Turn & Ye Shall Return

 adapted from PCC Prayer Meeting Exhortation on 31 Dec 2009


“8 Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.   9 For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him” (2 Chronicles 30:8-9).

 

The books of Kings were written after the fall of Jerusalem to explain how the holy city came to be destroyed and dispersed by the Babylonians. There is therefore an emphasis on the holiness and justice of God.

The books of Chronicles, on the other hand, were written after the Babylonian exile, during the times of Ezra and Nehemiah. They were, no doubt, written to encourage the Jews concerning God’s faithfulness as they sought to rebuild the nation.

Now, 1st Chronicles ends with the enthronement of Solomon and the death of David. 2nd Chronicles picks up from there and traces the history of the kingdom of Judah from the beginning of Solomon’s reign and the building of the temple to the destruction of the temple during the reign of the last king of Judah before the birth of the Messiah.

During this period of time of almost 500 years, the kingly line of David was maintained by the promise and providence of God. But sadly, not all the Davidic kings were godly. In fact, the kingdom experienced some massive ups and downs, apostasy and reformations, chaos and peace throughout the period.

Right after Solomon’s reign of peace, ten tribes in the North broke away under the leadership of Jeroboam. The northern tribes would never recover. They would not have a single king who was godly. In the South, there were a few kings who were quite godly. We think of Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jotham, Hezekiah and Josiah. But most of the rest were rather wicked—including queen Athaliah who attempted to wipe out the royal seed; Ahaz who practised human sacrifices to pagan gods; and Manasseh who was so wicked in his earlier years that God was provoked to cast his people away.

Our text pertains to a time of reformation, during the reign of Hezekiah. They are part of the passover letter that Hezekiah sent to Judah as well as to the remnant in the Northern kingdom who had escape the sword or exile of the Assyrians. The Assyrians had just overthrown Samaria, and destroyed the population either with the sword or with exile.

Hezekiah understood that what had happened was because of the sin of the kings and people in the North and he knew that unless Judah repented, she would also face God’s judgement. Indeed, it appeared that Sennacherib was already preparing to march south to conquer Judah.

This explains why Hezekiah’s letter to invite Judah and all the remnant of Israel was worded the way it was:

6 Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see.

8 Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. 9 For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.

Now, in this study, we will not be able to do a thorough exposition of this letter. Our focus in this series of studies is, after all, on the promises in the Bible.

With this in mind, what lessons would the Lord teach us through our text? Let me suggest three lessons.

First, let us be reminded that God does chastise us when we turn away from him.

Secondly, let us be reminded that God will always return to us when we turn back to him.

Thirdly, let us be reminded that sin and repentance does not only affect ourselves, but our loved ones as well.

 

1. God Turns Away from Us When we Turn from Him

 

Hezekiah told the Jews and the Israelites:

7 And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see.

God’s people had been divided into two since the days of Rehoboam. The southern kingdom was known as Judah, whereas the northern kingdom was known as Israel. But Israel in the north has been destroyed. The last king Hoshea was deposed and sent into exile together with a large multitude of the Israelites.

Hezekiah, recognising that the remnant in the North was still part of God’s covenant people, sought to bring them under his wings. And so he included them in his letter.

He saw what happened in the north as being God’s chastisement of his people as a whole.

Because of the transgression of their fathers and brethren against God’s law and because of their stiffneckedness (v. 8), God had given Israel up to desolation. The Assyrians were the sword of the Lord in His hand to chastise Israel for her apostasy. Israel was part of the covenant people of God whom he loved. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Heb 12:6).

b. Beloved brethren and children, we must remember this principle. God does chastise his people. Whenever we undergo trials, it behoves us to examine ourselves to see wherein we have sinned against the Lord.

Now, we must be very charitable when someone else is undergoing suffering. While it is biblical to speak of it as chastisement based on Hebrews 12, it is best for us to speak of it as trials—because we don’t want to fall into the error of judging another unfairly and add sorrow upon sorrow. Nevertheless, when it happens to ourselves, let us be quick to own it as a chastisement, and examine ourselves to see wherein we have fallen.

But what if it happens to a whole family? Well, the family as a whole must own the chastisement—rather than point fingers. A family can be chastised with disharmony, economic loss, disease and death.

Likewise for the church. A church may suffer in many ways, such as schism, stagnation or spiritual deadness. When such things happen, it is almost like the Lord has turned his face away from the church.

If this happens, we must not point fingers. We must own it as a church and consider why the Lord is chastising us. Could it be pride? Could it be idolatry? Could it be worldliness? Could it be selfishness? Could it be lawlessness?

The Israelites was chastised for lawlessness and idolatry. What about us? What about you? Remember that God will turn away from us if we turn away from him.

But let us remember secondly,…

 

2. God Returns to Us When We Return to Him

 

Hezekiah calls the people to return to the Lord. He remind us, v. 9—

…the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.

Hezekiah was writing to the remnant both in the North and in the South. They were those who were left behind when the Northern Kingdom was decimated and sent to exile. But you must remember that they were also experiencing God’s chastisement too.

When bad things happen to someone related to you in some ways, you are being chastised too.

