.
So many people walk around with heads reeling from guilt and shame and self-loathing. Others are so self-absorbed and egotistical that they don’t realize how far they have fallen from the grace of God. As in the days of Hezekiah, some people will return to the Lord. Too many others will live lives of loneliness, pridefulness, sinfulness, or apathy. God wants people to be holy. God knows that people who obey God’s ways and repent of their sin will end up being joyful with lives full of meaningful purpose. If God is rejected, sin will result. If sin comes into a life, there will always be suffering. Only repentance, forgiveness, and grace can change the direction of a person who is lost. Only God’s mercy can change the future of a person mired in the consequences of sin.
Hezekiah’s words are offered to every person, from the most faithful to the greatest sinner. Nobody is excluded from God’s hope that people return to HIM, obey HIS commandments, and listen to HIS voice. Remember how the father welcomed the Prodigal Son back home in Luke 15? In the same manner, God’s arms will always be willing to welcome your return to faithfulness, your words of repentance, your desire to be in HIS presence, to accept HIS mercy. Every day of your life, picture the Heavenly Father with open arms. Come to those open arms and you will soon see HIS arms welcoming you to Eternal Life.
Is there something holding you back from receiving God’s grace? Is there a sin that has kept Jesus at some distance? Is there an area of your life that needs to be set right before the Lord? Heavenly arms are open and waiting when you need them. You know what you need to do, right?
After King Ahaz died, a miracle occurred. King Hezekiah took the throne. He was “night and day” different from Ahaz. Hezekiah wanted all of Judah and Israel to return fully to the worship of God Almighty. Hezekiah believed wholeheartedly that all the problems befalling the Holy Land were due to the loss of faith in God combined with the worship of idols. Hezekiah did his best to rid the land of idols. Many idols that found their way into Jerusalem during the reign of Ahaz were torn down and tossed into the Kidron Valley, removed from places of honor (2 Chronicles 30:14). Hezekiah oversaw the cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem. He also reinitiated the Feast of the Passover at the Temple, which had been neglected and remained unkept during the reign of Ahaz. King Hezekiah informed the people of Israel who had so sinned under the leadership of Ahaz that God was merciful. In the scripture for today, the words of King Hezekiah are remembered: “if you return to the Lord, your relatives and children will be treated mercifully …for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful. If you return to HIM, HE will not continue to turn HIS face from you.” (2 Chronicles 30:9).
Something wonderful is revealed yet again in the verse for today. God is both “gracious” and “merciful”. God forgives sin. God is ready to receive back into the fold those who have sinned. God desires for people to repent rather than live for all eternity in the shame and disgrace of their mistakes. God is open to the cry of those who desire to make things right after sinning greatly.
A young woman grew up under the thumb of a very overbearing mother. Carrie could do nothing right. When Carrie brought home almost all A’s and just two B’s, her mother chastised her failure to do better. After Carrie got the flu or a cold, her mother blamed the lack of good friends for the reason she was sick. Carrie was chided for her weight, teased mercilessly when she made a mistake, and the brunt of jokes at the kitchen table during meals. Being the only girl in the household, Carrie’s mother forced the girl to do much of the cooking and cleaning, while the mother monitored her work with high scrutiny.
Because Carrie was so gifted and intelligent a student, she was recognized by the Honor Society. She ended up with two scholarships for college nearby. When Carrie went to college, she felt free for the first time in her life. However, this was only a limited freedom. You see, Carrie learned from her mother to scrutinize everything. Carrie became a perfectionist. When Carrie made a mistake in college, Carrie instantly berated herself. When Carrie messed up a test, she agonized over it for weeks. By age twenty, Carrie had her first big bout of depression. She almost took her own life while grappling with its torment.
During her junior year of college, still fighting off the worst of her depression, Carrie took a class in New Testament Studies. The class fulfilled some of the requirements for her degree, so she took it, otherwise she would never have considered it. Carrie’s family was not religious. Neither was she. However, the teacher in that New Testament class was a pastor who spent a lot of extra time looking out for his students. He spoke about the love of Jesus, about Jesus’ forgiveness of sinners, about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Sometime during that semester, Carrie’s heart began to soften toward Jesus. She saw his suffering as not unlike her own. She saw Jesus’ offering of the forgiveness of sins as freedom from the prison of her perfectionism. Carrie was baptized one Sunday morning in 1974.
Today, Carrie is a grandmother. She is also an active Christian. Totally unlike her mother, Carrie is neither perfectionistic nor the epitome of scrutiny. Carrie enjoys showing love to her family, to her church family, and to her friends. When someone she knows faces illness or need, Carrie shows up with a home cooked meal or offers a smile and a prayer. Carrie smiles when reading her Bible, pondering the love and grace of God. Carrie sings hymns during worship loudly and beautifully, her heart full of joy at the God who saved her from a life of self-criticism and unnatural self-loathing.
So many people walk around with heads reeling from guilt and shame and self-loathing. Others are so self-absorbed and egotistical that they don’t realize how far they have fallen from the grace of God. As in the days of Hezekiah, some people will return to the Lord. Too many others will live lives of loneliness, pridefulness, sinfulness, or apathy. God wants people to be holy. God knows that people who obey God’s ways and repent of their sin will end up being joyful with lives full of meaningful purpose. If God is rejected, sin will result. If sin comes into a life, there will always be suffering. Only repentance, forgiveness, and grace can change the direction of a person who is lost. Only God’s mercy can change the future of a person mired in the consequences of sin.
Hezekiah’s words are offered to every person, from the most faithful to the greatest sinner. Nobody is excluded from God’s hope that people return to HIM, obey HIS commandments, and listen to HIS voice. Remember how the father welcomed the Prodigal Son back home in Luke 15? In the same manner, God’s arms will always be willing to welcome your return to faithfulness, your words of repentance, your desire to be in HIS presence, to accept HIS mercy. Every day of your life, picture the Heavenly Father with open arms. Come to those open arms and you will soon see HIS arms welcoming you to Eternal Life.
Is there something holding you back from receiving God’s grace? Is there a sin that has kept Jesus at some distance? Is there an area of your life that needs to be set right before the Lord? Heavenly arms are open and waiting when you need them. You know what you need to do, right?