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NASB | 2 Chronicles 7:14 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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Chronicles 7:14 and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land. |
Subject: God's people's land? |
Bible Note: Correct. That is one application. Another might be more narrow however. Contextually the Lord was speaking primarily about Palestine. Solomon would have understood Israel as the primary application. That narrows it a bit. But we could also speak of the "land" of Ethiopia (Gen. 2:11), the "land" of Gilead (Josh. 22:13), the "land" of Egypt (1Ki. 9:9), etc. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament allows for a much higher degree of specificity such as "a piece of ground (2Ki. 8:5)." Context determines meaning. The promise given in this passage is, in my view, quite broad and therefore the meanings of the words allow for a number of applications. Further, the New Testament echoes the spirit of what is being promised here. "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain...(Jam. 5:15-16)." Drawing from an Old Testament example of prayer James makes a New Testament application. This kind of hermaneutical example is instructive of what our methodology should be as well. Hope this clarifies the position I'm taking. John |