How to act when God tells you to not be afraid or dismayed…
Ok first, if you went to visit the site and got some scary looking message that seemed like an alarming spam thing…it wasn’t.
They did some maintenance on the hosting side with the oddest names for the upgrade and all manner of lingo that scared me and I even knew it was coming.
So if you braved it and came back, so good to see you again, my friend.
And if you didn’t get to read yesterday’s, hop back and catch up on that. We will wait for you, as always…
In my Bible margin I have numbered the events of this story so here is what mine looks like…
- State the key problem vv. 1-5
- Declare who God is v 6
- Declare what He has done in the past vv. 7 & 8
- Declare what He has promised in the future vv. 9-12
- Declare your own dependance on Him vv. 12 & 13
- L.I.S.T.E.N. vv. 14-17
and now today…we come to #7
Act.
Jehoshaphat, like us when we face our multitudes, now had the choice to react to what God said or to act.
And we see he chose to take action on what God had told the people.
First order of business?
Jehoshaphat bowed low to the ground.
This King bent his knee down before Him who is Sovereign over all kings and kingdoms.
He bowed his kingly head to the greater authority of His God.
It says he put his face to the ground.
Have you ever done that?
Have you ever bowed down so low that your face rested on the ground?
And in keeping with the whole unity of the community thing…
everyone else did the same, we are told.
And then they worshipped the LORD.
The praise team got up and lead a mighty worship service.
Then the next morning they all got up early and they suited up for war; just like God had told them to do.
And King Jehoshaphat gave them a speech that I am quite certain surpassed the one we started this series talking about…that inspiring Lord of the Rings final battle pep talk…
Oh I do love watching that movie.
Love watching an actor portraying Aragorn ride up and down in front of the small army who will stand against the forces of Hell and passionately inspire a quaking army to take a stand in the face of overwhelming odds.
But listen to what a real King named Jehoshaphat, told a real army of real men, in a real place called Judah and Jerusalem, when a real multitude of evil was descending on them to destroy them….
“Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem…Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”
Oh to have a replay of that battle speech someday on Heaven’s big screen.
But for now…we can perch on our study chairs and use our imaginations to fill in the details as he consulted with the people and then appointed those who would sing praises to God and march before the army into the place where somehow against all odds, God was promising a victory.
Imagine if you will please.
Selecting a few members of your church’s praise band and the choir and setting them up on the front line as your took your position and marched forward…willing your shaking human flesh to just BELIEVE.
And so they raised their voices in praise behind the musicians and singers and marched.
Can I tell you?
I wish we were all sitting together right now for this part
Although, I’m kind of a mess as tears roll down my mascara stained cheeks and I am in desperate need of a tissue.
Because as only God could arrange it, the enemy they were about to meet got all hacked off at each other and ended up having a big old war between themselves.
By the time the army of Judah arrived in the valley, there was nothing but dead bodies. None of them had escaped.
Evil had turned in on itself and ended up destroying itself while God’s people were fasting and praying and seeking Him and then having a grand worship service.
It says it took them three days to collect all the spoils and on the fourth day, they gathered again and blessed the LORD and then all returned to their homes.
So in my Bible margin I have a #8 that says…collect the spoils.
Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
and again…
Hallelujah!
Because after God wins the battle that loomed on our horizon, we get to haul in all the treasures the enemy left behind.
What a blessing it has been to share one of my favorite passages with you all this past few days.
May we each one meditate on the God-breathed words of 2 Chronicles 20 again and again and ask God to speak to us…
and oh, how I hope and pray we will remember to humble ourselves and seek Him,
fast and pray until He speaks…
and then listen and act in faith and worship of Him who saves us time and again.