2 Chronicles 7 · a question people ask
Is 7:14 a promise for Christians today?
7:14 is the LORD's answer to Solomon, given "by night" (7:12) after the house was dedicated, and it answers troubles Solomon's prayer had named: "When the sky is shut up and there is no rain" (6:26), and "pestilence" and "locust" (6:28). Christians genuinely differ on how far its promise reaches beyond Solomon's Israel. Two main ways of reading it are set out here, each from its verses, and neither is chosen. Both agree that the verse shows the LORD hearing and forgiving people who humble themselves, pray, seek his face and turn (7:14), and that the New Testament also calls God's people to humble themselves: "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you" (James 4:10). Both agree too that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins" (1 John 1:9).
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
God's word to Israel in its land, and a pattern for others
Those who read it this way note that the promise is tied to a place and a land: "have chosen this place for myself" (7:12), "my ears attentive to prayer that is made in this place" (7:15), and the healing promised is of "their land" (7:14), the land in which Solomon asked that the people would "walk in your ways as long as they live in the land which you gave to our fathers" (6:31). The troubles of 7:13 are ones Moses' law had named for Israel in the land if they would not listen (Deuteronomy 28:15): "The LORD will make the rain of your land powder and dust" (Deuteronomy 28:24), "the locust will consume it" (Deuteronomy 28:38), and "The LORD will make the pestilence cling to you" (Deuteronomy 28:21). And Moses said of Israel, "All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the LORD’s name" (Deuteronomy 28:10). On this reading 7:14 is a promise to Israel in its land, under that covenant; for Christians it shows a pattern of how God answers the humble, which the New Testament speaks in its own words: "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time" (1 Peter 5:6).
2 Chronicles 7:12-15 · 2 Chronicles 6:31 · Deuteronomy 28:10 · Deuteronomy 28:15 · Deuteronomy 28:21 · Deuteronomy 28:24 · Deuteronomy 28:38 · 1 Peter 5:6
A word for God's people in any age
Those who read it this way note that the verse speaks to "my people who are called by my name" (7:14), and that the New Testament uses those words of Gentiles. At Jerusalem James says, "This agrees with the words of the prophets" (Acts 15:15), and quotes the prophets: "all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord" (Acts 15:17). The words James quotes are the prophets', not 2 Chronicles 7. Peter writes to believers, "In the past, you were not a people, but now are God’s people" (1 Peter 2:10). What 7:14 asks is asked of believers too: "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" (James 4:8), "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you" (James 4:10). And Paul, after quoting God's promise, "I will be their God and they will be my people" (2 Corinthians 6:16), writes, "Having therefore these promises, beloved, let’s cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit" (2 Corinthians 7:1). On this reading 7:14 speaks to God's people in any age: when they humble themselves, pray, seek his face and turn from their wicked ways, he hears them and forgives.
2 Chronicles 7:14 · Acts 15:15-17 · 1 Peter 2:10 · James 4:8-10 · 2 Corinthians 6:16 · 2 Corinthians 7:1
The verses
“Then the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him, “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for myself for a house of sacrifice. “If I shut up the sky so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”