Exhortation Station

My dad and I had a good discussion about a passage in 2 Chronicles recently. I wanted to share some of what we talked about. The passage is about Jehoshaphat, one of the kings of Judah. Although Jehoshaphat made some serious missteps (2 Chron 18, 19:2, 20:35-37), he did much good during his reign and was rewarded by Yahweh because of it (2 Chron 17:3-6). I encourage you to read the whole story of Jehoshaphat, as there’s a lot of good stuff to learn from it. In this post, I’ll focus on chapter 20, in which we read an incredible story.

The Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites came to make war against Jehoshaphat. When Jehoshaphat heard the report, he was afraid.

2 Chronicles 20:1-4 — “Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. ² Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, ‘A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).’ Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek YHWH, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ So Judah gathered together to seek help from YHWH; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek YHWH.”

When you are afraid, what is your first response? Do you turn your attention to seek Yahweh?

2 Chronicles 20:5-6,10-11 — “Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of YHWH before the new court, ⁶ and he said, ‘O YHWH, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You….¹⁰ Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), ¹¹ see how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance.'”

Picture this: A massive army has come against Judah. Jehoshaphat is Judah’s leader. Everyone is looking to him for what to do next. He is scared. He proclaims a fast, stands in the midst of the people, and calls out to Yahweh. I can almost hear the distress in Jehoshaphat’s voice. Listen to what he says next:

2 Chronicles 20:12 — “O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

What a statement! Listen to the next verse.

2 Chronicles 20:13 — “All Judah was standing before YHWH, with their infants, their wives and their children.”

Rather than putting on a confident face before all the people, pretending he had a master plan, Jehoshaphat humbly admitted the reality of the situation. He simply didn’t know what to do. Jehoshaphat didn’t make this admission in some secret place. He admitted it before all the people, women and children included! Not exactly what you’d learn in a Leadership 101 course.

Have you ever felt powerless in a situation? Truth is, we are kinda powerless. We often fancy ourselves with thinking we have everything under control when life is smooth-sailing. When pushed to our wits’ end, we are reminded of how greatly we need Yah’s help.

It’s okay to admit when you don’t know what to do. Remember Jehoshaphat’s words. Lift your eyes to Yahweh.

Psalm 123:1-2 — “To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens! ² Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to YHWH our God, until He is gracious to us.”

The rest of the story is a delightful cruise through Yahweh’s awesomeness. Sit back, relax, and listen to how this battle played out.

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2 Chronicles 20:14-23 —

¹⁴ Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of YHWH came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; ¹⁵ and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says YHWH to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, 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, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of YHWH on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.‘ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for YHWH is with you.”

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before YHWH, worshiping YHWH. ¹⁹ The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰ They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in YHWH your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” ²¹ When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to YHWH and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to YHWH, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” ²² When they began singing and praising, YHWH set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed. ²³ For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

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How’s that for a battle plan?! Jehoshaphat put the singers on the frontlines of the battle. All they did was praise Yahweh, and the battle was won! Again, not exactly what you’d learn in a Leadership 101 course. Then again, Yah’s people are different.

(Bible passages NASB 1995; Hebrew transl. added by me.)