1
00:00:02,759 --> 00:00:06,720
Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

2
00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:10,720
Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters

3
00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:15,400
Speaker 1: dot com. You're listening to the chapter today Audio Bible.

4
00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:20,720
Speaker 1: I'm John Stanghy, and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter twenty,

5
00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:26,960
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the contemporary English version. Sometime later,

6
00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:31,000
Speaker 1: the armies of Moab and Ammon, together with the Mayonites,

7
00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:37,000
Speaker 1: went to war against Jehoshaphat. Messengers told Jehoshaphat, a large

8
00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,560
Speaker 1: army from Edam, east of the Dead Sea has invaded

9
00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:46,720
Speaker 1: our country. They have already reached Engeddi. Jehoshaphat was afraid,

10
00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:49,959
Speaker 1: so he asked the Lord what to do. He then

11
00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:52,920
Speaker 1: told the people of Judah to go without eating to

12
00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:57,480
Speaker 1: show their sorrow. They immediately left for Jerusalem to ask

13
00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:02,480
Speaker 1: for the Lord's help. After everyone from Judah and Jerusalem

14
00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:06,160
Speaker 1: had come together at the Lord's temple, Jehoshaphat stood in

15
00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:10,840
Speaker 1: front of the new courtyard and prayed, You Lord, are

16
00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:14,760
Speaker 1: the God our ancestors worshiped, and from heaven. You rule

17
00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,240
Speaker 1: every nation in the world. You are so powerful that

18
00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:22,560
Speaker 1: no one can defeat you, Our God. You forced out

19
00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:25,880
Speaker 1: the nations who lived in this land before your people

20
00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,200
Speaker 1: Israel came here and you gave it to the descendants

21
00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:34,400
Speaker 1: of your friend Abraham. Forever, our ancestors lived in this

22
00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,000
Speaker 1: land and built a temple to honor you. They believed

23
00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:40,800
Speaker 1: that whenever this land is struck by war or disease

24
00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,480
Speaker 1: or famine, your people can pray to you at the temple,

25
00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,720
Speaker 1: and you will hear their prayer and save them. You

26
00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:52,360
Speaker 1: can see that the armies of Amin, Moab and Edom

27
00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,640
Speaker 1: are attacking us. Those are the nations you would not

28
00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:59,360
Speaker 1: let our ancestors invade on their way from Egypt. So

29
00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:03,160
Speaker 1: these nations were not destroyed. Now they are coming to

30
00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:07,000
Speaker 1: take back the land you gave us. Aren't you going

31
00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,200
Speaker 1: to punish them? We won't stand a chance when this

32
00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,760
Speaker 1: army attacks. We don't know what to do. We are

33
00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:19,200
Speaker 1: begging for your help. While every man, woman and child

34
00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:22,399
Speaker 1: of Judah was standing there at the temple, the Lord's

35
00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:27,400
Speaker 1: spirit suddenly spoke to Jahazeel, a Levite from the Asaf clan.

36
00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:34,079
Speaker 1: Then Jahaziel said, your majesty and everyone from Judah and Jerusalem.

37
00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:37,000
Speaker 1: The Lord says that you don't need to be afraid

38
00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,680
Speaker 1: or let this powerful army discourage you. God will fight

39
00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:46,280
Speaker 1: on your side. So here's what you must do. Tomorrow.

40
00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,560
Speaker 1: The enemy armies will march through the desert around the

41
00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,360
Speaker 1: town of Jarul. March down and meet them at the

42
00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:56,720
Speaker 1: town of Zizz as they come up the valley. You

43
00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:59,800
Speaker 1: won't even have to fight. Just take your positions and

44
00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:03,800
Speaker 1: watch the Lord rescue you from your enemy. Don't be afraid.

45
00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,720
Speaker 1: Just do as you're told, and as you march out tomorrow,

46
00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:12,919
Speaker 1: the Lord will be there with you. Jehoshaphat bowed low

47
00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,560
Speaker 1: to the ground and everyone worshiped the Lord. Then some

48
00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:20,280
Speaker 1: Levites from the Kohath and Krah clans stood up and

49
00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:24,800
Speaker 1: shouted praises to the Lord God of Israel. Early the

50
00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,520
Speaker 1: next morning, as everyone got ready to leave for the

51
00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:32,600
Speaker 1: desert near Takoah, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, listen, my friends,

52
00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:35,960
Speaker 1: if we trust the Lord God and believe what these

53
00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,320
Speaker 1: prophets have told us, the Lord will help us and

54
00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:43,160
Speaker 1: we will be successful. Then he explained his plan and

55
00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:45,720
Speaker 1: appointed men to march in front of the army and

56
00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:50,160
Speaker 1: praise the Lord for his holy power by singing, Praise

57
00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:55,080
Speaker 1: the Lord, His Love never ends. As soon as they

58
00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,960
Speaker 1: began singing, the Lord confused the enemy camp, so that

59
00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:03,320
Speaker 1: the Ammonite and the Moabite troops attacked and completely destroyed

60
00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,600
Speaker 1: those from Edom. Then they turned against each other and

61
00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:11,200
Speaker 1: fought until the entire camp was wiped out. When Judah's

62
00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,520
Speaker 1: army reached the tower that overlooked the desert, they saw

63
00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:17,839
Speaker 1: that every soldier in the enemy's army was lying dead

64
00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:22,039
Speaker 1: on the ground. So Jehoshaphat and his troops went into

65
00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:25,880
Speaker 1: the camp to carry away everything of value. They found

66
00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,440
Speaker 1: a large herd of livestock, a lot of equipment, clothes,

67
00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,000
Speaker 1: and other valuable things. It took them three days to

68
00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,479
Speaker 1: carry it all away, and there was still some left over.

