Can We Claim 2 Chronicles 7:14 for God’s Healing of Nations from Covid-19?

2 Chronicles 7:14 has become a great hallmark for revival. During the present Covid-19 crisis, many well-intentioned preachers are claiming 2 Chronicles 7:14 and calling the church to repentance. “If we humble ourselves, confess our sins and seek the Lord, then God would heal our land from coronavirus,” they proclaim.

Now it is always good to call the church to heart-searching repentance. It is necessary to pray to God to have mercy on us and deliver us from Covid-19. But can we claim the promise given in 2 Chronicles 7:14?

It is rightly said, “A text taken out of its context (the original situation into which it was spoken) is a pretext (a false reason that hides the true intent).” Let us see the context of 2 Chronicles 7:14 to refrain from faulty interpretation and application. This article is long but worth your time and attention.

WHAT IS THE CONTEXT?

After taking seven years to build the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem, Solomon offered the dedicatory prayer (2 Chro. 6:12-42). As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, the glory of the Lord filled the Temple (7:1-3). Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and assured him that He had heard his prayers (7:12). He said to him,

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, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (7:13-14)

According to this Scripture, we must ask two questions.

WHERE TO PRAY?

Question One: According to 2 Chronicles 7:14, in which place did the Lord say He would answer the prayers? In which place did the Lord expect His people to pray and seek His face? To answer, we must go back to Solomon’s dedicatory prayer. Due to space constraints, I will only quote the words that require our attention.

2 Chro. 6:22-23, “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar IN THIS HOUSE, then hear from heaven…” 

2 Chro. 6:24-25, “If your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and they turn again and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you IN THIS HOUSE, then hear from heaven…” 

2 Chro. 6:26-27, “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray TOWARD THIS PLACE and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, then hear in heaven…” 

2 Chro. 6:28-30, “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemies besiege them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own sorrow and stretching out his hands TOWARD THIS HOUSE, then hear from heaven…” 

2 Chro. 6:32-33, “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for the sake of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm, when he comes and prays TOWARD THIS HOUSE, hear from heaven…”= 

2 Chro. 6:34-35, “If your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to you TOWARD THIS CITY THAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN AND THE HOUSE THAT I HAVE BUILT FOR YOUR NAME, then hear from heaven…” 

2 Chro. 6:36-39, “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near…if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity to which they were carried captive, and pray TOWARD THEIR LAND…then hear from heaven…”

Do you observe the phrases "in this house" "toward this place" "toward this house" and “then hear from heaven”? What is the place in which Solomon pled with God to answer? It is solely in the Temple at Jerusalem. Every petition that Solomon made was connected to the prayers offered at the Temple he built.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14, when the Lord said if they humble themselves and pray, it is in the Temple or toward the Temple of Jerusalem. Solomon acknowledged that this place was chosen by God Himself, “the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name” (6:38).

Immediately after 7:14, the Lord said in verse 15, “Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made IN THIS PLACE. For now I HAVE CHOSEN AND CONSECRATED THIS HOUSE that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart WILL BE THERE for all time.” The humbling of the people of Israel and their praying and seeking the Lord was at the Temple that Solomon built.

Bear in mind that there was only One Temple in Jerusalem where people offered prayers and sacrifices. That was God’s chosen place in the Old Covenant. If we apply 2 Chronicles 7:14, then we must offer prayers in the Temple of Jerusalem, for that’s what the text meant. Unfortunately, there is currently no Temple in Jerusalem but the Islamic shrine “The Dome of the Rock” located on the Temple Mount.

Caution is required here that church buildings are not the Jerusalem Temple. Many falsely attribute church buildings to God's physical Temple by misinterpreting Old Testament Scriptures. To be sure, according to 1 Corinthians 3:16, it is not the church buildings but the church (God’s people) which is God’s Temple.

But 2 Chronicles 6-7 exclusively mentions the physical Temple in Jerusalem where God answered the prayers offered by the Israelites. It has no relevance to God’s New Covenant people. The discontinuity from the old pattern of prayers and worship was answered by the Lord Jesus Himself, which He spoke to the Samaritan woman:

Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain (where Samaritans worshipped) nor in Jerusalem (where Jews worshipped on the Temple Mount) will you worship the Father.....But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:21, 23-24)

 WHICH LAND GOD PROMISED TO HEAL?

Question Two: What is the land that the Lord said He would heal? 

2 Chronicles 7:13-14, “if 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 and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 

Observe the phrase “heal their land.” Whose land? The land given to the nation of Israel. The Lord promised to Abraham centuries ago, “To your offspring I will give this land” (Gen. 12:7; 15:18; 17:8). This land is the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. 

Centuries later, when the Israelites were held in the bondage of Egypt, the Lord appeared to Moses and said, “I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites…” (Exo. 3:8). 

After their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, when the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, the Lord spoke to them about blessings for obedience to the Law and curses for disobedience to the Law (Deut. 28-30).

The blessings include rich harvest and abundant rain, and victory over enemies in the land in which they would live (28:1-14). The curses include famine, pestilence, defeat by their enemies, eventually losing their land and going into captivity (28:15-28). But if people repent of their sins and turn to the Lord, God said He will bring them into the "promised land" and prosper them again (30:1-10).

