Who We AreOur PurposeKeep Up With B21Baptist21 EventsBaptist21 FavoritesBaptist21 Resources10thNov2014The Most Misinterpreted OT PassagesThere are some passages that if you’ve grown up in church you know and quote; they’re often put on Christian paraphernalia and utilized by pastors to bolster their ministries or fund building campaigns, but sadly little attention is given to what they actually mean in their contexts. In this series, I want to walk through a handful of these passages in order to help us understand them rightly and see how powerful they actually are. This series will cover passages like 2 Chronicles 7:14; Jeremiah 29:11; 2 Chronicles 24 (the chest of Joash); and Proverbs 22:6.The Most Misinterpreted OT Passages: 2 Chronicles 7:14“We need revival!”I have grown up in the SBC, so one sermon that I have heard loud and clear for three decades is the need for revival in our nation. Pastors at conferences and in churches have analyzed the decay of our culture and then they have given the solution: “What we need is revival – another Great Awakening!” Many of these sermons have inspired me a great deal. I certainly do want a Great Awakening in our nation – and in all nations!Does 2 Chronicles 7:14 map out a plan for revival in America?One of the key passages pointed to for this revival call is 2 Chronicles 7:14 where the Lord says, “if 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.” There it is, a word from God that if America will repent then God will bring revival to our land, it is said.2 Chronicles 7:14 is not about revival from the moral decline of AmericaThis is an incorrect interpretation of this verse. Let’s walk through the passage in its proper context.The context of 2 Chronicles 7:14 shows that this verse is about IsraelOne big rule for interpretation is “context is king.” We must look at the context of the verse to see what it actually means. You’ll notice in my citation of 2 Chronicles 7:14 above that it starts with a lower case “i” rather than an upper case because it’s not an isolated verse but rather part of a larger sentence that starts in verse 13. And these two verses (2 Chron 7:13-14) are part of the even larger section of chapters 6 and 7. What is that larger context? Solomon has just completed the building of the Temple in Jerusalem and prays a grand prayer of dedication in chapter 6. Then in chapter 7 Yahweh appears to Solomon at night and begins to speak to him, referencing Solomon’s prayer that acknowledged the Temple is a place for repentance, forgiveness and restoration.Solomon’s prayer indicates that when Israel sins against God and God judges Israel as a result with drought, or famine, or exile, then Israel will pray toward the temple in repentance and receive restoration. We know that Solomon’s prayer in 2 Chronicles 6 and Yahweh’s words to Solomon here in 2 Chronicles