Today we conclude our reflections about God’s Word to King Solomon upon the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, reported in II Chronicles:

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer . . . When the heavens are shut up so that there is no rain, or the locust devours the land, or pestilence comes among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
II Chronicles 7:12–14

This passage promises that if the people in the midst of crisis will genuinely turn to God, then God “will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Often we think of God forgiving our individual sin, and bringing healing to our personal lives – and this of course is extremely important! But it is significant that this passage speaks also of God forgiving the sin of a whole people and healing their land. This is good news in a time such as the present, when our society is especially wrestling with the past sins of racial injustice and is very much in need of healing. We are invited in these verses to turn to God, and so experience the kind of forgiveness and healing that only God can bring.

Prayer – We turn to You, O God, praying that You would forgive our sin and heal our land. Share on X

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About the Author

Dr. David A. Palmer has been the senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of Kent since 1995. He has a B.A. from Wittenberg University, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary. A native of Wooster, Ohio, he has served three other churches in east Ohio before coming to Kent. He and his wife, Mavis, have three children.