2 Chronicles
Search Other Books of the Bible
Search Biblical Passages by Theme
2 Chronicles 7: 13-14
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Read 2 Chronicles 7: 13-14 Take-Aways »
Read New Interpreters Bible Commentary »
Take-Aways
As in Lev 26, this passage shows a direct relationship between the faithfulness of God’s people and the land. Scripture repeatedly reveals that humanity is entrusted with creation and that caring for it is part of what it means to be faithful to God. It should be no surprise, then, that when we fail in this charge, the land itself suffers. We do no need to look to ancient Israel to see this truth born out. Today, irresponsible burning of non-renewable fossil fuels has led to an increase in the severity and occurrences of natural disasters. Rising temperatures create droughts and floods, which contribute to food and water scarcity. Disease carrying insects now live in regions where previously they could not survive, spreading illnesses such as malaria to people who have never before had to worry about them. But, as the chronicler states, redemption is always possible. We can be the responsible stewards God has called us to be and the land can be healed.
New Interpreters Bible Commentary
The Lord promised to honor such prayer and to wipe the slate clean in forgiveness, as Solomon had asked. Curses resting on the land would be removed. Rain would fall again on the drought-stricken land (6:26-27). The locusts of 6:28 would be banished, as in the book of Joel. Where there had been failure and loss, healing would be given. In Solomon’s prayer, the land of Israel had featured as an area of both deprivation and blessing (6:25, 27-28, 31). As generally in the OT, the land functioned as a spiritual barometer, registering the people’s loyalty to the Lord. The chronicler’s exposition of the Lord’s response to the king’s prayer sums up a crucial aspect of his message: Through worship at the Temple, God had provided a way of ending guilt and the spiritual and material crises it caused. Beyond a broken covenant lay divine resources of healing and restoration. The chronicler will weave this divine promise into the narratives that follow in order to reinforce a message of human guilt and divine love for the people of God (Volume III, p500).
Search Other Books of the Bible
Search Biblical Passages by Theme
