We read in Psalm 91:16, “With long life will I satisfy him, and make Him to behold My salvation.” (JPS)
The last three verses in Psalm 91 are the very words of God. Our God is one who speaks to us. God promises that the one who trusts Him totally, will be completely satisfied in this life and God will also show such ones His salvation. In this study we will try to understand what this word ‘salvation’ means. The Hebrew word for salvation is ‘Yeshu’ah’ which could mean aid, deliverance, health and victory.
In 2 Chronicles 20, we read about a king named Jehoshaphat, who was the king of Judah. King Jehoshaphat was one who was totally dependent on God and wanted to please God in every way. During his reign there was a conspiracy of nations who rose against him, and Jehoshaphat was filled with fear. We will look at this incident to understand how the Lord showed His salvation to King Jehoshaphat, helped, delivered and rescued him from all his enemies.
• Jehoshaphat set his face to seek the Lord
We read in 2 Chronicles 20:3, “Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” (ESV)
When hard-pressed with dangers from enemies who were planning to attack Jehoshaphat, though he was filled with fear, set his face to seek the Lord.
Just like Jehoshaphat, one of the first emotions that grip us in the midst of any sort of crisis is fear. If you are being challenged with those huge problems that seem to overwhelm you and are wondering as to how you will overcome them, I pray that this word from the Lord will encourage you.
Let me give you an example to help you understand what it means to set our face on something. Just imagine that a family went to a huge fair or carnival, where there are so many attractive stalls, tents, entertainment rides, games and many shops selling various commodities. The place is filled with huge crowds, and in the midst of all the fun and frolic they miss their child. Just think about the mindset of the parents who are looking for that child. Suddenly, everything around them loses its appeal and their only focus and yearning will be to find the missing child. They have as we can say rightly, set their face to do all they can to find their child who was lost.
Sadly today, this kind of longing to set our face to seek the Lord is diminishing even among those who come to church to worship. There are so many who are so involved with their mobile phones, that even while the service is on, they choose to text, take calls and keep themselves distracted from hearing the word. Whenever, two or three gather together in the Lord’s name, He is present, and so we need to honor God when we come into His presence. Let us also decide to set our face on seeking the Lord just like Jehoshaphat did every time we get an opportunity to come together to worship the Lord and deliberately choose to turn off everything that hinders us from doing this.
• Jehoshaphat called for a fast
The next thing that Jehoshaphat did was to proclaim a fast all through the region of Judah.
Fasting as we all know is to abstain from consuming food for a period of time. However, there are some who wrongly believe that by observing a fast, they can manipulate God to give them whatever they ask for. I have heard some people say that if they fast for a certain number of days, they will get exactly the thing that they asked God for. Let me explain as to what this looks like from a day to day experience. As parents when our children ask for somethings that they want, we may refuse them for some good reasons. If the child were to tell us that they will not eat food until we gave them what they asked for, we would call that stubbornness and not fasting.
We read in Luke 18:12, “I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.” (WEB)
This was the prayer of the Pharisee in the parable that Jesus told about the Pharisee and tax collector who came to the temple. It was as though the Pharisee was updating God on all the good deeds he had done, including the fact that he fasted twice a week.
If we fast and pray this way, we too are likened to the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable. Some people fast on certain days and also make sure that others can identify that they are on a fast by their sad countenance. We must understand the true meaning of fasting before we take up a fast. Our prayers should always be a personal conversation with God, and should never be done to impress people. Fasting is abstaining from physical food and spending time with God so as to receive His counsel and guidance. If we are on a fast and continue with our work as usual not spending time with the Lord, it is just starving ourselves, and is not a fast unto the Lord. Fasting helps us to overcome the temptations from the evil one and those fleshly desires that would otherwise overtake us. It is good for us to fast as prompted by the Lord, but our fasting should never become a mere ritual.
• Jehoshaphat stood in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple
We read in 2 Chronicles 20:5, “Jehoshaphat was in the new courtyard of the LORD'S Temple. He stood up in the meeting of the people from Judah and Jerusalem” (ERV)
Though Jehoshaphat was a king he understood the importance of going to the temple to seek the Lord and his favor.
In the beginning of the year we had so many restrictions to gather together as a church. However, these restrictions have been largely removed and yet there are those who are hesitant to attend church. The word of the Lord exhorts us in Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves, as the manner of some is;” (Webster)
When we neglect this gathering together, we will experience a weariness in our souls. A story is told of a man who stopped going to church for some reasons. The pastor of the church went to visit this man, and being a cold place the man was sitting before a hearth and warming himself. After having a conversation with the man for a while, the pastor took a burning log from the fireplace and put it aside, and continued his conversation. The well burning log which was take out slowly got extinguished, while the other logs in the hearth continued to burn. The pastor had to say nothing as the little activity spoke volumes about the importance of being together in Christian fellowship.
