This study was guided for me by a study book from the Lifeguide Bible Study series, Christian Disciplines, by Andrea Sterk & Peter Scazzero, Study 9 on Guidance. InterVarsity Press, Illinois. USA. 1985.
Introduction from Christian Disciplines study guide: All of us are faced with the constant need for guidance. What career should I pursue? Whom should I marry? Where should I live? Should I change jobs? In which church activity should I invest my time? How should I spend my weekend? From the major and critical questions of life to daily and mundane situations, we are bombarded by matters which demand a decision. Jehosophat, king of Judah found himself in the same position. He needed to discern God's direction in a time of crisis. In this passage we see principles of guidance which help us to hear God's voice.
Vs 1,2
It happened some time afterwards that the Moabites, the Ammonites, and some of the Meunites made war on Jehoshaphat. News was brought to him that a great horde of them was attacking him from beyond the Dead Sea, from Edom, and was already at Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi.
Jehosophat: A descendant of David, King of Judah 875-851 BC. Judah was the southern kingdom of the divided Jewish nation. At that time, there was peace between the northern kingdom, Israel, and Judah. Judah was a prosperous nation under Jehosophat's reign.
Moabites, Ammonites and Meunites (Edomites?): Tribes that had been for many years, like the Israelites, trying to gain access to the land for themselves. They had been part of the kingdom ruled by David and Solomon before it was divided, but with the divided kingdom, had become independent tribes again.
New Bible Commentary, p 410: There is some confusion over who the invaders were and where they came from, but there was at all events a vast army (NIV) approaching from the direction of the Dead Sea.
Jehosophat had been busy setting his kingdom in order (Ch. 19), bringing people back to faith in God, appointing judges and priests to help him rule. Although he made mistakes, he was known to seek God's guidance (18:5, 19:3) Now he is faced with invasion by a great horde of neighbouring tribes who are on the march towards Jerusalem. En-gedi was about half way up the west coast of the Dead Sea, about 25 miles from Jerusalem 'as the crow flies'.
Vs. 3,4
Jehosophat in his alarm resolved to seek guidance of the Lord and proclaimed a fast for all Judah. Judah gathered together to ask counsel of the Lord; from every city of the land they came to consult him.
Jehosophat was alarmed. He did not feel up to leading his country against such a great army. Previously he had hesitantly followed the lead of Ahab, King of Israel into attacking Ramoth-gilead (Ch. 18) and had seen Ahab killed (18:34). As he usually did, he dithered, but not for long. He decided to call a national day of prayer and fasting to find out what God wanted him to do. Because of his previous pastoral care and teaching his people (Chs. 17, 19), the nation rallied around and joined in the time of fasting and prayer.
How often are we like Jehosophat when important decisions have to be made? Do we dither? Do we find it hard to make up our minds what to do? Do we go to God for guidance? Or do we just plunge on and make our own decision? How often do we fall flat on our faces through making a wrong decision?
Vs 5-12
Jehosophat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord, in front of the New Court (NIB: at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard), and said, 'O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? Thou rulest overall the kingdoms of the nations; in thy hand are strength and power, and there is none who can withstand thee. Didst thou not, O God our God, dispossess the inhabitants of this land in favour of thy people Israel, and give it for ever to the descendants of Abraham, thy friend? So they lived in it and have built a sanctuary in it in honour of thy name and said, "Should evil come upon us, war or flood, a pestilence or famine, we will stand before this house and before thee, for in this house is thy Name, and we will cry to thee in our distress and thou wilt hear and save." Thou didst not allow Israel, when they came out of Egypt, to enter the land of the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the people of the hill-country of Seir, so they turned aside and left them alone and did not destroy them. Now see how these people repay us: they are coming to drive us out of thy possession which thou didst give to us. Judge them, O God our God, for we have no strength to face this great horde which is invading our land; we know not what we ought to do; we lift our eyes to thee.'
What a great prayer!
Jehosophat first reminds himself and his people of God's authority, might and power - praises and adores God.
Then he reminds himself and his people of what God has done for them in the past and what the people of Israel had done in building the Temple and worshipping God - more praise and glorifying God.
He talks about the situation facing them - sets out the problem before God.
He confesses their own weakness and inability to cope with the situation - he is humble before God.
