2 Chronicles 7: God Is Unchanging

God is unchanging, but many people think that there is a difference in the way He is portrayed in the Old and New Testaments. For example, the Old Testament seems to be a lot more about the God who supports Israel in war whereas the New Testament talks more about the God who will save us all eternally.

However, God really is the same entity, and I found some very interesting parallels in 2 Chronicles 7.

2Ch 7:12  And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.

2Ch 7:13  If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

2Ch 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Now, because Jesus had not died yet, the sacrificial system was still necessary. However, some of the language that is used particularly in verse 14 is very similar to a lot of what we hear in the New Testament. If we humble ourselves and come before God for forgiveness, we can definitely be forgiven.

Another similarity is the fact that we need to turn away from what we were doing before. Obviously, God does not expect us to be perfect because that would be impossible, and that is why Jesus came to forgive our sins. However, we can become more and more like God as we learn more about Him. We can, and quite frankly should, be continually growing in our walk with God and turning away from the sin that we might have enjoyed before.

God does not change. His relationship with humanity might have changed a little because of the redeeming work of Jesus, and passages like this can certainly illustrate some of the similarities.