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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters
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Speaker 1: I'm John Stanghy, and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter twenty,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the contemporary English version. Sometime later,
Speaker 1: the armies of Moab and Ammon, together with the Mayonites,
Speaker 1: went to war against Jehoshaphat. Messengers told Jehoshaphat, a large
Speaker 1: army from Edam, east of the Dead Sea has invaded
Speaker 1: our country. They have already reached Engeddi. Jehoshaphat was afraid,
Speaker 1: so he asked the Lord what to do. He then
Speaker 1: told the people of Judah to go without eating to
Speaker 1: show their sorrow. They immediately left for Jerusalem to ask
Speaker 1: for the Lord's help. After everyone from Judah and Jerusalem
Speaker 1: had come together at the Lord's temple, Jehoshaphat stood in
Speaker 1: front of the new courtyard and prayed, You Lord, are
Speaker 1: the God our ancestors worshiped, and from heaven. You rule
Speaker 1: every nation in the world. You are so powerful that
Speaker 1: no one can defeat you, Our God. You forced out
Speaker 1: the nations who lived in this land before your people
Speaker 1: Israel came here and you gave it to the descendants
Speaker 1: of your friend Abraham. Forever, our ancestors lived in this
Speaker 1: land and built a temple to honor you. They believed
Speaker 1: that whenever this land is struck by war or disease
Speaker 1: or famine, your people can pray to you at the temple,
Speaker 1: and you will hear their prayer and save them. You
Speaker 1: can see that the armies of Amin, Moab and Edom
Speaker 1: are attacking us. Those are the nations you would not
Speaker 1: let our ancestors invade on their way from Egypt. So
Speaker 1: these nations were not destroyed. Now they are coming to
Speaker 1: take back the land you gave us. Aren't you going
Speaker 1: to punish them? We won't stand a chance when this
Speaker 1: army attacks. We don't know what to do. We are
Speaker 1: begging for your help. While every man, woman and child
Speaker 1: of Judah was standing there at the temple, the Lord's
Speaker 1: spirit suddenly spoke to Jahazeel, a Levite from the Asaf clan.
Speaker 1: Then Jahaziel said, your majesty and everyone from Judah and Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: The Lord says that you don't need to be afraid
Speaker 1: or let this powerful army discourage you. God will fight
Speaker 1: on your side. So here's what you must do. Tomorrow.
Speaker 1: The enemy armies will march through the desert around the
Speaker 1: town of Jarul. March down and meet them at the
Speaker 1: town of Zizz as they come up the valley. You
Speaker 1: won't even have to fight. Just take your positions and
Speaker 1: watch the Lord rescue you from your enemy. Don't be afraid.
Speaker 1: Just do as you're told, and as you march out tomorrow,
Speaker 1: the Lord will be there with you. Jehoshaphat bowed low
Speaker 1: to the ground and everyone worshiped the Lord. Then some
Speaker 1: Levites from the Kohath and Krah clans stood up and
Speaker 1: shouted praises to the Lord God of Israel. Early the
Speaker 1: next morning, as everyone got ready to leave for the
Speaker 1: desert near Takoah, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, listen, my friends,
Speaker 1: if we trust the Lord God and believe what these
Speaker 1: prophets have told us, the Lord will help us and
Speaker 1: we will be successful. Then he explained his plan and
Speaker 1: appointed men to march in front of the army and
Speaker 1: praise the Lord for his holy power by singing, Praise
Speaker 1: the Lord, His Love never ends. As soon as they
Speaker 1: began singing, the Lord confused the enemy camp, so that
Speaker 1: the Ammonite and the Moabite troops attacked and completely destroyed
Speaker 1: those from Edom. Then they turned against each other and
Speaker 1: fought until the entire camp was wiped out. When Judah's
Speaker 1: army reached the tower that overlooked the desert, they saw
Speaker 1: that every soldier in the enemy's army was lying dead
Speaker 1: on the ground. So Jehoshaphat and his troops went into
Speaker 1: the camp to carry away everything of value. They found
Speaker 1: a large herd of livestock, a lot of equipment, clothes,
Speaker 1: and other valuable things. It took them three days to
Speaker 1: carry it all away, and there was still some left over.
