2 Chronicles 20:15-19 KJV
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.
KING JEHOSAPHAT
Jehosaphat was one of the good kings of Judah.
Many or most of the kings of Judah and Israel brought in and approved of the worship of false gods.
Jehosaphat on the other hand began his reign by “walking in the ways of his father David.”
He worshipped our one true God and denied the worship of Baal.
He also sent out “missionaries” of a sort, to all the cities of Judah, to teach the ways of God through the Book of the Law (vs7-9). He also demolished, many symbol of paganism.
THE BATTLE WAS NOT HIS
In the 20th chapter of 2nd Chronicles, we see the story of a huge invasion of Judah, when Jehosaphat was the king of Judah. He was facing invaders from Ammon, Moab and Edom.
Jehosaphat had a very large army of 1,160,000 soldiers. You can find this in 2nd Chronicles 17:14-18.
Yet, the king knew that this battle would be very difficult, and he needed more than what his army could provide.
He realized that he needed God’s help.
Jehosaphat knew there would be a great and terrible battle and he was afraid. Jehosaphat needed help and from prior experience, he knew to trust those that God sent to him with His word.
He then proceeded to listen and to be obedient.
We find that in Jehosaphat's fear, he sought the Lord and declared a fast for everyone in Judah. Upon this declaration, everyone gathered together to call upon God for help. Jehosaphat and the people began praising and worshipping God.
Our Heavenly Father then proceeded to give them a battle strategy that surely made many of them question and say “What?” I'm confident that a great number had serious doubts about the plan.
Why? Because God instructed them to send forth “singers” to the front-line and not fighting warriors.
God told the people to not be afraid, which isn’t an easy thing to do when you are facing a multitude of enemy fighters. He went on to say “THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS, BUT GODS.” He finished with “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle.”
God assured the people that He would fight the battle for them and all they were required to do was to “stand firm.” His direction was to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which is with you.
What happened? Without “firing a shot”, Jehosaphat’s army of “singers” was victorious as the enemy warriors destroyed each other. With the intervention of God, the attacking armies became confused or disoriented and destroyed themselves.
Not only did Jehosaphat win the battle but got the spoils of war in the form of riches and precious jewels.
God had prevailed, just as He told them He would.
WHAT IS THE LESSON FOR US?
We all face “battles” in our lives that test our trust and faith in God. Most are certainly not of the same magnitude that Jehosaphat faced, but some are just as big, in their own way.
There are times when the battles of this life can seem overwhelming. When it seems like we face an insurmountable enemy. Many have said that they have been overcome with despair as they faced a crisis in their life.
So, what can we learn from Jehosaphat?
- First, in many battles faced by humans, we must admit that we are helpless and at the mercy of God. We know that this isn’t the “manly fighting spirit” that many like to present, but it is vitally necessary in dealing with the battles of life.
In admitting that we are helpless, we are acknowledging that God is in “total control.” This is most important. God is in control and He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. If we haven’t already learned this lesson, we must learn to depend solely on Him.
Jehosaphat prayed, “Lord we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
- Then, we must stop feeling sorry for ourselves and begin praising and worshipping God with all of our hearts.
Jehosaphat didn’t proclaim how good a person he was or what he had accomplished. Instead, he began to praise God for all that He had done for him and his country in the past. He was praising God for who He was and what He had done. He was praising God for his love and kindness to His children.
In other words, don’t complain, but PRAISE. Don't feel sorry for yourself, but WORSHIP GOD.
- Finally, after doing what we are able to do in each situation, we must “stand still” and let God fight our battle for us.
Jesus said in the Gospels “take my yoke upon you.” In other words, we don’t have to do all the pulling, bearing all the weight. This takes faith and trust that you might not already have, but it is vital that you learn and achieve.
In our battles, we must learn from the story of Jehosaphat to praise God, worship Him fully, and trust that He will be with us and help us. We may not always get the outcome we desire, but we have the assurance that God will help us according to His will.
God wants to help us through whatever battle we face. All we must do is LET HIM.
.Joshua 1:9 KJV
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
RVH