Near the end of his life, King David charged his son Solomon with the task of building God’s house, the temple of Jerusalem. He called a great assembly of all the leaders of Israel and revealed to them God’s word concerning the temple, the kingdom, and his son Solomon. He then spoke to Solomon before all Israel and gave him the plans for the temple.
As David bestowed this responsibility to Solomon, he gave some instructions and promises that we would do well to follow. Consider the words of David in 1Chronicles 28:9:
"As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.”
These instructions and promises from David to Solomon are repeated in other passages of Scripture and applied to all of mankind. Of course, none of us are charged with building a material temple on earth, but it is our responsibility to serve God with all of our hearts and minds (Matt. 22:37-38) and to seek for Him.
Presently, let’s focus on the promise and the warning of David that truly applies to all men as a promise and a warning from God: "If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.” This promise is profoundly important to us, for it is a guarantee from God that He is accessible to us. The warning is also important, for it means that we can fall out of God’s favor forever.
Regarding the promise, "If you seek Him, He will let you find Him,” it should remind us of Christ’s words in Matthew 7:7-8, when He said, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” On that occasion, Jesus was speaking of our heavenly Father’s willingness to bless His children as they seek His gifts. How blessed we are to know that God is also willing to bless us with a relationship with Him. Through the blood of Christ Jesus, we have been brought near to God (Eph. 2:11-13) and given bold access to His throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). It is a great blessing of our faith in Jesus that we can seek God, know God, please God, and be rewarded by God, just as Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
Truly, it has always been God’s desire that all men should seek Him. From the beginning of creation, the invisible God has made His existence evident to men so that we would believe in Him and seek Him by faith (Rom. 1:20). In Acts 17:24-28, the apostle Paul spoke to the pagan Athenians about the true God whom they did not know. Notice his words:
"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’”
It always was and still is God’s will that all of mankind would seek for Him and find Him, including even the pagan Gentiles. It was for this reason that God sent His Son to be the Savior of the whole world. Now God does not dwell in a temple such as the one Solomon built, but instead He dwells among those who have sought Him and found Him in Christ Jesus (1Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Eph. 2:19-22; 1Pet. 2:4-10).
God’s promise to let us find Him is truly wonderful, but it is tempered with a fearful warning: "If you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.” When Paul preached to the Athenians, he concluded with this urgent message: "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). For those who do not seek for God and refuse to repent, there is no hope. Because they do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, they "will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2Thess. 1:8-9).
Therefore, take hold of the promise of God and seek for Him by faith in Christ Jesus. There is nothing better or more secure than a promise from God, so you know that you will find Him if you seek Him according to His word. Truly, nothing is sweeter than knowing God and knowing that He knows you, for He "searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts” (1Chron. 28:9). If you haven’t begun seeking God, then begin today. "Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near” (Isa. 55:6).
Stacey E. Durham