2 Chronicles 7:17-22 And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you… This is very large and generous, but it is always conditional. God never makes a promise which is absolutely unconditional. We can readily see that it is morally impossible for him to do so; it would be unrighteous, unwise, and, in the end, unkind so to do. He must and does say, "If... then I will; if not... then I will not." So was it (or so is it) with - I. THE ROYAL FAMILY. God's promise to David and to Solomon that the royal house should be established and should continue to reign was conditional on their allegiance to himself (1 Chronicles 22:13; 1 Chronicles 28:7): "If thou wilt walk before me," etc. (ver. 17). The melancholy issue proved only too well that there was no possibility of the fulfilment of the hope apart from obedience to the will of God. II. THE NATION. God's promises to Israel were great, but they, were conditional on its fidelity. In this passage the possibility of forfeiture is very fully stated (vers. 19-22). And in the long exile which the Jews suffered in Babylon, and in the terrible dispersion after the destruction of Jerusalem and the extinction of Israel as a nation, we find a fearful fulfilment of the solemn warning of the text. God deals with families and with nations now as he did with his own people. If they walk in truth, in wisdom, in righteousness, in godliness, they are established; but if they depart from faith and purity, they fall. History will furnish ample illustration of the doctrine; the observation of one long life will supply strong corroboration of its truth. III. THE INDIVIDUAL SOUL. God makes very great promises to us all; they are "exceeding great and precious" (2 Peter 1:4). They include the forgiveness of sins, restoration to perfect Sonship, guidance and provision through all our earthly course, the preservation of our spiritual integrity in trial and temptation, a full response to our prayer and our Christian effort, peace in death, everlasting glory. But not one of these is promised to us irrespective of our attitude or our action. We must repent of our sin, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, if we would be forgiven and restored; we must seek first the kingdom of God, and ask honestly and sincerely for Divine help, if we would receive all needful blessings for the life that now is; we must shun the spiritual peril which we are not called upon to face, and strive against the enemy we have to encounter, if we would prevail against our adversaries; we must abide in Christ, if we would bear the fruits of the Spirit of God; we must be prayerful and persevering and devoted, if we would work a good work for our Lord and our race; we must be faithful unto death, if we would wear and win "the crown of life." - C. Parallel Verses KJV: And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments; |
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