JEHOSHAPHAT’S PRAYER – HUMBLE, GOD HONOURING, PUBLIC AND EFFECTIVE
THE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS KING AVAILS MUCH
{{2Chronicles 20:1-4 “Now it came about after this, that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi),” and Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah, so Judah gathered together to seek help from the LORD. They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the LORD.”}}
I love Jehoshaphat and it not because he has a funny name. it is because he was a good king of Judah. There is so much benefit in studying these kings, and today we will learn a bit more about this servant of the Lord.
IN TIMES OF CRISIS
A period of trial or testing will sort out the spiritual fibre of a man. That which confronts on the outside will determine what is truly residing on the inside. The weakling caves in. The coward hides away in his or her room pretending the situation does not exist. The unstable person panics and gets into drugs or alcohol or caffeine. What really is disappointing is when the unsaved person shows more character and resilience and determination than a Christian shows when times are tough. The Christian has the resources of God unless we are living a lie, and they are at our disposal, but it is faith that must lay hold of the resources and claim them completely. That is why too many Christians fail – they do not have the faith to lay hold of God’s promises.
God was totally aware of the threat to Judah, and it was serious because it meant your death if the onslaught from Moab and Ammon was successful. In the past, certain kings, when they were confronted with a similar threat, turned to other nations around to buy their help, using the money given to the Lord’s treasury in the house of the Lord, for its upkeep. Such acts spoke of utter faithlessness, for Israel’s history has been filled up with examples of deliverance when the nation sought God’s help. Their God is the God of Circumstances and the God of Deliverance and Intervention. When they sought Him He gave them the victory; when they rejected Him, He left them to their own devices.
A king who did not walk with God with his whole heart, turned to outside help of other nations in times of crisis. David turned to the Lord. Now Jehoshaphat likewise turned to the Lord. In a marriage, there is nothing nicer than a wife who will turn to her husband for guidance and leadership as head of the family, but there is nothing more hurtful than a wife who rejects her husband, considering him unjust, as Israel did to her own God (come to Amos to see that), and determined to go off and do her own thing in a willful rejection. It is against God’s order and Israel often went against God’s order as a rebellious “wife of Jehovah” which is a biblical term for Israel. It displeases God immensely.
REACTION TO FEAR
Jehoshaphat was afraid. There was fear in his heart for the news was unsettling. Fear is an emotion given by God and it is necessary for our survival. We may have fear in being too adventurous in a very dangerous place but that is for our protection. There is nothing wrong with the reaction in verse 3 for fearful situations do make us afraid. Of course Jehoshaphat was afraid, not just for himself but for his whole nation.
However what is critical is where this fear will drive a person. Fear will have an outcome either good or bad. People react in all manner of ways but this is where the spiritual foundation of a man or woman should come to the front.
In what direction will a person turn? Will that person first of all seek help from friends, solicitors and from advisors, or will that person seek help from God? I love the example of Hezekiah who laid out the enemy’s letter before the Lord in the Temple. In time of trial, go to the Lord. He is a very present help in time of trouble. The Psalms are full of material dealing with this type of situation. Over and over again, David had to fall on the Lord in many adverse situations, but He found the Lord was always faithful. Many of his recorded prayers and thoughts make up these petitions to God and they are found in the Psalms.
It is so refreshing to read that Jehoshaphat turned his attention to seek the Lord. Let trouble drive you to the Lord. He does not fail you. Too many people make God their last resort having exhausted all other avenues. Of course in the matters of this life, the circumstances, and the fear may lead to friends and solicitors and advisors, but it could be a follow up that the Lord leads you to. First and foremost though, fear must carry us to the Lord. I was nearly going to say, “drive us to the Lord,” as I did earlier, but that is too harsh, too strong maybe. It is the Holy Spirit who carries us to the Lord’s presence and there to abide in His presence.
In Jehoshaphat’s case, he turned to the Lord with no record that he tried all sorts of means to get out of this situation. He took it to the Lord, his first move. Jehoshaphat was a godly man who loved the Lord, but he did make mistakes like everyone does. I have yet to find a Christian who has not made mistakes, sometimes, quite serious mistakes. As for this godly king, his greatest mistake was aligning himself by marriage with wicked Ahab and Jezebel, and that union nearly cost him his life, which you can read in 2 Chronicles chapter 18. In that case he was warned about not going to battle with Ahab against a common enemy, and even went into the battle against the advice of a prophet of God (we did that in the Elisha series). Now Jehoshaphat is a little wiser, and at the first incidence of trouble, he turned to the Lord.
