2 Chronicles 20:1-13.
We need help in order to have hope.
Introduction.
“It came to pass after this also…” Jehoshaphat was a generally good king. He removed the groves and high places, set up judges and adjured them to “judge not for man, but for the LORD.” Negatively Jehoshaphat “joined affinity with Ahab.”1 He even went into battle with him. See 2 Chronicles 18.
• This was a time of desperation for God’s people. (vs. 1-2)
• There was a fear of destruction among God’s people. (v. 3a)
• There was an urgency of yielding by God’s people. (vs. 3b-4)
• On this occasion, Jehoshaphat the king as the nation’s agent, stood before God and the people and prayed. (vs. 5-12)
Jehoshaphat addressed God (vs. 6-12).
• Jehoshaphat reveled in God (v. 6)
o As our God (v. 7), the God of our fathers.
o As the God of the heavens.
o As the God of the nations.
o As the God of all power.
• Jehoshaphat reviewed the past (7-9)
o God drove out the inhabitants of Canaan.
o God came the land to the seed of Abraham.
o God established his sanctuary in the land.
o God delivered them from times of trouble.
• Jehoshaphat revealed the present (10-11)
o People God would not let them destroy want to destroy them.
o These people reward good with evil. Psalm 35:12.
o God, what will you do?
We have no power.
We have no plan.
We have a polestar, a focal point, the person of God himself.
God addressed Jehoshaphat and the nation (v. 14ff).
o Through his prophet
o By the Spirit
o In the midst of the congregation
• Be not afraid or dismayed.
• The battle is not yours, but God’s.
• Stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD.
Other verses to note.
• Exodus 14:13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD…
• Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God…
• 1 Samuel 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’s…
Conclusion.
The next day Jehoshaphat and the people went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa. The king urged them to believe God and his word through the prophet. Such belief would result in establishment and prosperity. He appointed singers to go out before the army and praise the beauty of holiness, singing “Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.” When the singers began to sing, the Lord himself ambushed the opposing army.2 The Ammonites and Moabites turned on the Edomites, and then they turned on each other!
Application.
We have come to a time of fear and desperation. We have no power. What we perceived as power (Christian majority) has failed us. We plan no plans. Plans of winning the war by electoral politics have failed us. We must realize that we have no power and no plan. Without power and without a plan, be still and know that we still have God, we can still rely on God. He is our God, He is the god of the heavens, he is the God of all nations. “The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.” (Psalm 103:19)
Psalm 75:7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
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2 set ambushments (an ambush; מְאָרְבִים; liers in wait) against the Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites.
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