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Is the Battle Yours or God’s?
2 Chronicles 20:12-20 NKJV. 12 O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
13 Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.
14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
16 Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.
You Will Not Need To Fight In This Battle.
17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”
18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.
20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”
We are all familiar with this scenario. Trouble is upon us.
Oh, I realize that the enemy changes with each generation, perhaps with each year.
Their enemies were upon them in our passage, and they had one response.
They said they had no power and didn’t know what to do, but their eyes were on God.
Now, it is your generation. The enemy is upon you. Perhaps, it is an internal enemy. Maybe your choices have put you on this personal battlefield. Or it might very well be a physical enemy that you are up against, defending your country and loved ones. It might not have been directly due to you at all.
Regardless, the enemy is upon you, and you have no idea how it will go.
Will you even survive?
Will life be far different after the outcome than it was before?
You might have much to lose.
Perhaps, you are fearful as never before.
You have no idea where to turn or what to do.
You cry out to God and tell Him that you realize that He is your only Hope and that your eyes will remain upon Him.
Like the people in our passage of long ago, you stand with your loved ones and you listen to instructions from God.
You realize that He alone can help you in this otherwise impossible situation.
The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, and after hearing the words of God, he tells the people of Judah and Jerusalem not to be afraid or dismayed because the battle is not theirs, but God’s. He tells them that they do not need to fight in this battle. Next, he tells them to position themselves and stand still and watch the salvation of the Lord. He reminds them that God is with them and they are not to fear nor be dismayed. They are to simply go out the next day, and God will be with them.
At this, Jehoshaphat bows his head to the ground, and all the people bow before the Lord, worshiping God.
Some Levites stand up to praise the Lord God with loud voices. In the morning, they go out, and the king tells them to believe in God, and they will be established. You will too.
Whatever your battle, go to God first.
Confess your sins and your belief in Christ as His Risen Son. Lay your fears, challenges, and battles before Him.
Give Him all of your life.
Sometimes, we think that we must present a great life to God all clean and forgiven and trouble-free to serve Him. We forget that it is HE Who forgives and cleans us up and then is FULLY AWARE of all that we face or will face. He will be with us in the battles. Sometimes, like those in our story today, that battle is not ours to fight at all, but the Lord’s. He will care for us and do for us that which is His Will.
Simply, keep YOUR EYES on the LORD and trust HIM for the outcome.
Sometimes, those outcomes are not what we would predict in our wildest imaginings. In our passages today, it was after the people began to sing and give praise to the Lord, that he set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir. Read on.
22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped. 2 Chronicles 20:22-24 NKJV
Thus, the Lord fought the battle for His people and defeated their enemies.
27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. 29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around. 2 Chronicles 20:27-30 NKJV
Can you imagine the praise given God?!
Their fear was gone. God had made them victorious over all their enemies.
Not only were many of the Israelite people in awe of their God, but the fear of God was also present in all the kingdoms of the other countries.
They all had heard that it was the Lord Who had prevailed against all the enemies of Israel.
God can and did fight the battle for His people!
Sometimes, He does it in different ways, but always He is in control and will guide and help us when we are His.
Praise the God Who loves us and cares for us in our times of great joy or in life’s battles.
He is a Great and Powerful God!!