• Jehoshaphat sought the Lord in prayer
We read in 2 Chronicles 20:12,“O our God, will you not judge them, for there is no power in us before this great multitude that is coming against us. Now we do not know what we shall do, for our eyes are upon you." (LEB)
There are two things that Jehoshaphat presented to the Lord. Firstly, the fact that the ones who were coming against him was a great multitude and secondly, the problem seemed so enormous that he had no power of his own to overcome this crisis. In the midst of this calamity Jehoshaphat decided that he would set his eyes on the Lord, and look to Him alone for a solution.
Some of the problems that we encounter may be so daunting that we have no idea as to how we can deal with them. Like Jehoshaphat when our difficulties are more than we can bear, and we are too weak to handle them, may we too turn to the Lord in fervent prayer for His intervention.
• All the people stood along with Jehoshaphat
We read in 2 Chronicles 20:13,“All the men of Judah stood before the LORD with their wives, babies, and children.” (ERV)
As Jehoshaphat stood before the Lord, all the men of Judah along with their wives, children and babies also took their stand along with him.
You might have noticed when there is a wedding of someone close to us, we plan well ahead to be there as a family and also to be on time. So also, many families have the practice of going on vacations at least once a year and they make plans to see that all the children are available to join in for the outing. However, when it comes to going to church many parents excuse their children from going along with them. It is really important that as families we take all the effort to come together to church so we can worship the Lord together and seek him unitedly.
This was the testimony of Joshua in Joshua 24:15, “But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.” (NLT) Think about Noah and his family, his wife, sons and daughters in law also obediently entered the ark as the Lord commanded. There are also examples of people like Lot, his wife and children who not only disobeyed God, but did things that were detestable in God’s sight.
The way we bring up our children will decide as the kind of decisions they will make in the future as grown-ups. Therefore it is important for husbands, wives and children to go together as families to worship God, so that children will learn to depend on God and give Him the rightful place in their lives.
• The Lord gives His response
In 2 Chronicles 20:17, we read, “You shall not need to fight in this battle. Set yourselves and stand, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear nor be dismayed.”(AFV)
When the King and the people came together in unison and sought the Lord, the Lord gave them a favorable reply. God informed them that they need do nothing, but were to stand still. The Lord assured them that when they thus stood, they would witness the salvation and deliverance that God would accomplish for them.
It is a fact that whenever we truly seek the Lord, and look to Him alone, in the midst of all the calamities that surround us, the Lord will certainly answer us. If we continue in prayer and don’t grow weary, we can be sure that the Lord will give heed and duly deliver us from all our difficulties. Irrespective of how big our problems are, if we can take them to God, there is a most definite solution and relief from every one of our difficulties.
• The Lord fought and brought victory
We read in 2 Chronicles 20:29-30, “And a terror from God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel. And then the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest round about.” (AFV)
The Lord fought for Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah and triumphed over all their enemies. The news of this spread to all the other countries who too were filled with dread over the thought the God of Israel Himself fought on behalf of His people. God also granted peace to Jehoshaphat and he had perfect rest all around, throughout his reign as king of Judah.
Only a nation that does not war with another can be at peace and will flourish. It is only when peace prevails that the ones who rule that nation, can do good for the people in that nation. God gave this blessing to Jehoshaphat. Therefore, his entire reign was a peaceful one with no disturbance whatsoever.
No matter what hardships we encounter or the oppositions that arise against us, if like Jehoshaphat we too can decide to set our face to seek the Lord, we too can stand still and watch the Lord fight on our behalf. We too must look to God alone to bring to an end all of our battles and struggles in life.
• God spoke and everyone worshiped God
Let me remind you again of 2 Chronicles 20:17-18, we read, “You shall not need to fight in this battle. Set yourselves and stand, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear nor be dismayed.”And Jehoshaphat bowed his face to the ground. And all Judah and the people of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.(AFV)
As soon as Jehoshaphat and all the people heard from the Lord that He would fight for them and that their salvation was near, the king and all the people of the land bowed their face to the ground and worshiped the Lord.
• They won the battle with praises
We read in 2 Chronicles 20:21, And when he consulted with the people, he appointed singers to the LORD and praisers to praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army, and to say, "Praise the LORD, for His steadfast love endures forever." (AFV)
In 2 Chronicles 20:22 we read, As they started to sing praises, the LORD set ambushes against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the people of Mount Seir who had come into Judah. They were defeated.(GW)
We also read in 2 Chronicles 20:29, “And a terror from God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.”(AFV)
Jehoshaphat understood that the battle belonged to the Lord, and was not his. His response therefore to God was to praise Him in advance for the victory that would be theirs. The people began to sing praises, and the outcome was unbelievable. The Lord set ambushes against those who came against Judah, and they were all defeated. The news of this victory spread throughout and there was a fearful dread that overtook all the countries that surrounded Judah.
Though we may be in the center of what seem like insurmountable problems, we too can place them before the Lord and sing praises in anticipation of the victory that will be ours. If we too will fast, pray, go to church to worship the Lord and praise Him at all times, the Lord will answer us and give us victory just as He did for Jehoshaphat. God will fight for His children. God gives peace to those who are Him own. God will give victory over every difficulty that we are challenged with. He will do everything that is needful for His children and give peaceful rest to those who are His.
Pastor F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by Sis. Esther Collins
