Valley Of Blessing

Valley of Blessing

2 Chronicles 20: 22 – 30

God sent Jehoshaphat and his army into the wilderness to face the enemy. “Trust me.”, He said. “The battle isn’t yours, it’s mine.”. As the army of Judah lifted their voices in praise to God, an amazing thing happened: the enemy alliance turned on one another and defeated itself.

Look with me at verses 22 – 30. “22 At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. 23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. 24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.

The Bible says that it took three full days to gather up all the plunder left on the battlefield. And then…

26 On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.

Verse 27 is the happily-ever-after part of the story.

27 Then all the men returned to Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, overjoyed that the Lord had given them victory over their enemies. 28 They marched into Jerusalem to the music of harps, lyres, and trumpets, and they proceeded to the Temple of the Lord. 29 When all the surrounding kingdoms heard that the Lord Himself had fought against the enemies of Israel, the fear of God came over them. 30 So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.”.

As you read how this story ends, think back to how it started. The seed for Jehoshaphat’s prosperity was planted with his decision to seek God in a time of crisis. His reign of peace was the result of time spent seeking God, trusting God, worshipping God, and obeying God.

Right now, you face your own enemies: health problems, money problems, marital problems, job problems, and many more. For you, there are battles yet to be fought.

You can win like Jehoshaphat won, if you’re willing to do what Jehoshaphat did. When you seek God and obey God, you walk in the favor of God. And soon you’ll experience life in the “Valley of Blessing”.

I love the fact that this great coalition of enemies wasn’t actually defeated by the army of Judah. Judah never fired a single shot. They launched no arrows, hurled no spears, threw no stones.

No, this enemy defeated itself. It’s not that the army of Judah did nothing. They prepared, they took their position, they trusted God, they filled the air with praise, but they didn’t have to fight the battle, because the battle belonged to the Lord.

God chose a unique way to give them victory: He let the enemy army defeat itself.

From a distance, this army looked powerful; however, up close, their limitations became obvious. They may have looked mighty, they may have appeared ferocious, but in the end they were merely a disorganized mob of inept, bickering co-belligerents.

By any other standard, this is a battle the enemy alliance should have won. Instead, they turned and destroyed one another. When the army of Judah arrived, the battle was already over. All that remained was to gather the plunder — the clothes, weapons, supplies, and food.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say a word about the plunder. This wasn’t something the people of Judah would have gone after themselves. They weren’t the ones scheming to attack and conquer. They weren’t devising plans to pillage the possessions of the Amonites, Moabites and Meunites.

Before this story began, the people of Judah were busy minding their own business. When the enemy armies conspired to do evil against them, God said, in effect, “You’re not taking anything from my people today. On the contrary, you’re providing for my people today.”.

For three full days the army of Judah wore themselves out, I’m sure, hauling it in. It reminds me of something Solomon once said. In Proverbs 13:22 Solomon said, “The sinners’ wealth passes to the godly.”.

Today let’s all learn how to live in the Valley of Blessing.

Now, you may be sitting there wondering, “What in the world is the “Valley of Blessing”?”. The “Valley of Blessing” is that place of spiritual windfall, where good things come your way, not by your own scheming and scraping and scratching, but by the abundant generosity of God.