JEHOSHAPHAT’S PUBLIC STANCE
Jehoshaphat showed humility here and wisdom in seeking the Lord but he did not do it privately. At times we need to be private before the Lord, but here he courageously sought the Lord before His people, and prayed in open view to seek God’s assistance. God will always honour that, and this man stood for the Lord publicly. It was a courageous thing to do because the nation was not godly and was far removed from God, and Jehoshaphat takes his stand as a man of God against the attitude of his people. We may stand against evil privately, but here Jehoshaphat took a public stand in honouring God before the godless.
Jehoshaphat’s example and his leading was godly, with great leadership displayed, and Jehoshaphat soon proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah so that they might assemble in every place to seek help from the Lord. A fast is not merely a time of abstinence from food but it is a setting aside of self-interest to seek God, to repent and pray and to supplicate. God honours that. He will always hear the genuine, repentant soul, not necessarily the fasting soul. Because of the external threat, the nation turned to God for His help. I am sure, in line with Israel’s awful past, that when the threat was over, they would return to their own sinning and dishonour God all over again. It is a bit like the time of the judges. Is that any different today with Christians? A crisis comes and they devote themselves more fully to the Lord and seek Him and pray, then when God gives the deliverance or the situation improves, too many again subside into their former life of wishy-washiness. The old nature really does not like God!
It was pleasing to see the reaction in Judah, people even coming from all the cities to seek God. That means a national response. I am not sure if it means they came from their cities to Jerusalem or if it means they gathered in all the cities. Nevertheless they gathered to seek the Lord. How sincere were the people? There was so much history of the nation promising to serve God but slipping back as soon as God turned the crisis around. People are fickle. Most don’t have the courage or the conviction to serve God. They are not dedicated or committed, but are souls all motivated by the old nature that controls their lives.
JEHOSHAPHAT’S PRAYER TO THE LORD
{{2Chronicles 20:5 “Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD before the new court, 2Chron 20:6 and he said, “O LORD, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens and are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.”}}
Jehoshaphat’s prayer to the Lord takes up about 7 verses and is worthy of examination. The king led the nation in prayer in the presence of many people who had come from all over. For the king to do this, it meant he really trusted God and humbled himself. His prayer began with the recognition of God in the life and history of the nation, which is marvellous, because it brings to mind all the faithfulness of God to Abraham and the patriarchs and in the Exodus, and all through their history. Then the king acknowledged it is God who rules the nations and knows the affairs of men. He is a powerful God and no one can resist God. At the start of our petitions to God, we ought to acknowledge His omnipotence and historic help.
(a). God’s Power In History
{{2Chronicles 20:7 “O our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and give it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? 2Chron 20:8 They lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary there for Your name saying, 2Chron 20:9 ‘Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver us.’”}}
Jehoshaphat’s prayer then moves to God’s historical power. He expelled the godless inhabitants of the land from Joshua’s time onwards, yet we know much more could have been done, but the sin of Israel prevented a complete abolition of the sinful Baal worshippers and left many of them there, in turn to contaminate the nation over and over again, as we see in the books of Joshua and Judges and Samuel. Nevertheless it had to be acknowledged that the Almighty God was the Victor, for man’s strength alone would have accomplished nothing.
The lesson is there for us as we can’t partially deal with sin, leaving it, and not expect it to come and bite us again over and over. Sin contaminates, and Israel was certainly contaminated, both kingdoms, though some hope was still remaining for Judah. It was too late for the northern kingdom of Israel as they were joined to idols, and their fate was sealed.
(b). Solomon Failed but Josiah was a Godly King
Verse 8 is looking at history again for this had been done by Solomon and the expression “for Your Name” means for the testimony of God among His people. God was to dwell among His people but I wonder if that was in the same manner as the Tabernacle, for in time the Temple became filled with factories to produce Baal objects and the homosexual baal priests were there. That evil began with Solomon. Josiah carried out many reforms in the Temple but here are just two verses to show what was happening in the Temple to the great disgrace of God’s Name -
{{2Kings 23:4 “Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven, and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 2Kings 23:7 He also broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the LORD, where the women were weaving hangings for the Asherah.”}}
(c). Looking at Solomon’s Prayer
Verse 9 of Jehoshaphat’s prayer takes us back to the long prayer made by Solomon when he dedicated the Temple. His prayer had a lot of conditions but I have selected two of the parts that were probably at the back of Jehoshaphat’s mind – {{2Chronicles 6:24 “If Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and they return to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this house, 2Chron 6:25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which gave to them and to their fathers. 2Chron 6:34 When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name, 2Chron 6:35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.”}} The application of the word of God is essential. This is what is meant by holding onto the word of God, and Jehoshaphat was holding on to the promises in the word. Have you known the situation where God has revealed a promise to you, and by faith you hold on to it and claim it as your own? That is exactly what Jehoshaphat was doing here.
