2 Chronicles 19:4-20:304And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again through the people from Beer-sheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the Lord God of their fathers. 5And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city, 6And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. 7Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. 8Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of the Lord, and for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem. 9And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and with a perfect heart. 10And what cause soever shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against the Lord, and so wrath come upon you, and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not trespass. 11And, behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king's matters: also the Levites shall be officers before you. Deal courageously, and the Lord shall be with the good. 1It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. 2Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi. 3And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. 5And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? 7Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? 8And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, 9If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. 10And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; 11Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. 12O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. 13And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14Then 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, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation; 15And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. 16To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you. 18And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. 19And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high. 20And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. 21And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever. 22And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 23For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. 24And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. 25And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. 26And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day. 27Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. 28And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord. 29And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. 30So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about. (2 Chronicles 19:4‑20:30).
AFTER his return to Jerusalem in peace, Jehoshaphat visited throughout all his kingdom and set about to bring back his people to the Lord God of their fathers. He charged the judges and the Levites to do their duty faithfully saying, "Deal courageously, and the Lord shall be with you."
Then we are told that after this other enemies — the Moabites, the Ammonites, and others — came against Jehoshaphat to battle. The Lord who orders all our pathway knows when trial is needed, for "He knoweth best, who loveth best"; He tempers our blessing with trial, our joy with sorrow, according to His perfect wisdom. It is the same hand of love that sends both.
Whether joy, or whether trial, All can only work for good;
For He healeth all — who loves us And has bought us with His blood.
We read that "Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah." And all the people came together to ask the Lord's help, even bringing their little ones, their wives and their children. Jehoshaphat prayed to the Lord asking Him to do for them as He had always done, to hear their cry and help them. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon a Levite, one of the sons of Asaph, who said, "Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go ye down against them: . . . Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD . . . for the Lord will be with you." And Jehoshaphat bowed his head, and all the people worshiped the Lord. Also the Levites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel.
Early the next morning they all rose up and went out to battle. But first Jehoshaphat addressed the people saying, "Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe ye His prophets, so shall ye prosper." Then he appointed singers who went before the army, praising as they went and saying, "Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth for ever." When they began to sing and praise, the Lord fought for His people, and the children of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir were smitten, for they slew one another; and when the men of Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness and looked out, they saw the vast multitude of their enemies lying dead all around. None had escaped. All that Jehoshaphat and Judah had to do was to come and carry away the spoil. They were three days gathering it up; there was so much.
On the fourth day they all met together in the valley called Berachah, which means blessing, and there they blessed and praised the Lord together. Then, with Jehoshaphat in the lead, they all returned to Jerusalem with joy, amid the sound of psalteries, harps and trumpets, unto the house of God, for He had made them to rejoice over their enemies. After this the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries round about Judah when they heard how the Lord had fought against their enemies, and God gave Jehoshaphai rest in his realm.
Messages of the Love of God 8/17/1958