Speaker 1: Then on the fourth day, everyone came together in Barrakov
Speaker 1: Valley and sang praises to the Lord. That's why the
Speaker 1: place was called Praise Valley. Jehoshaphat led the crowd back
Speaker 1: to Jerusalem, and as they marched, they played harps and
Speaker 1: blue trumpets. They were very happy because the Lord had
Speaker 1: given them victory over their enemies, so when they he
Speaker 1: reached the city, they went straight to the temple. When
Speaker 1: the other nations heard how the Lord had fought against
Speaker 1: Judah's enemies, they were too afraid to invade Judah the Lord,
Speaker 1: let Jehoshaphat's kingdom be at peace. Jehoshaphat was thirty five
Speaker 1: years old when he became king of Judah, and he
Speaker 1: ruled from Jerusalem for twenty five years. His mother was Azuba,
Speaker 1: daughter of Shilhi. Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord, just as his
Speaker 1: father Aesa had done, but he did not destroy the
Speaker 1: local shrines, so the people still worshiped foreign gods instead
Speaker 1: of faithfully serving the god their ancestors had worshiped. Everything
Speaker 1: else Jehoshaphat did while he was king is written in
Speaker 1: the records of Jehu, son of Hanani that are included
Speaker 1: in the history of the Kings of Israel. While Jehoshaphat
Speaker 1: was king, he signed a peace treaty with Ahaziah, the
Speaker 1: wicked King of Israel. They agreed to build several sea
Speaker 1: going ships at easy On Geeber, but the prophet Elizer
Speaker 1: warned jehoshah Fat, the Lord will destroy these ships because
Speaker 1: you have supported a Haziah. The ships were wrecked and
Speaker 1: never sailed. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for your
Speaker 1: word and for the privilege to be able to look
Speaker 1: at it together today. And as we look at this
Speaker 1: portion of scripture, we could see that Jehosha Fat was
Speaker 1: someone who had a heart that was inclined to worship you.
Speaker 1: He was a man who desired to put you first.
Speaker 1: He was someone who wanted the people of Judah to
Speaker 1: worship you and to give you praise. And Lord, when
Speaker 1: we look at this portion of scripture, we can't help
Speaker 1: but be encouraged by seeing, first of all, the fact
Speaker 1: that the people came to you under Jehoshaphat's leadership, asking
Speaker 1: you for help, and feeling confident in your promises that
Speaker 1: you had made in scripture that if your people reached
Speaker 1: out to you, you would hear and you would answer.
Speaker 1: And Lord, we're also encouraged by the fact that you
Speaker 1: you fought for them. You fought these battles on their behalf.
Speaker 1: And Lord, when we look at the context that we
Speaker 1: live in, we recognize that you're doing the same thing
Speaker 1: for us. We were enslaved to sin, we were defeated
Speaker 1: by it, and you fought for us. Your son, Jesus
Speaker 1: Christ came into this world and defeated the power of sin, satan,
Speaker 1: and death. And now through faith in him, that victory
Speaker 1: is shared with us. We are victorious through our Lord
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, who has fought on our behalf. Lord, we're
Speaker 1: grateful that you've accomplished all of this on our behalf,
Speaker 1: and we pray, Lord, that we would live this day
Speaker 1: not as defeated people, but as people who enjoy the
Speaker 1: victory that you have supplied for us, and people who
Speaker 1: are confident that when we come before you in prayer,
Speaker 1: you hear us, and you act in accordance with your
Speaker 1: will for our good and for your glory. So we're
Speaker 1: grateful for these realities, and we're grateful for this reminder
Speaker 1: from your word. We thank you, Lord, for this new day.
Speaker 1: We commit it to your care, and we pray this
Speaker 1: all in Jesus' name. Amen,