We’ve come to the last week of another study. We’ve learned
a lot about living through adversity and we’ve seen plenty of Bible characters
who give us examples. This week we begin with a new character – King Jehoshaphat.
He definitely had bad news before his morning coffee! He was afraid, and his
first response was to fast and pray.
After this the Moabites and
Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat
for battle. 2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from
Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is,
Engedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat
was afraid and set his face to seek
the Lord, and proclaimed a fast
throughout all
Judah. 4 And
Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah
they came to seek the Lord. 5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the
assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, “O Lord,
God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms
of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to
withstand you. 7 Did you not, our God, drive
out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever
to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 And they have lived in it and
have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ‘If
disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will
stand before this house and before you— for your name is in this house—and cry
out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ 10 And
now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let
Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and
did not destroy— 11 behold, they reward us by coming to drive us
out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12 O our
God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this
great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes
are on you.” 2
Chron 20:1-12 (ESV)
Jeshoshaphat
·
Stood before his people (5)
·
Reminded God Who (and how powerful) He is (6)
·
Reminded God of what He had done for Israel in
the past (7)
·
Reminded God He promises to give the land to the
descendants of Abraham forever (7)
·
Reminded God that His sanctuary was there, and
that this sanctuary is where the people go to cry out to God – and that they expect
Him to hear and deliver) (8-9)
·
Told God what they were up against (10-11), and
·
Told God that they didn’t know what to do, but “our
eyes are on You” (12)
That’s a pretty bold prayer! When you are in trouble, is your first
response fasting, prayer and going boldly to God with your needs? Or do you try
to “solve” the problem yourself first?
God answered Jehoshaphat! His Spirit came upon a prophet,
and the people were told:
And he said, “Listen, all Judah and
inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says
the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde,
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. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of
the wilderness of Jeruel. 17
You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your
position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and
Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not
be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.” 18 Then
Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and
all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 And
the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very
loud voice. 2 Chron 20:15-19 (ESV)
Uh…God… didja SEE the army? You want us to WHAT?
Can you imagine God giving a commander that battle plan? What
kind of faith did those commanders need to stand firm and hold their
positions? God even told them how the armies would fight.
How can that apply to your life? If you fast and pray and
give God a chance to speak to you, what might you hear?
Can you think of a time where you were facing seemingly
insurmountable odds like Jehoshaphat and Israel faced that day? Did you pray?
Did you fast? (We will study fasting later this year if you’re not sure what it’s
all about). Most important, after you prayed and fasted, did you stop and wait
to hear God’s “marching orders”?
God doesn’t promise that He will fight every battle by
having you stand still, but He does promise to be with you in every battle. In
the next few days, read this text again and really think about how you can
apply the principles of fast…pray…listen to your next battle.
If there is a particular subject or chapter of the Bible
that you would like to cover, please email me. I would love to see what you
would like to learn after summer is over. The next study will be “Day In and Day Out
with God” (how can you know you’re right with God, and how you can build your
relationship with Him). o See you Wednesday.
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