During the dedication of the temple, Solomon offers a lengthy prayer before the assembly. This portion stood out for me:
“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; and if they turn backto you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy
1 Kings 8:46-50, NIV
Note the progression here, I think this may be something a lot of us can identify with — I know I can.
- We sin
- For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God — Rom 3:23, NIV
- God gives us over to our enemies
- Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you — Gen 4:7b, NIV
- We see the consequences of our sin
- Hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh — 1Co 5:5a, NIV
- We repent of AND turn from our sin
- If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways — 2Ch 7:14a, NIV
- God hears us
- Then I will hear from heaven — 2Ch 7:14b, NIV
- God forgives us
- And I will forgive their sin — 2Ch 7:14c, NIV
- We are released from the bondage of our sin
- So that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord — 1Co 5:5b, NIV
This is the process. If you are dealing with the consequences of sin, that’s God giving you what you’ve earned — that’s justice. If you ask for forgiveness and seek God, turning away from your sin, God will hear you and cover you with his grace — that’s mercy.
He knows we are incapable of perfection, and so Jesus came to fulfill that requirement. If we want to be covered by the blood of Jesus at Calvary, then we need to draw near to him and stand under His umbrella of grace.