2 Chronicles 7:14

Context

This verse is part of God's response to Solomon's prayer. After Solomon completed the Temple in Jerusalem and offered his prayer of dedication (2 Chronicles 6), God appeared to him by night and answered that prayer. The preceding verse, 13, sets the condition: "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." Verse 14 then promises that if, at such a time, the people humbly pray, seek God's face, and turn from their wicked ways, he will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. This is the answer to what Solomon had asked in 6:26-31. Verses 19-22, which follow, warn that if the people serve idols, God will cast off both the Temple and the land.

2 Chronicles retells the history of the Davidic dynasty and the Temple for the community that had returned from the Babylonian exile, and the theme that repentance leads to restoration recurs throughout the book.

Interpretation

• As a promise to Israel's covenant community: This reading holds that "my people" and "their land" refer to Israel, centered on the Temple, and to the Promised Land. On this view, transferring the promise directly to a modern nation takes it out of its context.
• As applied to the church: Because in the New Testament the "people of God" is the church (1 Peter 2:9-10), this reading holds that the verse may be applied as a call for the church first to repent and pray. It emphasizes that those called to repent are not the nation as a whole but "my people, which are called by my name."
• As a principle: This reading holds that the principle that God hears the prayers of those who humbly repent and restores the community applies in every age, and it treats the verse as grounds for the church to pray in times of national crisis.

Controversies and Issues

The verse has served as a signature text for movements of prayer for the nation in the United States, South Korea, and elsewhere. Critics argue that such use can lead people to regard a particular nation as a covenant people like Old Testament Israel, thereby confusing faith with nationalism. Others point out that "heal their land" is often narrowed to mean political and economic prosperity. Nevertheless, the prevailing view is that the verse's call for the church first to examine its own sin in the face of society's crises remains valid. See church and politics.

In the Korean Church

The verse has frequently served as the theme text for prayer meetings for the nation, prayer gatherings for national salvation, united prayer rallies, and prayer movements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read together with verse 13, which mentions pestilence, it is cited anew whenever disaster strikes.

Related Passages

• 2 Chronicles 6:26-31
• 2 Chronicles 7:13-22
• Joel 2:12-14
• Daniel 9:3-19
• 1 Peter 2:9-10