I was just sent an email and the gist of it was to send an email around to everyone asking them to pray so 2 Chronicles 7:14 would apply to us in America. Though I think it would be great if America would repent and turn from their wicked ways, what 2 Chronicles 7:14 is clearly referring to is Israel and not any other country. I base this on the fact that only 1 country, Israel (all 12 tribes, not just Judah) are called His Chosen People. As believers in Messiah, we're grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel, as Shaul (Paul) clearly writes in Romans 11:1-36 (the whole chapter), Galatians 4:1-7, and in Ephesians 2:11-13 to just site some NT verses that do support believers in Messiah now becoming the Commonwealth of Israel being grafted into the chosen or elect, because they choose to follow King Messiah Yahshua, whom most of the world calls Jesus.
I just think its a far stretch to think that 2 Chronicles 7:14 applies to any other country but Israel only. Chronologically, this set of scriptures is before the separation of the Southern/Northern Kingdoms and before the Northern Kingdom of Israel was even dispersed by Assyria and Judah's captivity to Babylon. Clearly the scripture reference can allude to the fact that Yahweh is already foreseeing that His people are beginning to slip into idolatry. If you read on into verse 19, it parallels Deuteronomy 30 (pretty much the whole chapter, but more focused on 11-20) virtually verbatim, but shorter, a more capsulized proclamation.
Not to mention that most Christians do not, let alone Jews, even call the Creator of the Universe by his Memorial Name: Yahweh. Christians and Jews say God, yet we know any place The LORD is in English, its the Tetragramaton, YHVH, Yahweh, in Hebrew. 2 Chronicles 7:12, has YHVH in the Hebrew (I looked it up) so Yahweh speaking to Solomon (Shlomo), so clearly any reference to the words my name, shmi in the Hebrew, is clearly Yahweh speaking first person when He says My Name to Solomon. It is understood that one must have an understanding of Him as well as His Name for the verses to take on any meaning or substance that Yahweh will hear from Heaven and heal the Land (Eretz Yisrael). Sad to say, I would reckon that very few actually even know that His Name is Yahweh, so unless one is called by Him, the prayers are not heard. Matthew 22:14, 25:31-46.
I could go on and on. Scripture demands we give an account and truly the verses in the email have been taken out of context. Then if one is going to do 2 Chronicles 7:14, then one should read Deuteronomy 30, The Law of Return, then onto all the verses I quoted from Shaul and then Isaiah 56, and so on and so on, and not stop short of just praying - ONE MUST DO, too!
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