When it all crumbles around and within, hallelujah for the faithfulness of God’s faithfulness.
1The Lord is so fair. If you knew how badly this king would end, leading your people into gross idolatry, would you still offer your help in advance? What seems to be hypothetical in 2 Chronicles 7:19-20—“IF you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods…” (v 19)—is actually a horrible certainty, as described in verses 21 and 22. I have a masterfully-drawn old engraving in my study titled “Jerusalem In Her Fall,” with similar words from Jeremiah 22 underneath: “And many nations will pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this great city?’ Then they will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them’” (vv 8-9). Jehovah’s words here were a possibility, Jeremiah’s words the awful reality. But, as I said, God is fair. He still goes on to list Solomon’s successes. We read of his construction projects (2 Chron 8:1-6)—first “the house of the Lord,” then “his own house” (v 1), and then various storage and fortified cities— in good order: the Lord, the family, the business. Following this we see his people management skills (vv 7-11), including Israel, the Canaanites, and even his Egyptian wife. Next is his involvement in the spiritual life of the nation, its offerings, festivals, and priests, with this glowing approval: “Now all the work of Solomon was well-ordered from the day of the foundation of the house of the Lord until it was finished” (v 16). Finally, we have his wide-ranging commerce (vv 17-18). It’s good that God doesn’t cancel our faithfulness because of our failures, as humans do. Otherwise Hebrews 11 would be a very short chapter!