So the “fierceness of [God’s] wrath” was not only burning against those who were sent to exile. It was actually burning against the whole nation—both in the north and in the south.

Therefore those who remain must also turn back to the Lord. To turn back to the Lord is to repent. They must repent and they must come to the Lord again to partake of the passover. Remember that this was the purpose of the letter of Hezekiah.

And what is the passover? The passover was the sacrament to remind the people of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world for their sin. The people must repent of their and they must acknowledge their dependence on their redeemer and seek forgiveness in His blood.

b. And so too for us, beloved brethren and children. Are things in your life not as you wish it to be? Do not look around and point fingers. Look within. Ask the Lord to deal with you. Ask the Lord to search your heart. You must repent of your sin. You must come to the Lord to acknowledge your need for atonement and cleansing in the blood of your saviour. Come pleading with the Lord: “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Ps 51:2).

When you return to the Lord, the Lord will turn his face towards you and make his countenance to shine upon you.

Therefore do not harden your heart against his call to you to return to him. Return to him humbly pleading his mercy. You must do so even if you feel that the present crisis in your life is not entirely your fault. Hezekiah called for the whole nation to repent even though the greater part of the sin that brought about the chastisement of the Lord rested in the Northern Kingdom.

Remember we can never be cleanly separated from our family and church and even nation. When your family is chastised, you are chastised, you must turn back to the Lord. When the church is chastised, you are chastised. You must repent. When your nation is chastised, you are also in some ways chastised. You ought to repent.

The Lord will turn his face with favour towards whomsoever will return to him.

But finally, consider how…

 

3. God’s Blessing & Chastisement Affects our Loved Ones Too

 

Hezekiah promises:

9 For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.

Now, notice what Hezekiah is saying? Notice how he is speaking about God’s mercy toward the loved ones of the remnant!

If you return to the Lord, Hezekiah is saying, your brethren and your children will find compassion before their captors. And God will bring them back home.

Isn’t it true that sometimes the most painful chastisement that we can receive is not a chastisement directly upon ourselves, but to see our loved ones suffering.

Hezekiah understood that. He called for the people to repent to the end that their loved-ones might experience the Lord’s deliverance.

Dearly beloved brethren, let us bear this in mind. Sin has consequences. Sin affects not only ourselves. They affect our loved ones. But as the promise of God is unto us and to our children, so God’s blessing that comes through our repentance will not only affect us, but also our loved ones—both in the church and in our families.

May I as such, encourage you to look beyond yourselves to provoke yourselves to return to the Lord if you have backslidden. Think of your loved ones. Think of those you care for  most and consider how your life—whether lived in sin or righteousness will affect them.

Is someone close to you suffering because of your sin? Will you not repent and turn to the Lord? Or is your loved one suffering because of his or her sin, but you are being chastised too through his or her suffering? Remember how the suffering of a loved one can be a chastisement. You may be chastised for something else, but your chastisement is to see your loved one suffering. What shall you do in such a circumstance?

Will you not lay hold on Hezekiah’s promise to turn back to the Lord? Who knows if the Lord will have mercy upon your loved one for your sake? Who knows if the Lord may not grant repentance to your loved ones for your sake?

So beloved brethren and children, turn back to the Lord. As the Lord reminds you of any particular sin or shortfall in your life, will you not turn away from it and seek the Lord’s strength to fight it.

 

Conclusion

 

Human life can be very complicated because of the way than we are interconnected to one another. It is as such a fallacy to think that sin is entirely a personal thing. No, no, sin affects others, especially those who are closest to us. Sometimes the effect is direct. Other times it is indirect. Therefore sin is always selfish and inconsiderate. Therefore we must think carefully before allowing ourselves to fall into particular sins or sinful habits.

But thank God that God’s blessing and restoration that comes with repentance reaches not only the sinner, but also the loved ones of the sinner. Therefore, may I encourage you, beloved brethren, to carefully ponder how you must return to the Lord. Do not fear to draw nigh to the Lord because you have not been able to overcome a particular sin in your life. No, no, seek the Lord’s strength and encouragement to turn back to Him.

Consider how the Lord suffered and died as the Lamb of God to take away your sin. God hates sin so much and loves you so much that he would even suffer his only begotten son to die for you to pay for your sin. How then can you take sin lightly, whatever your sin may be? Is your sin that of pride, or idolatry, or will-worship, or sacrilege, or sabbath-breaking, or sinful anger, or adultery, or theft, or deceit, or covetousness, or unbelief?

Whatever it may be, how can you not hate it and turn away from it when your Saviour suffered so greatly for it.

Or are your eyes so blinded by sin and your heart so hardened by backsliding that you are numb to the sorry state you are in? Oh, will you not spare a thought for those you love and for your brethren who care about you? Consider how your sin brings sorrow and pain to them. Consider how your repentance will bring the Lord’s blessing to them.

Oh spurn not the Lord who is calling you to return back to him. Turn from sin and seek the Lord’s blessing for you and your loved ones. The Lord our God is merciful. He will not turn his face from us, if we return to Him. Amen.  Ω