69
00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:41,560
Speaker 1: Then on the fourth day, everyone came together in Barrakov

70
00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:45,280
Speaker 1: Valley and sang praises to the Lord. That's why the

71
00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:50,080
Speaker 1: place was called Praise Valley. Jehoshaphat led the crowd back

72
00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:53,640
Speaker 1: to Jerusalem, and as they marched, they played harps and

73
00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,160
Speaker 1: blue trumpets. They were very happy because the Lord had

74
00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,040
Speaker 1: given them victory over their enemies, so when they he

75
00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:04,080
Speaker 1: reached the city, they went straight to the temple. When

76
00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:06,480
Speaker 1: the other nations heard how the Lord had fought against

77
00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:10,760
Speaker 1: Judah's enemies, they were too afraid to invade Judah the Lord,

78
00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:16,400
Speaker 1: let Jehoshaphat's kingdom be at peace. Jehoshaphat was thirty five

79
00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,000
Speaker 1: years old when he became king of Judah, and he

80
00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:23,600
Speaker 1: ruled from Jerusalem for twenty five years. His mother was Azuba,

81
00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:27,960
Speaker 1: daughter of Shilhi. Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord, just as his

82
00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:31,240
Speaker 1: father Aesa had done, but he did not destroy the

83
00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:35,839
Speaker 1: local shrines, so the people still worshiped foreign gods instead

84
00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:41,120
Speaker 1: of faithfully serving the god their ancestors had worshiped. Everything

85
00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:44,200
Speaker 1: else Jehoshaphat did while he was king is written in

86
00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:47,479
Speaker 1: the records of Jehu, son of Hanani that are included

87
00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,640
Speaker 1: in the history of the Kings of Israel. While Jehoshaphat

88
00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,320
Speaker 1: was king, he signed a peace treaty with Ahaziah, the

89
00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:59,120
Speaker 1: wicked King of Israel. They agreed to build several sea

90
00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:03,240
Speaker 1: going ships at easy On Geeber, but the prophet Elizer

91
00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:07,480
Speaker 1: warned jehoshah Fat, the Lord will destroy these ships because

92
00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:11,640
Speaker 1: you have supported a Haziah. The ships were wrecked and

93
00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:19,000
Speaker 1: never sailed. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for your

94
00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:20,880
Speaker 1: word and for the privilege to be able to look

95
00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,120
Speaker 1: at it together today. And as we look at this

96
00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:25,880
Speaker 1: portion of scripture, we could see that Jehosha Fat was

97
00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,520
Speaker 1: someone who had a heart that was inclined to worship you.

98
00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,360
Speaker 1: He was a man who desired to put you first.

99
00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:35,520
Speaker 1: He was someone who wanted the people of Judah to

100
00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:38,800
Speaker 1: worship you and to give you praise. And Lord, when

101
00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:40,800
Speaker 1: we look at this portion of scripture, we can't help

102
00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:43,480
Speaker 1: but be encouraged by seeing, first of all, the fact

103
00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:47,920
Speaker 1: that the people came to you under Jehoshaphat's leadership, asking

104
00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,680
Speaker 1: you for help, and feeling confident in your promises that

105
00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:54,720
Speaker 1: you had made in scripture that if your people reached

106
00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:56,920
Speaker 1: out to you, you would hear and you would answer.

107
00:06:57,600 --> 00:06:59,919
Speaker 1: And Lord, we're also encouraged by the fact that you

108
00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,839
Speaker 1: you fought for them. You fought these battles on their behalf.

109
00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:06,279
Speaker 1: And Lord, when we look at the context that we

110
00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:08,760
Speaker 1: live in, we recognize that you're doing the same thing

111
00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:13,520
Speaker 1: for us. We were enslaved to sin, we were defeated

112
00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,120
Speaker 1: by it, and you fought for us. Your son, Jesus

113
00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:22,080
Speaker 1: Christ came into this world and defeated the power of sin, satan,

114
00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,720
Speaker 1: and death. And now through faith in him, that victory

115
00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,760
Speaker 1: is shared with us. We are victorious through our Lord

116
00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:32,520
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, who has fought on our behalf. Lord, we're

117
00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:35,160
Speaker 1: grateful that you've accomplished all of this on our behalf,

118
00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:37,480
Speaker 1: and we pray, Lord, that we would live this day

119
00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,040
Speaker 1: not as defeated people, but as people who enjoy the

120
00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,280
Speaker 1: victory that you have supplied for us, and people who

121
00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:47,040
Speaker 1: are confident that when we come before you in prayer,

122
00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:49,920
Speaker 1: you hear us, and you act in accordance with your

123
00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,880
Speaker 1: will for our good and for your glory. So we're

124
00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:55,640
Speaker 1: grateful for these realities, and we're grateful for this reminder

125
00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:58,360
Speaker 1: from your word. We thank you, Lord, for this new day.

126
00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:00,400
Speaker 1: We commit it to your care, and we pray this

127
00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,560
Speaker 1: all in Jesus' name. Amen,