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.
God's acceptance of Solomon's prayer shone out in the fire from heaven, yet acceptance and answered petition are not the same thing. So He appeared that night to explain Himself: His name would dwell there forever, His ear would hear the prayers of His people in that place, and if they humbled themselves, sought His face, and turned from wickedness, He would forgive and heal their land. National judgment requires national repentance; pardon must come before healing.
AI summary
Commenting on 2 Chronicles 7:12-22
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.
Then will I pluck them up by the roots - How completely has this been fulfilled! not only all the branches of the Jewish political tree have been cut off, but the very roots have been plucked up; so that the day of the Lord's anger has left them neither root nor branch.