2 Chronicles 6:34-42: a reflection

34“If your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way you send them, and they pray to you toward this city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name; 35then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. 36“If they sin against you (for there is no man who doesn’t sin), and you are angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive to a land far off or near; 37yet if they come to their senses in the land where they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication to you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done perversely, and have dealt wickedly;’ 38if they return to you 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 you gave to their fathers, and the city which you have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for your name; 39then hear from heaven, even from your dwelling place, their prayer and their petitions, and maintain their cause, and forgive your people who have sinned against you. 40“Now, my God, let, I beg you, your eyes be open, and let your ears be attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 41“Now therefore arise, LORD God, into your resting place, you, and the ark of your strength. Let your priests, LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints rejoice in goodness. 42“LORD God, don’t turn away the face of your anointed. Remember your loving kindnesses to David your servant.”

In his great prayer at the dedication of the temple, Solomon asks God to hear his people even when they have sinned and been carried far away, if they turn back to him with all their heart. If they come to their senses in the land where they are carried captive, Solomon prays, and turn again, and make supplication to you, saying, We have sinned; if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul, then hear from heaven and forgive your people who have sinned against you. Solomon asks God to hear and forgive those who return to him with all their heart, even from a far country, even from exile brought on by their own sin. God's ear is open to the repentant wherever they are; distance does not shut them out, nor does the fact that their trouble is the fruit of their own sin. Those who turn back to God with all their heart, from wherever they are, are heard and forgiven. God hears and forgives the repentant, even from far off, even those whose exile was their own doing.

Notice the reach of the forgiveness Solomon asks for: God hearing those who return to him with all their heart, even from exile far away. He does not ask God to forgive only those close by, or only those whose trouble is not their own fault; he asks God to hear and forgive his people even when they have sinned, been carried away captive to a far land as the fruit of their sin, if only they come to their senses and turn back to him with all their heart. This is a wide mercy: God's ear open to the repentant wherever they are, however far they have wandered, however much their trouble is their own doing. The distance does not shut them out; the self-inflicted nature of their exile does not disqualify them. What matters is that they turn back with all their heart, and God hears and forgives. No distance, no self-inflicted trouble, puts the truly repentant beyond God's hearing and forgiveness. The heart that turns back to God, wherever it is, is heard.

That is worth resting in, for God hears and forgives those who turn back to him with all their heart, wherever they are, however far they have wandered. We can feel that we have wandered too far, or that our trouble is so much our own doing that we cannot come back, that distance or our own fault shuts us out; but Solomon asks God to hear and forgive his people even in far exile brought on by their own sin, if they turn back with all their heart. No distance, no self-inflicted trouble, puts the repentant beyond God's hearing. When you feel you have wandered too far to return, remember that God hears those who turn back to him with all their heart, from wherever they are. Rest in the truth that God hears and forgives those who turn back to him with all their heart, wherever they are, however far they have wandered or however much their trouble is their own doing, as Solomon asked God to hear his people even in far exile if they returned to him with all their heart and soul; for God's ear is open to the repentant wherever they are, and no distance nor self-inflicted trouble shuts out the heart that truly turns back to him, so that the one who returns with all their heart, from wherever they have wandered, is heard and forgiven.

Lord, in his great prayer at the dedication of the temple, Solomon asks you to hear your people even when they have sinned and been carried far away, if they turn back to you with all their heart. If they come to their senses in the land where they are carried captive, Solomon prays, and turn again, saying, We have sinned; if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul, then hear from heaven and forgive your people who have sinned against you. Solomon asks you to hear and forgive those who return to you with all their heart, even from a far country, even from exile brought on by their own sin. Your ear is open to the repentant wherever they are. Show me the reach of the forgiveness Solomon asks for: you hearing those who return to you with all their heart, even from exile far away. He does not ask you to forgive only those close by, or only those whose trouble is not their own fault; he asks you to hear and forgive your people even when they have sinned and been carried away as the fruit of their sin, if only they turn back to you with all their heart. This is a wide mercy: your ear open to the repentant wherever they are, however far they have wandered. What matters is that they turn back with all their heart, and you hear and forgive. Let me rest in that, for you hear and forgive those who turn back to you with all their heart, wherever they are. I can feel that I have wandered too far, or that my trouble is so much my own doing that I cannot come back; but Solomon asks you to hear and forgive your people even in far exile, if they turn back with all their heart. When I feel I have wandered too far to return, help me remember that you hear those who turn back to you with all their heart, Lord, from wherever they are, and no distance nor self-inflicted trouble shuts out the heart that truly turns back to you.