The Word Lives

Alright people get ready, this is rich.  I had the best quiet time I have had in probably months the other morning and I am about to share it with you.  So as I have mentioned I am doing a bible reading plan to read the entire bible in a year.  I started on January first so I’m getting close!  You may not think if Chronicles as a book of great revelation, but on this particular morning it was for me.

So to give you a bit of back-story basically the Israelites go through a seemingly endless cycle of having God’s favor, turning away from him and worshipping other gods, God smiting them so they will turn back to Him, repeat.  It is in 2 Chronicles 20 where we pick up.  Jehoshaphat is the current king ruling over Israel and he has turned the nation back to God.  All is going well until the Moabites Ammonites and Meunites decide that they want to attack the Isrealites.  Jehoshaphat receives the message that a vast army is coming to attack his people and immediately the entire nation goes into a time of prayer and fasting and seeking God.

How amazing is that?  Is that your first instinct when you feel an “army” is coming for you?  I know I often gear up or get my defenses up rather than seek God first.

We are blessed enough to have Jehoshaphat’s actual prayer recorded (see verses 6-12), but the part that I love most is the last few sentences:  “O our God, will you not judge them?  For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.  We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you,” (2 Chron. 20:12).

Ugh so good!  They literally have no defenses, they know they can’t win by their own power, and they simply say to God, "we don’t know what to do, but we are going to fix our eyes on you because you are our only hope."  Again, how often do you do this?  I know I often look for anything tangible in the face of fear to comfort me, not God.

Alright, the story gets pretty awesome right here.  In response to his prayer the Holy Spirit comes to Jahaziel (their prophet) and this is what God says, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army.  For the battle is not yours, but God’s…Go out and face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you,” (2 Chron. 15-17).  OK now I don’t know about you but I would be up all night anxious about what was going to happen when I had to go face this “vast army”, but what did the Israelites do?  They immediately started praising God!  They didn’t even know what was going to happen, but they trusted God was going to come through (which they have every reason to because if God says something it is automatically reality).

I think this is one of the most convicting parts of the story for me.  It really made me think about how conditional my praise is sometimes.  It is so easy to praise God when I can look back and see what He has brought me through, but it is really hard for me to praise Him simply for his promises in the face of danger.  The truth is that His promises hold true.  I do no need to wait to praise God because he promises to take care of me so I can praise Him even before I can see how he does it.

Part of me really wants to leave you a cliffhanger just so you have to go look up what happened, but it is so good I don’t think I can resist.  So as the Israelites are praising God He sets Ammon and Moab and the other army against each other and eventually they all destroy every last one of their warriors.  So when the Israelites go to face this terrifying army they show up and all they see is dead bodies.  This sounds kind of gruesome now, but think of it as like the huge scary monster that you swear is under your bed and when you finally build up the courage to face it you look to find harmelss dust bunnies.  In addition to this there was so much plunder (equipment, clothing, ect. Not like pirate plunder) that it took them tree days just to collect all of it.

So not only did God come through and truly fight the battle for them, but he also provided them with an immense amount of resources.  I think this is such an amazing demonstration of the true way God desires to bless us.  He does not give us just enough to survive, but he desires to and does bless us lavishly.

As the story comes to a close and Jehoshaphat’s life comes to an end God does one more miraculous deed.  When they return from the “battle” all the armies in the neighboring nations fear the Lord and they were at peace with the Israelites for the duration of Johosaphat’s reign.

Again, God not only delivered them from one scary situation, but he provided peace for his people and cared for them in the long term.  God does not only answer our prayers of desperation, but even prayers for situations that may not even exist yet.  Today you can rejoice in the Lord knowing that whatever vast army may come against you, when you seek first the Lord, He will protect and defend you.  "The battle is not yours, but God's."

Standing in awe of the living word,

Sigourney