Taking A Fresh Look At 2 Chronicles 7:14

For several years I have heard countless leaders in the church and in para-church organizations express their concerns for our nation.  The demonstration of sinful man is rampant from the sidewalks of our poorest neighborhoods to the halls of congress.  It is right that we, the church, have concern for the spiritual state of our country and its citizens, and it is right that we not only pray for our leaders but that we stand for righteousness where and when we can.  After all, we are Christ’s “ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20) in a sin-sick world.

We know that in our struggle against sin, our weapons are spiritual ones.  We are, in fact, at war against Satan, The Destroyer, who is responsible for the evil we find in this world.  Our sword is truly the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17) used in the power of the Holy Spirit.  NWBC is committed to God’s Word.  However, we are committed to the proper use of God’s Word in both interpretation and application.  Yes, God does promise to bless His Word, the Bible (Isaiah 55:11), but He exhorts us to be accurate in its use (2 Timothy 2:15).  We want to be like the Bereans (Acts 17:11) who had the reputation of diligently studying the Scriptures.

So, what does all of this have to do with 2 Chronicles 7:14?  It has to do with the fact that well-intentioned Christians today far too often pull this verse out of context and use it to motivate people to repent for the sake of our country.  The concern that I have is that 2 Chronicles 7:14 is a promise that is directed specifically to Israel.  Let’s look at the verse:

and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (NASB)

It is obvious from the context of 2 Chronicles that this verse is a conditional covenant being made between Solomon and the Lord at the outset of Solomon’s reign. It was a conditional covenant regarding Israel.  God does not make this promise to any other country – then or since.  The closest promise that He makes seems to come after Christ’s atoning sacrifice and is to individuals who put their faith in Jesus (Romans 5:8-11 and 1 John 1:9).

The United States is not Israel and if we take the position that the Church today assumes the place of and the promise to Israel in this verse, it is the Church’s role to repent and pray.  There is little doubt that when we do repent when we need to, we can each experience a personal and spiritual restoration similar to what God had promised in a more literal sense to Israel.  If every believer in our country were to be living a godly life daily, there would undoubtedly be an incredible impact on our nation.  However, there is no promise given to us by the Lord that even if all believers in the USA were to humble themselves and turn more fully to God the USA would return to biblical values as a nation. As a matter of fact, the Bible seems to indicate that the more we stand for Christ, the more persecution and suffering we can expect.

As God’s ambassadors, we want to impact our world for Christ. We want to speak the truth and live our lives according to the Scriptures.  We want to be His salt and light.  However, to be what He wants us to be and to do what He wants us to do, we need to accurately understand what the Lord is saying to us. There are principles and rules of interpretation that help us comprehend God’s truth. This field of study is called “hermeneutics.” One of the key rules of hermeneutics is that verses and passages should always be interpreted first in light of the context in which they exist.  It is considered risky to simply pull a verse out of the Bible to use for one’s own purpose, even a good purpose. Taking verses out of context is what the cults do when trying to use the Bible to support their unbiblical doctrines.  We don’t want to be like the cults.  We want to be like the Bereans of Acts who were known for searching the Scriptures.  As we do this, the Body of Christ will be edified and God will be glorified.

Pastor Doug Dennee