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Chronicles 20 reminds me how frequently after a spiritual victory, we
face attack by the Enemy. Satan desires to make us doubt God’s
love for us. The chapter begins, “After
this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to
make war on Jehoshaphat“.
After what? In the previous chapter the king of Judah rededicated
to following God’s Word and there was a national revival. The
king was informed, “A
vast army is coming against you“.
And notice how the king and the nation armed with God’s Word
responded, “Alarmed,
Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast
for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from
the Lord“.
I am confident that the reason the nation came together was because
they had been taught God’s Word. God’s Word produces unity.
Listen to the prayer of the king, “O
Lord, God of our fathers, are You not the God who is in heaven? No
one can withstand You… we will stand in Your presence before this
temple… and will cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear
us and save us“.
And the king ends with a familiar feeling, “We
do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you“.
God
answered the people through a man of God. “The
Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel“.
He said, “Do
not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army… For the
battle is not yours, but God’s…
You
will not have to fight this battle… see the deliverance the Lord
will give you… Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be
with you“.
I often hear people frustrated because God did not answer their
prayers. God can answer prayers in many unique ways and uses godly
men, but we also have His Written Word. I believe God will answer
us directly and specifically through the reading of His Word. We
live in a world of noise and distraction. It seems we cannot
tolerate quiet, but 1 Kings 19 reminds us that God often speaks in “a
gentle whisper“.
Where do you go for answers? I love the reaction of the people;
they “stood
up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with very loud voice“.
There is joy in giving God praise!
The
chapter ends with a dramatic battle as Judah watched. The three
enemy nations “helped
to destroy one another“.
“When
the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and
looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the
ground; no one had escaped“.
We sometimes get involved in battles that are not ours to fight.
Are you trying to change someone else? Ask God to intercede. Oddly,
we receive the reward even though we allow God to do the work. “So
Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder… more than
they could take away“.
Our part is to acknowledge God’s work. “All
the men… returned joyfully to Jerusalem… and went to the temple
of the Lord with harps and lutes and trumpets“.
After this, “The
fear of God came upon all the… enemies of Israel”
Jehoshaphat was far from perfect, but in the end we read, “he
reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years…he did what was right in the
eyes of the Lord“.
Whatever you are dealing with today, remember this truth, “Give
thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever“.