So the prayer that Solomon offered in his dedication of the Temple in 2 Chronicles 6 was in accordance with God’s promise of blessings and curses and restoration written in Deuteronomy 28-30. And the assurance that God gave to Solomon in healing their land as a result of His people’s repentance was based on His promise of restoration in Deuteronomy 30. This healing of the land in 2 Chronicles 7:14 is concerning the curse the Lord would bring on the land, "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" (7:13).

When the Lord brought out the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt, He made them a distinct and theocratic nation, gave them the Law (613 laws) by which they must abide, and brought them into the land of Canaan where their prosperity and adversity was dependent on their obedience and disobedience.

In contrast, the church is not a theocratic nation. We are God’s people living in secular countries. The church is not under the Mosaic Law. The covenant that the Lord made to Israel, the several blessings for obedience to the Law and curses for disobedience to the Law, does not apply to the church because we are under the New Covenant, under the Law of Christ (1 Cor. 9:20-21).

Do you know that even the present Israel cannot claim 2 Chronicles 7:14 because their blessings and curses are now based on their faith and rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ? They are no more called to live under the Mosaic Law with its blessings and curses. They are called to repent and believe in the Gospel of Christ and live under the New Covenant.

2 CHRONICLES 7:14

Therefore, in 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,” speaks about the disasters God sends among His covenant people because of consistently breaking His Law. Only God’s people (i.e. the Jews) are in view here. This text doesn’t speak about God sending these disasters on Gentile nations.

“if my people who are called by my name humble themselves” speaks about the nation of Israel (who are called by God’s Name) humbling themselves before the Lord. This text doesn’t speak about individuals or a small group of people praying to the Lord, but the nation of Israel. This text doesn’t even speak about repenting on behalf of the nation but the nation itself repenting before the Lord.

“and pray and seek my face” speaks about the Israelites offering their prayers in or toward the Temple of Jerusalem.

“and turn from their wicked ways” speaks about the Israelites turning away from their disobedience to the Mosaic Law.

“then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” speaks about the restoration of or to the "promised land", the land flowing with milk and honey. The land here is the land promised to Israel and not any other lands.

When you consider all these issues within the immediate and broader context of 2 Chronicles 7:14, do you suppose you can claim it for our present Covid-19 crisis? Did the disaster come only on God's people? Are we as a whole nation repenting before the Lord? Is our land the "promised land" given to the Israelites in fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant? Are we praying and seeking the Lord in the Temple of Jerusalem?

CONCLUSION

Well, does all this mean that we learn nothing from 2 Chronicles 7:14? Not at all! We cannot claim its promise literally, but we can learn some good principles from it. We learn about God’s goodness, holiness, faithfulness, and grace manifested toward His people. We grasp how humble repentance is pleasing to the Lord. We observe how broken and contrite spirit moves the heart of God to forgive and accomplish His purposes in His community. The Book of James exhorts:

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (4:8-10)

But can we claim 2 Chronicles 7:14 as a promise to apply to our current crisis, that is, if the Church repents, God will heal the nations? No, we cannot. The call to repentance with a promise of healing of the land was given to God’s Old Covenant people, the Israelites, who lived under a different dispensation. We, the church, are under the New Covenant, and are neither a political nation nor do we own a particular land as a nation.

In the Old Covenant, the Israelites had a physical Temple where God's presence dwelt, sacrifices of animals were offered on the altar, and Levitical priests were the mediators between God and people. They were also given the Law with blessings and curses in the "promised land" they lived. If they obeyed the Law, they prospered in the land. If they disobeyed the Law, the people and the land were cursed. And if they repented of their sins against God, the Lord healed their land.

Considering the New Covenant, Christ Jesus has become our sufficient and ultimate sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 10). Through Him, we have direct access to God (Heb. 4:14-16). Through Him, both Jews and Gentiles have become one people of God (Eph. 2:13-16). Through Him, we have become the Temple of God (Eph. 2:21-22). Through Him, we have become royal priests of God (1 Pet. 2:9). Through Him, we are no longer under the curse of the Law of Moses (Gal. 3:10-14). Through Him, if we confess our sins, we are cleansed from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7,9) What's more, through Him, we inherit God's eternal Kingdom (Eph. 1:13-14). Hallelujah!

Remember that we cannot randomly claim the Old Testament promises, particularly when they were given to God’s Old Covenant community, i.e. Israel, under a different dispensation. The blessings and promises given to the church in Christ Jesus are incomparably greater (Read Ephesians chapter 1).

Finally, although it is inappropriate to claim the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14, can we pray in general for God’s mercy and plead with Him to heal the nations from Covid-19? Sure! Much prayers must rise at the moment to the Throne of Grace for God’s deliverance from Coronavirus. We must also pray that the Lord would use the Covid-19 crisis to awaken unbelievers to remind them of their mortality and insecurity in the world, and show them the greater need of salvation found only in Christ.

We must likewise pray for the local churches that the Lord would use the current plight to bring spiritual awakening and deliver them from lukewarmness. We must pray that the Church would remain faithful in the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ, because real healing of the nation can only come through individuals turning from their sin to Christ. Without the preaching of the Gospel and without people experiencing the forgiveness of sin found in and through Christ, true healing cannot come to the nations.

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