(d). Jehoshaphat’s Faithful Prayer
{{2Chronicles 20:10 “Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), 2Chron 20:11 behold how they are rewarding us, by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance. 2Chron 20:12 O our God, will You not judge them, for we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us, nor do we know what to do, BUT our eyes are on You.”}}
The last part of the prayer is an earnest statement of historical fact, mixed with a plea for deliverance. Jehoshaphat is saying that Ammon and Moab are rewarding good with evil. They are returning evil for the mercy shown to them at the time of the Exodus. In verse 12 it is correct to admit to God the powerless state we human beings are in, for there is nothing our hands can do to achieve a good outcome, unless the Lord’s hand is in it. How many times we must confess that not only are we weak in strength before the enemy, but that we don’t know what to do either. Things are too big for us. The mountain is too high to climb. The difficulties are too immense. We don’t even know what to do. It is like all our support has been cut away. We are left as a baby before the wolves. Nothing in us can answer to the problem. It is all too big for us. That is what Jehoshaphat was admitting, and he was right to admit that. It is when man is powerless, that God shows His strength.
Then comes a power-changing “BUT”. “but our eyes are on You.” That is all we need. The Lord will deliver by His mighty power. All we have to do is look up and keep our eyes on the Lord God. For Jehoshaphat, he knew his strength was to be in God only. This is a godly man. We are to follow that example, and we have even more than Jehoshaphat had. We have a Great High Priest in the heavens who pleads and intercedes for us continually. We are very blessed. Please let us realise that when difficulties come, our whole resources are in the Lord. In trouble turn to Him, not use the Lord as the last resort.
(e). People in Support Behing the King
{{2Chronicles 20:13 “and all Judah was standing before the LORD, with their infants, their wives, and their children.”}}
That is only a small verse, but it shows a united voice and the most important thing is that God was acknowledged. It is pleasing to see. The Australian parliament used to be opened with special prayers, even though most of the politicians were not Christians, but a part of them would acknowledge a supreme God. Then in the recent past a lot of Labor and Green politicians would not go to that opening in the presence of a prayer/s, as they were heathen and hated God. Then, more recent to that, Parliament was opened with a “smoking ceremony”. This is the depths of spiritism practised by the Australian aborigines; a more heathen ceremony you can not get. What an abomination to the Lord. Australia will not know the blessing of the Lord, and the Christian people must walk close to God because evil forces are multiplying. O, may our nation, as well as our families, stand before the Lord and listen to Him. May the world acknowledge Almighty God
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GOD WOULD HONOUR JEHOSHAPHAT’S FAITHFULNESS AND TESTIMONY
{{2Chronicles 20:14 “Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph, 2Chron 20:15 and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2Chron 20:16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. 2Chron 20:17 You need not fight in this battle. Station yourselves. Stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed.’ Tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you.”}}
Faith wins the victory. Faith always wins the victory. God honours faith. When a crisis looms God always has His man. All the history of Israel has shown this. God raised up Moses and Joshua. God always raised up a Judge. He raised up Nathan in David’s crisis, and now he raised up Jahaziel, a prophet and comforter for the nation. He tells Jehoshaphat that the battle is not his, but the Lord’s. Nothing could be more comforting than this, for it does not matter if just one soldier is coming for them, or one million.
Strength is not in numbers when it comes to the Lord. It is not the size of the enemy or the fight, but the power of our Defender that counts. Let us always walk by faith, casting our burdens on the Lord, always from the start and not at the end when we have exhausted all our own strength, and all other avenues, and let our eyes remain on God, and then let us stand and see the victory of the Lord. Claim the victory of the Lord.
Trouble and stress cause us concern and dismay as it did for Jehoshaphat and the nation. It is hard, dealing with matters that come upon us. We are all weak and made of dust. What lessons can we draw from this account so far.
(1). When trouble surfaces, take it to the Lord in prayer.
(2). Be aware of God’s word. Jehoshaphat could draw on the promises of God’s word for comfort and support. The word of God builds our faith and faith is required.
(3). God will give the victory outright as he did in Hezekiah’s time or he uses a chosen vessel such as Jahaziel to advise. Always look out for a Jahaziel. Lastly, never forget, “FOR THE LORD IS WITH YOU.”
{{2Chronicles 20:18 Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshipping the LORD,”}}
To conclude this message, we have to consider this important verse. Do you remember the lepers who came to Jesus to be cleansed, and Jesus sent them away with instructions and they were healed, but only one returned to give thanks? We have here the splendid example where they all bowed the head or fell to the ground to worship the Lord. They thanked God for His victory even before it happened. That is what God expects from us. It is faith in action, and faith and thanks walk together on God’s highway. We shall be with Jehoshaphat one day and I hope we know him, and I want to meet him. I do want to meet him and Josiah! Amen!
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
