I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone who would say that 2 Chronicles is his favorite book of the Bible. Most of us only read through Chronicles when we are reading through the entire Bible. The genealogies and head counts aren’t exactly the kind of things that stir within us a hunger for more of God’s Word. With that being said, I imagine that 2 Chronicles 7:14 was preached from quite a few American pulpits this past Sunday in preparation for Independence Day. If not, there was a lot of Twitter debate going on this week for little reason.
It seems to me that the debate included a lot of people talking past one another. I’m guessing that if the two “sides” actually sat down and discussed how to interpret and apply this verse, they wouldn’t be that far apart. In the spirit of trying to turn down the heat, I’m offering a few brief thoughts on how to interpret this oft preached verse of Scripture.
1. The historical context of 2 Chronicles 7:14 cannot be ignored.
This is a basic principle of biblical interpretation. It’s one that must be followed regardless of the passage we set out to preach. We wouldn’t dare read the words of God in Genesis 3 and ignore that God was speaking to Adam, Eve, and the serpent. We wouldn’t dare read 1 Corinthians without recognizing that Paul was dealing with some pretty serious issues in the church at Corinth.
Yet there are some verses or passages of Scripture where the historical context is routinely ignored. Philippians 4:13, Jeremiah 29:11, and yes, 2 Chronicles 7:14 come to mind. We do our people a disservice when we do not help them see the importance of reading the Bible in its context. We must remember that a passage of Scripture cannot mean something to us that it didn’t mean to the original recipients. I’m preaching to the choir here. You know these things, but it’s worth being reminded of them from time to time.
2. There seems to be some pretty clear application to the church.
Who are the “my people” in 2 Chronicles 7:14? When we consider the original context, we quickly discover that the Lord is talking about His chosen people, the people of Israel. But does that mean that 2 Chronicles 7:14 has nothing to say to us today? Of course not! We don’t take that approach to Paul’s letters. Why would we take that approach to 2 Chronicles?
We are the people of God. God delights in the prayers of His people. God does want us to seek His face. When we sin, God desires for us to repent. And we can be sure that when we pray, seek the Lord’s face, and return to Him in repentance, He will hear our prayer and extend healing and forgiveness to us. If you need a New Testament verse to back that up, 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
It may take a little extra work to rightly apply 2 Chronicles 7 to the church than it does 2 Corinthians 7, but that doesn’t make it any less applicable.
3. It is not wrong to make application to our nation.
The application here is not as clear and requires us to be a bit more careful. But I am reminded of Proverbs 14:34. It says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Would it be a good thing for Christians in America to humble themselves, pray, seek the Lord’s face, and turn from their sin? Do we think the Lord is more likely to bless that kind of behavior among His people than He is to bless the opposite behavior? I think so.
We should not see 2 Chronicles 7:14 as directly addressing the United States of America. God was speaking to a particular people at a particular time with a particular word. But that doesn’t mean that the principles gleaned from God’s Word in 2 Chronicles 7 should be ignored by all future generations.
May God use His Word to motivate us to humility, prayer, and repentance. And may He pour out on us the healing and forgiveness that is only found in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Note: Steve Gaines wrote a much better article on this same subject that was published in Baptist Press on July 3. Since I had already started writing this one when I read his article, I decided to go ahead with it anyway. But I hope you will consider reading his article as well.
Adam,
In this passage, God was speaking to an entire nation–a nation that was called by His name. If that nation humbled itself and turned from their wicked ways, then God would heal their land. When this text is usually preached, the parallel does not hold. God was not speaking to a sanctified subset of Isreal, with the promise that if they turned from their wicked ways, then God would heal the nation. But that is the eisegetical parallel that is so often preached. And usually, when it is preached, it is reflectively reversed to point out that the reason that America is in this bad condition is because the Church has failed to keep Her righteous zeal.
Great post, Adam.
This book is very helpful resource to help us rightly consider this and other verses often (mis)used:
https://www.amazon.com/Misused-Verses-Bible-Surprising-Misunderstood-ebook/dp/B007P3QQXU
I would say while this passage wasn’t written to America when the King and people of Nineveh applied the principles of the passage God spared them. Maybe we should try the same as Americans.
Greg,
Similar thought came to mind. I posted below and didn’t see where you had made the same point here.
My biggest beef with how this is usually applied is as a promise. If we _____ then God will _______. And the “their land” isn’t America. I think as a general rule God will respond. But we would be better to take the humble posture of the Ninevites…”He may…”
I’ve also been a bit confused by the fact that many believers are doing what 2 chronicles 7 says…but we are still praying for revival and healing. So is it not enough people praying? Are we not humble enough? I just think it can cause believers to focus on a means to potential revival a bit more than the One who brings the revival. Revival is a means to an end… not the end in itself.
Just my thoughts… But good work with that text, Adam.
Both articles (Adam Blosser & Steve Gaines) are good. Hope everyone reads them both.
David R. Brumbelow
Adam,
are you saying that a passage from the Old T. Can’t mean something different to us now in light of the further revelation we have received from Jesus and the apostles?
A couple of other hermeneutical concerns to bear in mind:
2 Chronicles 7:14 is written in the context of a covenant relationship of God with Israel, specifically looking back to the blessings and cursings of Deuteronomy 27-28. Today, as NT Christians, as the Church Universal, we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession (1 Peter 2:9-10), and we are also a covenant people. However, none of the nation-states or kingdoms in which we now live on earth is in a covenant relationship with God. We may thus legitimately seek for an application and lesson for us as Christians and as the Church for passages such as 2 Chronicles 7:14, but there is no warrant to seek to apply it to the United States or any other modern-day nation-state.
Also, the promise of “healing your land” has specific reference to the reversal of the curse alluded to in the previous verse, 2 Chronicles 7:13, of drought, locust devastation, and pestilence. In other words, it has to do with agricultural productivity and not with spiritual or moral revival. If anything, it has more to do with prosperity teaching than with spiritual revival. And in certain ways, the OT does give place to a sort of prosperity teaching. But it only applies to the specific contingencies of the blessings and cursings of Deuteronomy 27-28 and not to us as Christians.
Having said this, I definitely agree there is absolutely nothing wrong, as Christians, with humbling ourselves, praying, seeking God’s face, and turning from our wicked ways. And we may also surmise that when we do these things, we open up doors for God’s blessing in our life that may well have been previously closed as a result of not doing them. From a NT perspective, though, these blessings extend to the lives of the actual people who humble themselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from their wicked ways, not to the unregenerate people who also inhabit their environs, nor to the governmental and cultural institutions of the secular communities in which they live.
In addition, New Testament eschatology (at least from the premillennial perspective from which I personally understand it) does not hold out great hope for worldwide or nationwide revival in the last days, in the sense of the Christianization of entire earthly nations or people groups. But it does lead us to expect God’s provision and blessing (though not in a prosperity gospel sense) for us as God’s chosen race and holy nation.
Have you ever considered becoming a blogger?
Yes! To Dave you listen!
Excellent comment, David Rogers.
Good post Adam.
God has a will for nations as well as individuals. Jonah 4:11, “And should not I pity (N)Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much (O)cattle?”
Oh well hey, if we can save the Cattle too, must be a good idea.