2 Chronicles 7:13-22: Edit history

Context

In 2 Chronicles 6, Solomon dedicates the Temple in Jerusalem with a lengthy prayer. Beginning at 7:12, God answers that prayer, and this passage forms the main body of His answer. The drought, locusts, and pestilence named in verse 13 directly echo the calamities about which Solomon prayed in 2 Chronicles 6:26-31. Verse 14 is the center of the answer. It declares that if God's people "shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways," God will forgive their sin and "will heal their land."

Verses 17-22 speak of the future of the Davidic dynasty and the Temple in conditional terms. If the people obey, God will establish the throne; if they serve other gods, He will pluck them up out of the land and cast off the Temple. This section is nearly identical to 1 Kings 9:1-9. Verses 13-15, however, do not appear in Kings and are found only in 2 Chronicles.

Interpretation

• Historical and contextual reading: The promise was given to ancient Israel, which lived under the Temple and the Davidic covenant. Scholars regard the principle that repentance leads directly to restoration as a summary of the theology of Chronicles as a whole. Indeed, the terms "humble," "pray," "seek," and "turn" recur in the later accounts of Rehoboam (chapter 12) and Manasseh (chapter 33).
• Analogical application: Many preachers apply "my people, which are called by my name" to the church today. In this reading, the church's repentance and prayer are understood as conditions for the restoration of community and society.
• Christocentric reading: This reading holds that the promises concerning the Temple and the Davidic dynasty are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. It emphasizes that the place of God's presence has shifted from a building to Christ and the church.

Debates and Issues

The first issue is whether "people" and "land" can be applied directly to modern nations. Dispensationalism, which distinguishes between Israel and the church, tends to read the promise as given to Israel. Covenant theology affirms the continuity of the covenant while applying the land promise spiritually to the church. Critics from both positions argue that citing the verse in a way that identifies a particular nation with the people of God takes it out of context.

The second issue concerns interpreting calamity as the direct result of sin. On the basis of the Book of Job and John 9:1-3, voices in a number of denominations caution against concluding that a particular disaster is the result of a particular group's sin.

Third, there is ongoing discussion of how the promise regarding prayer offered in "this place" (the Temple) in verses 15-16 relates to the New Testament understanding of worship.

In the Korean Church

Verse 14 is known as a passage frequently cited at prayer meetings for the nation, joint prayer gatherings, and special dawn prayer meetings. During epidemics, it has also been used, together with the "pestilence" of verse 13, as a text calling for repentance.

Related Passages

• 2 Chronicles 6:26-31
• 1 Kings 9:1-9
• 2 Samuel 7:12-16
• John 9:1-3
• John 4:20-23