Captivity

I mentioned it in passing in a blog post but I’m in the midst of reading through the Bible again.  I’ve done it 2 other times but this time, this section stuck out to me from 2 Chronicles 6.  Solomon had just built the temple and was dedicating it:

“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 the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; ³⁷ 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 captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’; ³⁸ and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; ³⁹ then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.”

A light bulb moment this time.  That entire paragraph is the story of Entangled.  No, I didn’t have soldiers in another land the God gave me over to but I was my own worst enemy. Satan was right with me when I sinned and God let me dwell in captivity in an emotional affair.  My body was not held captive but my mind was.  But when I had a change of heart and turned back to Him, He forgave me.  I give Israel a hard time for continually turning to their wicked ways but I’m no different.  Not at all.