1.
It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2.
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi.
3.
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
A GOOD KING AT HIS BEST
‘Jehoshaphat … set himself to seek the Lord.’
2 Chronicles 20:3
I. In this lesson we have a scene in which Jehoshaphat is observed at his best, occupying the throne of Judah as every human king should have occupied it—that is, as the vicegerent of God, Who was at all times the Almighty, invisible King of Israel. The king, in the midst of the vast assembly, standing in the house of the Lord, publicly implored God’s protection and help.
II. Such a prayer as Jehoshaphat made ( vv. 6–12) is well worthy of meditation.—Notice how he recognised the sovereignty, omnipotence, faithfulness, and presence of God, and how he confessed the people’s need, their helplessness, their ignorance, and their faith: ‘We have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon Thee.’
III. Such praying always brings results.—Instantly God answered; and Jahaziel, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord had fallen, addressed the king and the assembled multitude in these words: ‘Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.’ They were told that on the morrow they were to go down against their enemies, although they would not be called upon to do any fighting. They were simply to be there to see the salvation of the Lord, and to rejoice in it. At this the people fell on their faces to worship, and the Levites stood up to sing praises to God. Early the next morning the army started out, headed by a band of singers, who sang as they went as though the battle had already been won.
IV. They were walking by faith, and not by sight.—God had said victory should be theirs, and they were reckoning it an accomplished fact. What an example for us is this picture! Satan’s hosts combine against us, but if our heart and life are right with God, so that we can pray the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man, and then count the thing as accomplished, and praise God by faith that the victory is ours, it shall be ours without conflict or loss, and we shall be greatly enriched thereby.
4.
And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
5.
And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
6.
And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
7.
Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
8.
And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,
9.
If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
10.
And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;
11.
Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
12.
O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
A WORD TO THE DISCOURAGED
‘O our God, … we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon Thee.’
2 Chronicles 20:12
I. Human helplessness in the presence of overwhelming foes is an everyday experience—more especially to the Christian worker. His foes are so real and so strong, and his resources apparently so few and so poor: just a few words out of a Book, a few truths that men might doubt, a few experiences of his own about which he might be mistaken. But to him comes the message which the prophet brought to Jehoshophat: ‘The battle is not yours, but God’s.’ Think of the foes which Christianity has to face—not merely the known vices, but the contented ignorance, the don’t-care indifference and the stolid irresponsiveness of the people. The army of Judah had no foes to compare with those that confront Christianity to-day. These enemies avoid a pitched battle: they hide themselves in a thick fog, and we do not know where to find them. No wonder the clergy feel discouraged.
II. But, after all, the resources of the Christian are not limited by what men see.—At the back of the praying man are tremendous resources, invisible, it may be, but real. The praying man is the strongest fighting man. Prayer never lost a battle. Discouraged and depressed, the Christian rises from his knees with fresh hopes and renewed energy.
Illustration
‘Needs and perils, beyond human aid or self-help, are God’s opportunities. They bring home to us our weakness and dependence. By them God invites the appeal of trust, and so makes His relationship to us, as our Almighty, pitying Father, felt. Moral education could scarcely go forward but for the trials of human life. The Apostle Paul saw this so clearly that he gloried in his infirmities as occasions for the display of Christ’s power. Whatever brings the reality of Divine aid nearer to our feeling lifts us into communion with God, and is cheaply purchased by the strain which the presence of want or danger puts upon us.’
13.
And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
14.
Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;
15.
And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.
16.
To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
17.
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
18.
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
19.
And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
20.
And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
21.
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
22.
And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
23.
For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
24.
And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
25.
And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
26.
And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.
27.
Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
28.
And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.
29.
And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.
30.
So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.
31.
And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
32.
And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD.
33.
Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.
34.
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
35.
And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:
36.
And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
37.
Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.