“…neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon Thee.”
2 Chronicles 20 is fast becoming one of my favourite stories in the Bible. I’m sure there’s a lot to be mined from this, but thus far, this is what I have.
“It was told Jehoshaphat, A great multitude has come against you from beyond the [Dead] Sea…
…Then Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself [determinedly, as his vital need] to seek the Lord; he proclaimed a fast in all Judah.”
King Jehoshaphat was one of the few kings who served God with all his heart (even though he did make a couple of bad alliances, the worst of which was probably marrying off his son to one of Ahab and Jezebel’s daughters). In addition to tearing down the temples of the Baals, he did his best to make sure that the people had knowledge of God and His Law. But now, the descendants of Lot and longtime enemies of the Jews, the Moabites and Ammonites were coming to attack Judah and Jerusalem, along with the Meunites.
But it is clear that Jehoshaphat had wisdom, too; he immediately called a nationwide fast for all of the men, women, and children in the land. This declaration was clearly the right thing to do.
When all of Judah had congregated, this humble and God-trusting King spoke forth one of the most beautiful prayers in Scripture, which is saying a lot. But then, it is so rich with truth, and perhaps that is what makes it so heart-wrenchingly lovely.
And Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord [yearning for Him with all their desire]. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court And said,
O Lord, God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven? And do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In Your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand You.
Did not You, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend? They dwelt in it and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your Name, saying, If evil comes upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You–for Your Name [and the symbol of Your presence] is in this house–and cry to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.
And now behold, the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they turned from and did not destroy–Behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit.
O our God, will You not exercise judgment upon them? For we have no might to stand against this great company that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.
As John MacArthur has pointed out, this prayer delineates God’s sovereignty, the covenant He had made with His people, and trust in His presence and goodness. All of the people, led by their earthly king, came humbly before their Lord and God, an Almighty God who was also their protector and benefactor. It is always interesting to me that in many of these prayers, the history of the nation with God is outlined, the covenant is repeated; I doubt this is meant to just remind God, but to bring back to the people’s minds and hearts confidence on the One Who had done so much for them. These “reminders” were also praises to God for His mighty deeds and beneficence. In other words, it works both ways: by recalling to God and ourselves those “stones of remembrance”, we also praise Him for creating them (so to speak).
Also interesting is that in addition to being willing to come to God for help in famine or pestilence, they will also come to Him in case of “the sword of judgment”, God’s right punishment for evil. This had already happened a few times in Israel’s past, of course; the example that always comes most readily to my mind is that of David’s census. Regardless, this says that even when we are under God’s just and fair judgment for sin, we can (and should, read that bit from Joel again) run to our Holy Father, repent, crying to Him in our affliction, and He will save us. I have to say, and this is not meant to be flippant, but…boy, are we lucky He is so gracious!
Additionally, Jehoshaphat notes that the Israelites obeyed God, not placing a hand upon the Ammonites, Moabites, and those of Mount Seir, turning away from these peoples (who were distant cousins) even in the face of provocations. Yet now these very nations who God in effect had protected were turning on those who had not attacked them. Even in obedience to God, the people found themselves in the midst of a great trouble; to us, too, this will happen. Obedience often seems to make things worse, at least from our limited perspective. Thankfully, we know and can trust that God sees and rewards obedience.
The note that strikes the heart most, though, are King Jehoshaphat’s closing words.
O our God, will You not exercise judgment upon them? For we have no might to stand against this great company that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.
It’s safe to say that the majority of believers have found themselves with similar emotions, asking God for protection, knowing there is no earthly way out of our adversity, and not really having any ideas regardless. At all times, but most especially when we’re clueless, we must turn to God with all honesty and say so. “God, I do not know what to do, but my eyes are on You and You alone.”
Having pleaded with God for protection and desperately needed help, the people waited. And God did not wait long to answer.
Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.
He said,
Hearken, all Judah, you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat. The Lord says this to you: Be not afraid or dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow go down to them. Behold, they will come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the ravine before the Wilderness of Jeruel.You shall not need to fight in this battle; take your positions, stand still, and see the deliverance of the Lord [Who is] with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.
~ 2 Chronicles 20:14-17
Wow.
Note first that twice God says, “fear not nor be dismayed”. So, so many believers fall prey to fear, dismay, depression, and anxiety today. I am no exception, and it’s only through God’s grace that I’m not as bad about this as I used to be. Note, too, that God gives them a reason not to fear: “for the battle is not yours, but God’s…for the Lord is with you.” God is with us! Emmanuel.
Do not succumb to fear or dismay; by doing so, you are making your fears and consternations bigger than God. You’ve made that anxiety and dismay an idol, and one needn’t look far to see what idolatry got the Jews. Don’t do it!
Furthermore, by giving in to these emotions, you’ve created another, more fearsome idol: yourself. You’re looking at and stroking your own feelings and passions instead of looking at God Himself. So…watch out. As soon as you begin to feel fear or anxiety or consternation, call upon Jesus, repent, and ask Him for help. In my experience, this works very well; He will not turn away those honestly seeking Him.
Don’t look at yourself — look only to God! Remember: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” Let’s face it, we can’t do a thing to save ourselves anyhow.
