Misused And Abused Bible Verses- II Chronicles 7:14

Once again we are taking a look today at a Bible verse that is often abused and misused.  Again, let me reiterate that our goal should always be to understand Scripture in context and not twist the Word of God to make it say what we want.

The verse that we are looking at today is  II Chronicles 7:14-  This verse says “If My people who are called by My name will 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.”  This is a very familiar verse that is used often in seeking spiritual healing for our country.  Their are two problems with this interpretation.  These problems are a result of misunderstanding two of the phrases in this verse:  “my people” and “heal their land”.

First, “my people” is referring specifically to the nation of Israel, not the Church…not modern day Christians.  Second, this passage is very specifically and clearly talking about a physical healing of the land not a spiritual healing.  To understand this context you must look at the previous verse (13) which states, “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people.”  God is not promising a spiritual healing of the land, He is promising a physical healing of the land which would include relief from drought, locust, and pestilence.

I am not saying that God will not spiritually heal America if Christians will turn to Him in prayer.  But this verse cannot be used as a basis for that belief.  To change the meaning from a physical healing to a spiritual healing, regardless of the reason, is a misuse and abuse of Scripture.