Today, in my Bible reading, the Lord revealed to me practical Christian living. I have never seen and learned such precious lessons from the life of Jehoshaphat. What a blessing that He pleased to reveal these things to me and that I would be blessed and in turn bless Jehovah!
The lesson began with seeking God...
Seeking God: God is great in leading the people the way they ought to be led. He used the nations around the people of God due to which, the king had to seek God and proclaimed a fast.
2 Chronicles 20:3 And Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to pursue Jehovah, and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
2 Chronicles 20:4 And Judah gathered themselves to seek help from Jehovah; indeed out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek Jehovah.
Praying in Seeking God: The king then prayed to God from Whom he sought help.
2 Chronicles 20:5 And Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of Jehovah, before the new court;
2 Chronicles 20:6 And he said, O Jehovah, the God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? And in Your hand is strength and might, and there is no one who can stand against You.
Prayer in Claiming the Acts of God in the Past: The king recounted the acts of God in the past and reminded God that He is still God and would do likewise at the present time as in the past.
2 Chronicles 20:7 Did You not, O our God, dispossess the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the seed of Abraham Your friend?
2 Chronicles 20:8 And they have dwelt in it and built in it for You a sanctuary for Your name, saying,
2 Chronicles 20:9 If evil comes upon us, the sword or judgment or pestilence or famine, we will stand before this house and before You — for Your name is in this house — and cry unto You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.
Prayer in Mentioning the Facts He Faced: The king narrated the facts he had been facing, a threat from the enemies.
2 Chronicles 20:10 And now at this moment the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned away from them and did not destroy them —
2 Chronicles 20:11 At this moment they are rewarding us by coming to cast us out of Your possession, which You gave us as a possession.
Prayer in Confession and Acknowledging His Helplessness: The king confessed his helplessness before his enemies and acknowledged that he had no strength and did not know what to do but to look away unto Him. He did the prayers with all the houses of Judah and their whole families.
2 Chronicles 20:12 O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no strength before this great multitude that is coming against us, and we do not know what to do; but our eyes are upon You.
2 Chronicles 20:13 And all Judah stood before Jehovah with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
Prayers Answered: The king's humble and sincere prayers were immediately answered.
2 Chronicles 20:14 Then the Spirit of Jehovah 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, in the midst of the assembly;
Prayer Answered in Encouragement: God answered the prayers by encouraging them not to be afraid and that the battle is God's.
2 Chronicles 20:15 And he said, Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat. Thus says Jehovah to you, Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.
Prayer Answered with Detail of God's Fighting for Them:
2 Chronicles 20:16 Tomorrow go down against them. They are coming up at the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the river valley before the wilderness of Jeruel.
2 Chronicles 20:17 It is not for you to fight in this battle. Station yourselves; stand and see the salvation of Jehovah among you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid nor dismayed. Tomorrow go out to meet them, for Jehovah is with you.
Worshipping and Praising Jehovah God Who Answer Prayers:
2 Chronicles 20:18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before Jehovah to worship Jehovah.
2 Chronicles 20:19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, rose up to praise Jehovah the God of Israel with an exceedingly loud voice.
Believing in Jehovah: The result of answered prayers to the genuine seekers of God is believing in Jehovah and being established by Him.
2 Chronicles 20:20 And they rose up early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in Jehovah your God, and you will be established; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.
Taking Counsel and Giving Thanks to Jehovbah:
2 Chronicles 20:21 And when he had taken counsel with the
people, he appointed them to sing to Jehovah and give thanks in holy array as
they went out before the army and say, Give thanks to Jehovah, for His
lovingkindness endures forever.
God in Action: In answer to the prayers, God took action and fought the battle for His people as He promised. In His wisdom, the enemy fought against themselves and got defeated. The people of God need not fight at all!
2 Chronicles 20:22 And when they began to shout in song and to praise, Jehovah set ambushes for the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who were coming out against Judah; and they were struck.
2 Chronicles 20:23 And the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to absolutely destroy and demolish them; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every man helped to destroy his neighbor.
Witnessing Victory Without Battle: God's people only became a witness to the victory of God against their enemies in answer to their seeking God in prayers.
2 Chronicles 20:24 And Judah came to the wilderness watchtower and looked upon the multitude; and there they were, fallen corpses on the ground, and no one escaped.
2 Chronicles 20:25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came
to take the spoil of them as plunder, they found among them in abundance both
possessions and corpses and precious vessels, and stripped these for
themselves, more than they could carry. And they spent three days taking spoil,
for there was much.
Blessing Jehovah: As a result of the victory by the answered prayers, God's people blessed Jehovah. Blessing God is the result of being blessed by God while seeking Him in humility, truthfulness, and prayer.
2 Chronicles 20:26 And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah (for there they blessed Jehovah; therefore they have called the name of that place the valley of Beracah to this day).
Rejoicing in the Church, the House of Jehovah: The people of God came back to the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem rejoicing, implying the need to be in the proper ground of the church to enjoy God's victory.
2 Chronicles 20:27And they turned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, to go back to Jerusalem with rejoicing; for Jehovah had caused them to rejoice over their enemies.
God's Blessing Issuing in Fearing God, in Peace, and in Rest: The ultimate issue of being blessed by God is that there will be godly fear and peace all around; within and without.
2 Chronicles 20:29 And the fear of God was upon all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that Jehovah had fought with the enemies of Israel.
These are the lessons I learned today from the revelation God has shown me concerning blessing God as being blessed by God while seeking Him in all humility and prayer. Amen.
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