He asks God to intervene in the situation
He asks for God's guidance.
He expresses faith and trust in God - 'we lift our eyes to thee'
Jehosophat uses the Scriptures to remind them all of what God has done in the past. In the same way, knowing what the Bible says helps us to understand God's personality and his ways and gives us reassurance that he is powerful, almighty, wise and loving and worthy of our trust.
Vs 13-17
So all Judah stood there before the Lord, with their dependants, their wives and their children. Then, in the midst of the assembly, the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the line of Asaph, and he said, 'Attend, all Judah, all inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehosophat; this is the word of the Lord to you: "Have no fear; do not be dismayed by this great horde, for the battle is in God's hands, not yours. Go down to meet them tomorrow; 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. It is not you who will fight this battle; stand firm and wait, and you will see the deliverance worked by the Lord: he is on your side, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; go out tomorrow and face them; for the Lord is on your side." '
Jahaziel the Levite was a descendant of Asaph and therefore one of the Levites who were assigned to make music for the temple worship - not one who normally prophesied - so his delivery of God's message was designed to make the people sit up and listen!
God sometimes speaks to us in unusual ways and through unexpected people, so we need to be alert and open to his messages and messengers. We also need to know him and his word, so we can judge whether messages are truly from God.
From Christian Disciplines, leaders' notes, p 62: 'God guides in a wide variety of ways. Scripture records God guiding through
The prophesy of Jahaziel reminds us that, when we are faithfully doing God's work
Jehosophat bowed his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord to make obeisance to him (NIB: fell down in worship before the Lord). Then the Levites of the lines of Kohath and Korah stood up and praised the Lord the God of Israel with a mighty shout.
So they rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and, as they were starting, Jehosophat took his stand and said, 'Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: hold firmly to your faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will prosper.' After consulting with the people, he appointed men to sing to the Lord and praise the splendour of his holiness as they went before the armed troops, and they sang:
Give thanks to the Lord,
for his love endures for ever.
Jehosophat's response to this was to worship and praise God and to confidently tell his people to trust God and follow what they have been told. He was able to give more confident leadership. He made sure that in their preparation for battle, they gave glory to God.
Vs 22-30
As soon as their loud shouts of praise were heard, the Lord deluded the Ammonites and Moabites and the men of the hill-country of Seir, who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. It turned out that the Ammonites and Moabites had taken up a position against the men of the hill-country of Seir, and set themselves to annihilate and destroy them; and when they had exterminated the men of Seir, they savagely attacked one another. So when Judah came to the watch-tower in the wilderness and looked towards the enemy horde, there they were all lying dead upon the ground; none had escaped.
Imagine the looks on the faces of Jehosophat and his army!!!!! God's solutions to our problems are not always what we expect. Isn't that an exciting thought? We never know what he's going to do next! He knows our capabilities and does not ask us to face things we can't cope with (see also: 1 Corinthians 10: 13)
When Jehosophat and his men came to collect the booty, they found a large number of cattle, goods, lothing, and precious things, which they plundered until they could carry away no more. They spent three days collecting the booty, there was so much of it. On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah (the Valley of Blessing), the name that it bears to this day because they blessed the Lord there. Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehosophat at their head, returned home to the city in triumph; for the Lord had given them cause to triumph over their enemies. They entered Jerusalem with lutes, harps, and trumpets playing, and went into the house of the Lord.
God is generous - more generous than we can imagine.
Jehosophat and his people made sure that everyone knew who had won the battle for them and they gave public glory to God - loudly! It's important that we let other people know when God answers our prayers or when he does something good for us. That's how we share our faith and make it real for ourselves and for others.
So the dread of God fell upon the rulers of every country, when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel; and the realm of Jehosophat was at peace, God giving him security on all sides.
Jehosophat obviously didn't stop at making sure his own people know how the battle was won: he let the rulers of other countries know as well. He was humble enough to be able to let the true story be told, and not try to take the glory for himself and his people. He didn't pretend to be something he wasn't.
The result of his honesty was that God was revered by other rulers and, because they understood God's strength, they did not try to attack Jehosophat again. They knew God was on his side and that they couldn't win against God.
When we honour God, he honours us. When we trust him, he keeps faithful to us.