After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,[a] came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,[b] from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. 7 Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,[c] or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ 10 And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— 11 behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
13 Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 And the Spirit of the Lord came[d] upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
20 And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.”21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his steadfast love endures forever.”
22 And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.
The Lord Delivers Judah
24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there[e] were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah,[f] for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. 29 And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.
31 Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 He walked in the way of Asa his father and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. 33 The high places, however, were not taken away; the people had not yet set their hearts upon the God of their fathers.
34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of Jehu the son of Hanani, which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.
The End of Jehoshaphat's Reign
35 After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly. 36 He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish, and they built the ships in Ezion-geber. 37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish. 2 Chronicles 20 ESV
You have just come from a battle where you almost lost your life. You went with those that you called brothers and friends, but they allowed you to wear the target on your back. It was an unholy alliance, and though you are related by Abraham, and it is the only and same God that has brought all these people out of Egypt, Ahab has defied God's word, and God is not a respecter of persons. He saw that other king die, and he came very close himself. He trusted his own wisdom, but had to accept the rebuke of the prophet, and there is a time for everyone who is ever born again, no matter how pious they before appeared, that they pound their chest, Lord, have mercy on me a sinner. We see how close we were to death, both by the death of Ahab and by our own strength and reason, that we were the worst enemies to our own souls. He was afraid and declared a fast, and what is this, some magical ritual by which men may access the power of God? No, it is the humble admittance of our frailty and dependence upon God for everything, and that everything comes from Him. It is the acknowledgment of our very existence and survival, and that looking at the approaching army, our utter inability. We are not sufficient to this task; it will require an act of God, His intervention in our lives.
Seeing all this, his own insufficiency, the king stands up and before all these people, he states Who God is. You are not an idol, You are not a god that resides only in this land, you are not outside Your jurisdiction anywhere, You alone are God over all. He recounts God's covenant with Abraham, referring to him as God's friend, and we are Abraham's children, the children of your friend. I read and relate well to this for I can only fail in myself, but I have this Advocate with the Father, I approach the throne of grace in the name of Jesus. I remember what existed here in my life before Christ, that I looked at myself and to myself, that I worshiped health, strength, wealth, then drunkenness, the creature and all that God was against. I hated Him when He did not do what I thought would be best, what I thought was fair. Lord, he cries out, if disaster or judgment comes upon us, did You not in times pass hear us when we cried out? He is praying in accordance with what is written in the Word. God, we have spared these people that are now before us, and now they are greater than we, and this is the hardest part for a king, he says, "we are powerless, we do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You." Wow, rarely do you hear leaders that humble themselves in front of everyone, rarely do you see leaders that take the light and focus off of themselves and point toward heaven.
God answers through His prophet, do not be afraid of this great horde, I know what you see, and it is impossible for you, but this is not yours to overcome, it's Mine. He tells them where to stand, and herein is faith, do I trust that the person speaking is actually speaking for God? If I want to hear God in my day, then all I need to do is open His word, and if I should like to prophesy then all I need to do is say what the Lord has said, to read His word aloud, to believe His word afresh. This is the impassible void, I cannot carry my house across, I cannot save myself much less all these people, but I can know about the One Who alone can save, and I can know Him through His word wherein comes this great hope. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Leading the approach is those who praise God, coming to the battle, we raise our eyes and our voices to heaven, and even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, we lift up Christ. I cannot argue my way out of this, I cannot change your mind, I cannot overcome by my own works, nor do I have enough friends or money. This is more difficult then all these things can account for, bigger than all the chariots and horses that I have acquired, but to You oh Lord be all glory and power and honor and praise. The armies that once stood together against Judah had now turned upon each other, and those that could not overcome themselves, now walk in victory that they can only receive by faith. Salvation is once again of the Lord.
