One of the greatest boxing champions of all time, Joe Louis was born during WW1 and fought, both in the boxing ring and in the army, during WW2. One of his more famous statements regarding the war was made in March of 1942: “I know we’ll win because we’re on God’s side.” Although many groups have proclaimed themselves on God’s side when consideration of facts would indicate a different alignment, Louis’s statement has some validity. As an African-American, his boxing defeat of the German Max Schmeling in 1938 was a particular triumph for him and for the United States. Also, as a nation, the United States fought the enemy of God’s chosen people in WW2.
2 Chronicles 7:14 is often quoted as a patriotic challenge for our nation to turn to God: “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.” Leading up to this verse, in 2 Chronicles 5-7, we read that King Solomon had completed building the temple and dedicating it to God. Then, beginning in 7:12, God spoke directly to Solomon regarding what Israel’s response should be if God were ever to send judgment. He also warned King Solomon of the consequences if he were ever to “turn aside and forsake”(v. 19) God and God’s commands. So, as with verses in the previous blog, these were promises made to specific people, not general promises we can claim.
The value of reading these Old Testament accounts, even when we can’t claim the promises, lies in the wealth of knowledge and wisdom we gain regarding our God. The more we read of the Old Testament, the more we learn about the God to whom we pray today. He established his Word, including the Old Testament, as his message to us. As we read of his working thousands of years ago, we gain an inkling of his power, his deliverance, his greatness. We may not see a pile of stones set up as a memorial, and we may not celebrate a feast to remember a particular deliverance, but we have the written record of exactly what God wants us to know and remember. The more we read it, the greater will be our understanding of and reverence for our great God.