Narrative
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2 Chronicles 7:11-22
#1 – The Genre
This passage is included in the broader context of a book of historical narrative, which is 2 Chronicles’ main genre. But it is a specific kind of historical narrative: it is a report, as it details what happened once Solomon had finished building the temple and the king’s palace. God appears to Solomon in these verses and is the only speaker we see in this passage, making this a unique kind of report called an epiphany report, which is so named because God (or, in many cases, the angel of the Lord) speaks. Since the passage reports that the Lord “appeared to Solomon at night,” this may be a dream epiphany, as the parallel passage in 1 Kings confirms.
#2 – Generic Conception (“Big Idea”)
Once Solomon had finished building the temple and the king’s palace, God appeared to him and told him that He will listen to the cries of His people if they turn to Him and that He would establish Solomon’s throne if he was obedient, but God warned that He would uproot Solomon and the people if they proved to be unfaithful and would bring shame to the house of Israel if they turned to other gods.
#3 – Observations about the Passage
Contextual observations – 2 Chronicles begins with Solomon’s early reign. 2 Chronicles 2 notes that Solomon decided to build a temple for the Lord. In chapter 3, Solomon “began to build the house of the LORD” (3:1). Chapter 4 explains the temple’s inner furnishings. The “action” begins in chapter 5, when “all the work that Solomon performed for the house of the LORD was finished” (5:1) and the Ark of the Covenant is brought into the temple and God fills the temple with His glory, indicating His presence. Solomon then, in chapter 6, offers a speech of dedication in the hearing of “all the assembly of Israel,” which he concludes with a dedicatory prayer. God’s immediate response, in full view of all of the people, is fire from heaven and the glory of the Lord (7:1), which causes all of Israel to bow and worship and praise God. God’s words to Solomon in 7:12-22 are in response to Solomon’s prayer.
Literary observations – Parallel – God’s reply to Solomon in 7:11-22 has a great deal of parallel with Solomon’s prayer of dedication in 6:14-42. To illustrate, I offer this data. The format is: Solomon prays… God replies…
Solomon prays… (6:16) keep [...] that which You have promised [David], saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons take heed to their way, to walk in My law as you have walked before Me.’
God replies… (7:18) I will establish your royal throne as I covenanted with your father David, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to be ruler in Israel.’
Solomon prays… (6:20) that Your eye may be open toward this house
God replies… (7:15) My eyes will be open
Solomon prays… (6:20) that Your eye may be open toward this house day and night
God replies… (7:16) My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually
Solomon prays… (6:21) Listen to the supplications of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place; hear from Your dwelling place, from heaven; hear and forgive.
God replies… (7:14) then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Solomon prays… (6:26-27) When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them; then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and Your people Israel, indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.
God replies… (7:13-14) If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, [...] 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.
#4 – Interpretation of the Passage
In this passage, God promises the good that Solomon had requested, which was basically that God remain faithful to the covenantal promises that He had already established with Israel and that He be present in the temple to hear the prayers and pleas of the people. But God also offers stern warnings of what will happen if Solomon and the people do not stay faithful to Him but turn to other gods instead. This is similar to the ultimatum given to Israel in Deuteronomy 28. In that passage, God offers a list of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.
Then in Deuteronomy 29 we see a curious parallel to our passage. God says that if the people disobey, He will bring plagues and diseases, and all the people will ask why the Lord did this. The reply will come: “Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt” (Deut. 29:25). In our passage, God threatens to uproot the people from their land and make the temple “a proverb and a byword among all peoples” (2 Chron. 7:20). Those who pass it will ask why God has done this. And the reply will come: “Because they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers who brought them from the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this adversity on them” (2 Chron. 7:22).
God is jealous for His name and for His glory. He is also diligent in rebuking His people, to aid in their correction and for their ultimate good. In 2 Chron. 7:11-22 we see the heart of a loving God who desires that His people obey so that He can be pleased to bless them. We see the same God warn that disobedience will bring justice and judgment and shame upon the people. God shows Himself as the author of these curses, but clearly uses them as a tool to turn Israel to repentance and not out of malice.
#5 – Application
We serve a just and holy God who has good plans for His people. In this passage we get a glimpse into how mightily God will bless those who turn to Him. We also see that God is willing to use drought or devastation to draw errant children back to obedience. God is glad to forgive those who turn to Him with repentant hearts and who are willing to submit to His guidance and rule.