Note, too, that the nation went before God immediately. As soon as the first hint of a storm made itself apparent, the king ran, even fled to God, to Jehovah-Ganan, Jehovah-’Uzam. Jehoshaphat did not dally with advisors, priests, his military chiefs, or anyone: no, he
…set himself [determinedly, as his vital need] to seek the Lord…
Do that. Don’t fool around: when afflictions and woe begin rumbling away, go straight to God. If you’re guilty of sin for which you’ve not repented, repent, and then freely, boldly call upon God for help in the troubles that are clinging to you. Please.
Finally, note that God first says the battle is His, not the people’s. Indeed, He tells them to go to the battlefield, get into position…then stand still and watch. Clearly this was going to be a spectacular rescue. Of course, Judah still had to do something other than trust: they had to take their positions.
This is rather like salvation, in a deeper meaning to what God said. Specifically here, He was telling Judah that they would see His salvation of the nation that very day, but also, to us, He is saying we must also take our position as His child. We must repent, we must live righteously, we must lean upon and require Him, we must walk in the Word, we must believe Him and have faith that He will indeed save us from perdition. This perhaps does not sound like standing still, but please note that He doesn’t tell us we must sacrifice our children, kill those who don’t agree with us, or revere cattle as relatives. Ultimately, our salvation depends upon God and God alone; nothing, nothing we can do will admit us to Heaven.
Moving on…
After hearing this wonderful word from God, Jehoshaphat the king immediately fell and began to worship the Lord, as the people followed suit. Surely they felt humbled and grateful for God’s promised deliverance. Wouldn’t you? Unworthy, weepingly thankful. This is, really, how we should feel in regards to salvation!
Still, it didn’t take long for the reverent, meek worship to turn to what surely was overjoyed, jubilant praise. Chronicles reports that some of the Levites
…stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
The gravity and wonder of the situation struck them in an entirely different way. Still thankful and reverent, they released loud, exultant praise to the Father. Whether or not the nation followed suit, we’re not told here, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
So, the next morning, Judah and their King rose early and did as God commanded. As they went on their way, Jehoshaphat encouraged the people, saying,
…Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established; believe and remain steadfast to His prophets and you shall prosper.
This is reminiscent of what the Lord had spoken to King Asa through a prophet years earlier.
Singers from among the priest hood were selected, and the people went out, the singers before them praising God:
…Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!
This should say something to us. In the face of battle, the people praised God with joy and reverence. We may say, “Well, that’s easy. God had just told them He would deliver them.”
And He’s not told us the same thing?
Thought so.
And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were [self-] slaughtered; For [suspecting betrayal] the men of Ammon and Moab rose against those of Mount Seir, utterly destroying them. And when they had made an end of the men of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.
And when Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked at the multitude, and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none had escaped!
In a type and shadow of what will happen in the last days, when God utterly decimates and obliterates the armies that will march against Israel and Jerusalem, He caused confusion among Judah’s enemies, resulting in their killing one another. The Judeans, arriving at their post, saw that indeed the battle was already won; God had delivered them. While they had been joyfully praising God, celebrating His greatness, He was ensuring victory for Himself and His people. Not even one of their enemies remained: Judah and Jerusalem were completely saved.
For thus says the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the prey of the terrible will be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will give safety to your children and ease them.
And I will make those who oppress you consume themselves [in mutually destructive wars], thus eating their own flesh; and they will be drunk with their own blood, as with sweet wine; and all flesh will know [with a knowledge grounded in personal experience] that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
Not only that, as if it could possibly get better…it did.
When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil, they found among them much cattle, goods, garments, and precious things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry away, so much they were three days in gathering the spoil.
Just interrupting here to say: another type and shadow! But back to the story:
On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah. There they blessed the Lord. So the name of the place is still called the Valley of Beracah [blessing].
Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat leading them, to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of the Lord.
Notice something? Yes. Days after the battle had been won, they kept praising. They didn’t stop, they kept it up, and having gathered the booty, it appears that the people went first to the Temple. Just as they’d first gone to God with their troubles, they went first to Him with the victory and triumph He had given them. Another fine lesson! And as those aligned with Jesus Christ, should we not rejoice daily, knowing the greatest victory of all has been won for us, by Him, already?
But even after all of this — promising to battle for them, relieving their fear and discomfiture, smiting their enemies beyond belief, providing them with a great amount of spoil and goods…God was not finished (is He ever?).
And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest round about.
As a result of this non-scuffle, any other potential enemy or plunderer immediately decided it wasn’t worth his while to mess with the people of Judah. God not only rescued His people, He not only provided for them most magnificently in a material fashion, He gave them peace and rest all around.
Surely this is how God rewards those who trust Him and believe Him, who choose to look upon Him instead of themselves or the troubles which afflict them. The people responded to danger correctly, by abandoning all else in their urgency to seek His face, to petition Him for help, and then worshipping and praising Him for His goodness, mercy, and might.
Let us endeavour to recall this “battle” the next time we find ourselves in fear of some problem coming up the road. Let’s remember not to sin by falling into fear or upset, but rather to immediately look only to God, Who, when we cry out in our affliction, will hear and save us. The battle is His and His alone, and He is with us always, even to the very end of the age. Hallelujah!
The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my keen and firm Strength in Whom I will trust and take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower.
~ Psalm 18:2
Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
~ Psalm 24:8
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