GOD - Chapter 15 (Pestilential)

In chapter 15 of GOD, Barker introduces his next accusation against YHWH, the god of the Jews (& the Christians & the Muslims, allegedly.) Barker says YHWH is pestilential, bringing famines, destroying crops, & causing food-production issues like crickets, cicadas, & swarms of flies. He begins with "one of the most beloved passages in the bible, quoted frequently, in the book of 2nd Chronicles" This passage, commonly rendered & utilized in affirmations (& the type of poster that surrounds me on both sides at work, but I digress) that says that if the Israelites humble themselves, than perhaps god will step in & alleviate their suffering, & 'heal their land.' The common rendering is deceptive for the very reason that it leaves out god explaining that he is the cause behind the very suffering! He brings pestilence, which includes, in this verse, plague, insects, & drought.

A search on google image for 'pestilence'
yielded several interesting images, this one included

This passage, 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV version) is used in "Hundreds of ministries around the world" that have "adopted the optimistic verse as a call to personal, national, & global repentance. The National Day of Prayer Task Force, founded by Evangelicals Shirley & James Dobson, utilizes 2 Chronicles 7:14 in many of the proclamations they compose & send to mayors, governors, & the US president for the National Day of Prayer on the first Thursday of every May. While President Eisenhower was taking the oath of office during his first inauguration in 1953, his left hand was placed on a bible open to 2 Chronicles 7:14, at the urging of Evangelical Billy Graham." This is the passage about 'healing the land' if one only 'turns toward God.' The verse is predicated on submission to god, but all-in-all, it is a very even-handed verse, appropriate for modern confessional, humanistic Christian forms. Barker jokes, "God is telling the Israelites how they can heal their land of himself" in the verse, which is commonly mis-quoted, according to him. "2 Chronicles 7:13 is a conditional clause, not a complete sentence, & there is no period at the end, so 7:14 is the continuation. But most Christians start 7:14 with a capitalized 'If', taking it out of context." This is vital, revealing greater biblical themes that some modern Christians might not be quite comfortable with. The slip changes this:

"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, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land"

To, “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 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, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land"

This kind of thing is what we are talking about

The difference in meaning, emphasis, & context is representative of greater struggles within the biblical tradition. 2 Chronicles 7:13 is what many Christians quietly ignore. God intentionally inflicting pain & suffering upon humans en masse is the purport of 7:13, which destroys the meme-ability/use as an affirmation. YHWH only will show mercy if you fully prostrate to him, humbling yourself under his great power, & even then he often didn't abstain from unleashing bloodshed & chaos. As Barker describes it in 15,

again...

"I will stop tormenting you if you will humbly apologize for cheating on me (with other gods): It's your own fault"