2 Chronicles 7:11–22
11 7:11Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. 12 7:12Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 7:13When 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, 14 7:14if 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. 15 7:15Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 7:16For 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. 17 7:17And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, 18 7:18then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’
19 7:19“But if you 1 turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 20 7:20then I will pluck you 2 up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 21 7:21And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 22 7:22Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”
Section Overview
Solomon has “successfully” finished what he “planned to do”; again both the “house of the Lord” and “his own house” are mentioned (2 Chron. 7:11; cf. comment on 2:1). For the Chronicler there is nothing more to be said or done concerning these buildings; he writes “thus Solomon finished” in place of 1 Kings 9:1, “as soon as Solomon had finished.” The Lord, however, has more to say concerning both the temple and the Davidic kingship.
As when Solomon made offerings on the previous altar at Gibeon, so now “the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night” (2 Chron. 7:12; 1:6–7). He affirms that Solomon’s prayer has been heard and that he is willing to hear the cry of the people when they turn to him (7:12–16). Kingship is briefly to the fore (“as for you [singular]”): if Solomon follows God’s way as David did, the covenantal promise of a Davidic ruler will continue (vv. 17–18). The following warning (vv. 19–22) is addressed to king and people together (“you” [plural]): “turn[ing] aside” from God’s commandments, following other gods, will lead to God’s taking “you” from the land and casting the temple “out of my sight” (contrast “eyes will be open”; v. 15).
In Chronicles, the Lord’s only words to Solomon are when he appears at Gibeon and in this passage here. While generally following 1 Kings 9:1–9 and so retaining the concluding warning (2 Chron. 7:19–22), Chronicles has a major addition of verses 12b–15, a promised hope of restoration. This is one of two passages that present key motifs whose language is repeated throughout the book (cf. comment on 1 Chron. 28:9–10). (First Kings includes two further occasions in which God “speaks” to Solomon [6:11–13; 11:9–13], focusing on keeping God’s commandments, with increasing warning of the consequences of disobedience.)
Section Outline
TABLE 3.8: Repeated Use of Vocabulary from 2 Chronicles 7:14 in 2 Chronicles
| Rehoboam | Asa | Jehoshaphat | Hezekiah | Manasseh | Josiah | Zedekiah | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| “humble oneself” (niknaʻ) | 12:6, 7 (2x), 12 | 30:11; 32:26 | 33:12, 19, 23 (2x); | 34:27 (2x) | 36:12 | ||
| “pray” (hitpallel ) | 30:18; 32:20, 24 | 33:13 | |||||
| “seek” (biqqesh) | 11:16 | 15:4, 15 | 20:4 (2x) | ||||
| “turn [to God]” (shub) | 15:4 | 30:6, 9 (2x); | 36:13 |
Another key word used repeatedly throughout 2 Chronicles in a similar way is darash (“seek”), though it does not appear in 7:14 (see table 3.9).
TABLE 3.9: Repeated Use of Darash in 2 Chronicles
| Rehoboam | Asa | Jehoshaphat | Amaziah | Uzziah | Hezekiah | Josiah | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| “seek” (darash) | 12:14 | 14:4, 7 (2x); 15:2, 12, 13; 16:12 | 17:3, 4; 19:3; 20:3 | 25:15, 20 | 26:5 (2x) | 30:19; 31:21 | 34:3 |
In the narrative, specific attention will be given to incidents in which people acted in these ways and God answered their prayer and delivered them, often with remarkable interventions. We read of certain kings whose trust or repentance is not recorded in Kings, including Rehoboam (11:13–17; 12:6–12), Abijah (13:3–21, although not using this vocabulary), and Manasseh (33:11–13). These are evidence for hearers that if they act in this way, God will deliver them as well (cf. Introduction: Theology of 1–2 Chronicles: Divine Reward and Punishment).3 The words bring together inner attitudes—humility and seeking God’s face—and actions of prayer and turning, a practical change of direction of life.
We find here a further note of encouragement: Solomon repeatedly spoke of “your people” (6:21, 24, 25, 27, 29, 32, 33, 34, 39), whereas God’s reply not only accepts the relationship (“my people”) but adds “who are called by my name.” He is identified with them, and how other nations think of him is linked with their situation (e.g., 7:21–22). The same cluster is evident in Moses’ intercession after the golden calf incident: he appealed on the basis of the Israelites’ being “your people” and of what others would say about God, and of his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Ex. 32:9–14). At the time of the exile, Ezekiel had proclaimed that God would act “for the sake of my holy name” (Ezek. 36:16–36).
“Forgive[ness]” is seen in the changes as God “heal[s] their land.” The phrase is unique, although at the time of Hezekiah the promise is alluded to in the statement that “the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people” (2 Chron. 30:20). Later the Chronicler will refer to the exile as a time in which the land “lay desolate [as] it kept Sabbath” (36:21; cf. comment on 36:17–21); outside of Chronicles is a cry concerning Jerusalem that “your ruin is as vast as the sea; who can heal you?” (Lam. 2:13) and a promise of “healing” of the destroyed city (Jer. 33:6–9; cf. Hos. 6:1; 7:1). There is to be a healing of life in its totality, in relationships with God, with others, and the physical environment (opposite to the situations of distress resulting from human wrongdoing).4
The Chronicler’s addition concludes with the assurance that Solomon’s prayer of 2 Chronicles 6:40 (also an addition) will be answered. “Now” (ʻattah) is often used in contexts of a change that will continue (“from now on”), both here and in 7:16.5 At “this place” sacrifices will continue to be made and prayers seen and heard (vv. 12, 16).
Resuming the words of Kings with modification (v. 16), the Chronicler repeats affirmation of the house’s being “chosen” (as in v. 12) and includes a rare mention of God’s “heart” being there. In Hebrew the “heart” is the center of thinking, intention, understanding, willing, and feelings; in the OT the only other references to God’s “heart” are of pain over human wickedness (Gen. 6:6; Jer. 48:36) or, after human wrongdoing, of his intention to bring about a positive way forward (Gen. 8:21; 1 Sam. 13:14 [Acts 13:22]). It is hard to imagine any word that could better convey God’s deep commitment to be present.
7:17–22 A change comes in verse 17: God has spoken of what “I” will do concerning the people and place (the pronoun in v. 14b gives emphasis) and now, again with a personal pronoun, turns to “you” (Solomon). He is to follow David in walking in God’s ways (as David had previously charged; 1 Chron. 22:13; 28:7, 9), but here the emphasis is on what God will do. He has “covenanted” (strengthening 1 Kings, which reads “promised”), and (also modifying Kings) “You shall not lack a man to rule Israel,” words echoing the messianic promise of Micah 5:2. The past covenant and future ruler are linked by a word play, karatti (“I covenanted”) and “yikkaret ” (“you shall . . . lack”), both from a verb meaning “to cut.”
The concluding words (2 Chron. 7:19–22) are addressed to people and king (with another pronoun, “you” plural). Consequences depend on where people are facing, which way they have “turned” (shub): previously “turn[ing] from their wicked ways” led to forgiveness and healing (v. 14), but now “turn[ing] aside and forsak[ing] my statutes . . . and serv[ing] other gods,” persistent apostasy, will result in the people’s removal from the land (natash, “pluck up by the roots”; Deut. 29:28) and God’s ceasing to look at the temple. Amazingly, at the time of dedication of the temple, among all its joyous celebration and the awesome presence of God’s glory, is a warning that the temple could (and, in fact, did) become an object of ridicule and a proverb (cf. Deut. 28:37). (In 1 Kings the exiled “Israel” becomes the proverb, while in Chronicles focus is on the temple, “it” [2 Chron. 7:20; 1 Kings 9:7].)
The Lord’s words have outlined contrasting possibilities. The passage ends with the warning of exile from the land and destruction of the temple, and postexilic hearers have experienced that loss and the nations’ ridiculing. They know the results of turning from God and his ways. Now, however, they have been able to return, and the temple has been rebuilt; this was the place God had chosen for sacrifices and prayers. The call is for all to “humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways” (2 Chron. 7:14), looking to the God who has promised forgiveness and healing.6
Response
The balance between God’s gracious, undeserved forgiveness and healing that is offered freely to all and the consequences of not following his ways continues in the NT. Christ charges his followers to “make disciples of all nations . . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” and earlier had likened the person “who hears these words of mine and does not do them” to a man who “built his house on the sand. . . . And great was the fall of it” (Matt. 28:19–20; 7:26–27). Paul argues strongly for justification by grace through faith (Gal. 2:18–3:14) but, in speaking of the life of freedom in the Spirit that follows, warns that “God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Gal. 6:7).7
The message of God’s forgiveness and “healing of the land” is one of hope for a world in which the effects of human sin are all too evident. Here is encouragement to pray. For the Chronicler, “the land” referred to the area that “I have given you [my people].” In Christ, this can be extended to the whole earth, for indeed “the whole creation has been groaning” for his redemption (Rom. 8:22). The hardships in this passage that lead to prayer are all community wide, seen as God’s punishment for sin by the people as a whole. While the Scriptures themselves warn against equating disasters with specific sins, personal or communal (e.g., Job; Luke 13:1–5; John 9:1–7), there are countless ways in which even “natural disasters” are more horrendous in their results due to human wrongdoing (corruption and maladministration, greed and selfishness, war and civil strife, ethnic rivalry, effects of slavery and injustice, failure to share resources, environmental exploitation). This passage perhaps speaks particularly to the individualism of Western Christianity that so often overlooks the corporate dimension of sin. At the same time, communal response requires personal commitment. God’s word to Solomon is “If my people pray”; Paul urges Christians to pray for “all people, for kings and all who are in high positions . . . [because God] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:2–4).
1 Ibid., 613–614.
2 For links with other OT passages, see Selman, 2 Chronicles, 337–338.
3 Williamson, 1 and 2 Chronicles, 225–226.
4 Cf. Christopher J. H. Wright, Old Testament Ethics for the People of God (Leicester, UK: Inter-Varsity Press, 2004), 96–99, on “The land as covenantal measuring gauge.”
5 HALOT, s.v. עַתָּה.
6 Selman discusses the Chronicler’s descriptions of various occasions when the threat to Jerusalem and the temple was a reality in “Jerusalem in Chronicles,” 53–54.
7 Allen, “First and Second Books,” 503.