Good morning!
Greetings in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
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.” (2 Chronicles 20:12)
Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the [Dead] sea; and, behold, they are in Engedi.” Engedi is the city on the west side of Dead Sea, and Jerusalem is not far from the city. Also the beyond the sea means Moabites and Amorites, who dwelled in the east side of Dead Sea. Three countries united, and came against him and Judah, his country and his people, for battle. He was terrified because he was a mere human like anyone of us and the people in Jerusalem and Judah.
However, instead of calling in his military generals, Jehoshaphat set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. Upon King Jehoshaphat’s decree, all people in Judah assembled to see help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. What’s a faith and humility before God, who is the creator, and the omnipresent and omnipotent God with full of mercy, grace and love to those who are faithful to and humble before God!
King Jehoshaphat stood in the middle of the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem. He prayed, “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. … 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.” (2 Chronicles 20:6,12)
Bible continues telling “All Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.” (2 Ch 20:13) And the Spirit of the LORD came upon them, through Jahaziel, one of the Levites, conveyed God’s word.
‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. 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. 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.’ (2 Chronicles 20:15-17)
God comforted the king and his people with a word of encouragement. Then God said that the battle was not yours, but mine, and continued “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.”
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. What a faith it was! The three countries’ army was just less than 50 miles away (i.e., less than 80 km away). Less than a day, the united army could get to Jerusalem. King Jehoshaphat and his people first approached to God, and prayed, and then worshiped the LORD with full trust in God.
Early the next morning, they went out to the Desert of Tokoa (about 12 miles south west of Jerusalem toward Engedi, where the united enemy forces were spotted. King Jehoshaphat stood up and said: “Listen to me, you people of Judah and residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God and you will be safe! Trust in the message of his prophets and you will win.” Then King Jehoshaphat set musicians to play before the Lord and praise Hus majestic splendor, and said, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his loyal love endures.” (2 Ch 20:20-21) Their faith was steadfast. Instead, they gave thanks to God even under the difficult situation – three countries were united and coming to attack King Jehoshaphat and his people.
Then they went out singing and praising the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. The LORD suddenly attacked the united army by confusing them. They started attacked each other, and continued till completely destroying the entire army. When the men of Judah arrived at the observation post overlooking the desert where the huge united army used to be. What they saw was dead bodies on the ground; there were no survivors!
Then they returned joyfully to Jerusalem; the LORD had given them reason to rejoice over their enemies. They entered Jerusalem to the sound of stringed instruments and trumpets and proceeded to the temple of the Lord. All the kingdoms of the surrounding lands were afraid of God when they heard how the Lord had fought against Israel’s enemies. Jehoshaphat’s kingdom enjoyed peace; his God made him secure on every side. (2 Ch 20:27-30)
What an encouragement to each of us, especially those who currently confront with insurmountable challenges like King Jehoshaphat and his people! Yes, those challenges are huge and much bigger than us, but God is even greater than every single of them. What God wants is our pure trust in Him. He loves to hear our prayer with absolute honesty and complete humility as Jehoshaphat prayer “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” under distress. God answers to us “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic because of the huge challenge that you see! For the battle is mine, but yours.”
“…In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage—I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)