Sadly, the people still held to some of their own ways, the traditions of men in the high places, my lake and fishing rod, away from God's people. In his later years, Jehoshaphat, returned to the folly of his former years, and took to himself once again the friendship of a wicked northern king. He became an ally and a business partner with one to whom he should have separated himself from. God was merciful in this as well, that he destroyed the ships rather than let the infraction continue. Lord, protect us from our ignorance. Let us look fast to your honor rather than our worldly riches, and let us love people more than we want them to like us.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
More Than Conquerors
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 18-39
You have just come from a battle where you almost lost your life. You went with those that you called brothers and friends, but they allowed you to wear the target on your back. It was an unholy alliance, and though you are related by Abraham, and it is the only and same God that has brought all these people out of Egypt, Ahab has defied God's word, and God is not a respecter of persons. He saw that other king die, and he came very close himself. He trusted his own wisdom, but had to accept the rebuke of the prophet, and there is a time for everyone who is ever born again, no matter how pious they before appeared, that they pound their chest, Lord, have mercy on me a sinner. We see how close we were to death, both by the death of Ahab and by our own strength and reason, that we were the worst enemies to our own souls. He was afraid and declared a fast, and what is this, some magical ritual by which men may access the power of God? No, it is the humble admittance of our frailty and dependence upon God for everything, and that everything comes from Him. It is the acknowledgment of our very existence and survival, and that looking at the approaching army, our utter inability. We are not sufficient to this task; it will require an act of God, His intervention in our lives.
Seeing all this, his own insufficiency, the king stands up and before all these people, he states Who God is. You are not an idol, You are not a god that resides only in this land, you are not outside Your jurisdiction anywhere, You alone are God over all. He recounts God's covenant with Abraham, referring to him as God's friend, and we are Abraham's children, the children of your friend. I read and relate well to this for I can only fail in myself, but I have this Advocate with the Father, I approach the throne of grace in the name of Jesus. I remember what existed here in my life before Christ, that I looked at myself and to myself, that I worshiped health, strength, wealth, then drunkenness, the creature and all that God was against. I hated Him when He did not do what I thought would be best, what I thought was fair. Lord, he cries out, if disaster or judgment comes upon us, did You not in times pass hear us when we cried out? He is praying in accordance with what is written in the Word. God, we have spared these people that are now before us, and now they are greater than we, and this is the hardest part for a king, he says, "we are powerless, we do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You." Wow, rarely do you hear leaders that humble themselves in front of everyone, rarely do you see leaders that take the light and focus off of themselves and point toward heaven.
God answers through His prophet, do not be afraid of this great horde, I know what you see, and it is impossible for you, but this is not yours to overcome, it's Mine. He tells them where to stand, and herein is faith, do I trust that the person speaking is actually speaking for God? If I want to hear God in my day, then all I need to do is open His word, and if I should like to prophesy then all I need to do is say what the Lord has said, to read His word aloud, to believe His word afresh. This is the impassible void, I cannot carry my house across, I cannot save myself much less all these people, but I can know about the One Who alone can save, and I can know Him through His word wherein comes this great hope. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Leading the approach is those who praise God, coming to the battle, we raise our eyes and our voices to heaven, and even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, we lift up Christ. I cannot argue my way out of this, I cannot change your mind, I cannot overcome by my own works, nor do I have enough friends or money. This is more difficult then all these things can account for, bigger than all the chariots and horses that I have acquired, but to You oh Lord be all glory and power and honor and praise. The armies that once stood together against Judah had now turned upon each other, and those that could not overcome themselves, now walk in victory that they can only receive by faith. Salvation is once again of the Lord.
Sadly, the people still held to some of their own ways, the traditions of men in the high places, my lake and fishing rod, away from God's people. In his later years, Jehoshaphat, returned to the folly of his former years, and took to himself once again the friendship of a wicked northern king. He became an ally and a business partner with one to whom he should have separated himself from. God was merciful in this as well, that he destroyed the ships rather than let the infraction continue. Lord, protect us from our ignorance. Let us look fast to your honor rather than our worldly riches, and let us love people more than we want them to like us.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
More Than Conquerors
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 18-39
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