![]() Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ( V)‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, ( W)for the battle is not yours but God's. 14 And ( U)the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. We do not know what to do, but ( T)our eyes are on you.”ġ3 Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 12 O our God, will you not ( S)execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. 7 Did you not, our God, ( I)drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of ( J)Abraham your friend? 8 And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ( K)‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, ( L)we will stand before this house and before you- ( M)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 ( N)Ammon and Moab and ( O)Mount Seir, whom ( P)you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, ( Q)and whom they avoided and did not destroy- 11 behold, they reward us ( R)by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. ( H)In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. 4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.ĥ 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 ( F)God in heaven? You ( G)rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face ( D)to seek the Lord, and ( E)proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 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 ( B)Hazazon-tamar” (that is, ( C)Engedi). The people of God are not to be united to those who profess His name but actually reject Him.20 After this ( A)the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Israel was part of the covenant community and professed faith in Yahweh but had followed other gods as well. Remember that Ahab offered state support of Baal worship, so this was a charge against joining with idolaters (1 Kings 16:29–34). ![]() Jehu the prophet condemned him for his alliance with Ahab against Syria because it meant joining with those who hated the Lord (2 Chron. Today, the church must strive to put into leadership only those who fear God and love His law. Later generations of God’s people who read the Chronicler’s account were to follow this model in making sure that just and righteous leaders and judges were in place in the land. ![]() Jehoshaphat wanted to put the right kind of judges in place, so he admonished them to judge in the fear of the Lord, following His law and not showing partiality or taking bribes (2 Chron. Additionally, we read about the judges whom Jehoshaphat appointed throughout Judah. Many of these successes are the kinds of blessings that were promised to the old covenant community if they obeyed the Lord (Deut. Because the Lord was with him and he obeyed God, Jehoshaphat amassed a fortune and had a large army (2 Chron. Today’s passage notes the civil and military power of Jehoshaphat. When we obey God, the Lord will be with us also (Lev. Note that the text says the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the ways of David, obeying his Creator (17:3). Jehoshaphat continued the religious reforms of his father, tearing down the high places as well as the Asherim-wooden images of Asherah, the consort goddess of Baal, and other images associated with the pagan fertility cults of the ancient Near East (17:1–6 see 14:1–4). Like his father, Asa, Jehoshaphat was dedicated to the Lord, walking in the ways of David, the model king of ancient Israel. Jehoshaphat, in fact, was one of the better kings of Judah, as we see in today’s passage. As we have seen, relations were mostly good between Ahab and Jehoshaphat, for Jehoshaphat joined with Ahab against Syria (2 Chron. Asa died during Ahab’s reign, and Asa’s son Jehoshaphat became ruler of the southern kingdom (15:24). At the beginning of the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, the good king Asa ruled over Judah (1 Kings 16:29).
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