“Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.”
My Notes
What Does 2 Chronicles 7:20 Mean?
2 Chronicles 7:20 is the dark side of God's response to Solomon's prayer at the temple dedication. Verses 13-14 contain the famous promise: "if my people... shall humble themselves, and pray... then will I hear from heaven." But verse 20 is what comes after the "if" goes the other direction. If Israel refuses to obey, God will pluck them from the land and cast the temple out of His sight. The same God who answered the prayer will execute the warning.
The Hebrew natash (pluck up) means to uproot — the image of a plant torn from the soil by force. And the temple — "this house, which I have sanctified for my name" — the very building Solomon just consecrated, where God's glory filled the room so thick the priests couldn't stand, where fire fell from heaven on the altar — that house will be cast out of God's sight. The Hebrew shalach (cast out) means to send away, to dismiss. God will evict Himself from His own house.
The final phrase is the sharpest cut: the temple will become "a proverb and a byword among all nations." The Hebrew mashal (proverb) and sheninah (byword, taunt) mean the temple that was the wonder of the world will become the punchline. The nations that once came to marvel (the Queen of Sheba, 1 Kings 10) will shake their heads and ask: what happened here? The most sacred building on earth will become the most cautionary tale. And the answer will always be: they left their God.
Reflection Questions
- 1.God filled the temple with glory and warned He'd cast it out of His sight. What 'temples' in your life — places of past encounter with God — are you treating as permanently sacred when they require ongoing faithfulness?
- 2.The temple became a 'byword among all nations.' Have you seen something once-great become a cautionary tale? What caused the collapse?
- 3.God's warning comes immediately after the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14. How do you hold together the God who heals the land and the God who uproots it?
- 4.The nations would ask 'what happened here?' If someone asked that about an area of your life that's declining, what would the honest answer be?
Devotional
The temple where God's glory fell — where fire consumed the offering, where the priests couldn't stand because the presence was too thick — God says He'll cast it out of His sight. The same building. The same God who filled it will empty it. The house He sanctified for His name will become a joke among the nations.
That should terrify anyone who trusts in a building, an institution, or a history of God's presence as a guarantee of God's future presence. The temple wasn't protected by its past. The glory that fell once didn't create a permanent force field. God could fill the house and God could leave the house, and the difference between the two was always Israel's faithfulness, not the building's architecture.
The byword detail is what makes it personal. The temple won't just be destroyed — it will be mocked. People will walk past the ruins and use it as a cautionary illustration. Remember what happened to that place? They had everything, and they threw it away. If you've seen something once-great become something pitiful — a ministry that imploded, a family that collapsed, a reputation that cratered — this verse explains the mechanism. It's not bad luck. It's the covenant working exactly as advertised. God keeps His promises in both directions. The blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience come from the same mouth. The same God who fills the house will empty it. And the house that forgets why it was built becomes the story other people tell to warn their children.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Then will I pluck them up by the roots - How completely has this been fulfilled! not only all the branches of the Jewish…
That God accepted Solomon's prayer appeared by the fire from heaven. But a prayer may be accepted and yet not answered…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture