Chronicles II 20

1 And after this came the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them of the Minaeans, against Josaphat to battle.

2 And they came and told Josaphat, saying, There is come against thee a great multitude from Syria, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Asasan Thamar, this is Engadi.

3 And Josaphat was alarmed, and set his face to seek the Lord earnestly, and he proclaimed a fast in all Juda.

4 And Juda gathered themselves together to seek after the Lord: even from all the cities of Juda they came to seek the Lord.

5 And Josaphat stood up in the assembly of Juda in Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, in front of the new court.

6 And he said, O Lord God of my fathers, art not thou God in heaven above, and art not thou Lord of all the kingdoms of the nations? and not in thy hand the might of dominion, and there is no one who can resist thee?

7 Art not thou the Lord that didst destroy the inhabitants of this land before the face of thy people Israel, and didst give it to thy beloved seed of Abraham for ever?

8 And they dwelt in it, and built in it a sanctuary to thy name, saying,

9 If there should come upon us evils, sword, judgment, pestilence, famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, (for thy name upon this house,) and we will cry to thee because of the affliction, and thou shalt hear, and deliver.

10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon, and Moab, and mount Seir, with regard to whom thou didst not permit Israel to pass through their border, when they had come out of the land of Egypt, (for they turned away from them, and did not destroy them;)—

11 yet now, behold, they make attempts against us, to come forth to cast us out from our inheritance which thou gavest us.

12 O Lord our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no strength to resist this great multitude that is come against us; and we know not what we shall do to them: but our eyes are toward thee.

13 And all Juda was standing before the Lord, and their children, and their wives.

14 And Oziel the of Zacharias, of the children of Banaias, of the sons of Eleiel, the sons of Matthanias the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, —upon him came the Spirit of the Lord in the assembly:

15 and he said, Hear ye, all Juda, and the dwellers in Jerusalem, and king Josaphat: Thus saith the Lord to you, even you, Fear not, neither be alarmed, before all this great multitude; for the battle is not years, but God's.

16 To-morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Assis, and ye shall find them at the extremity of the river of the wilderness of Jeriel.

17 It is not for you to fight: understand these things, and see the deliverance of the Lord with you, Juda and Jerusalem: fear not, neither be afraid to go forth to-morrow to meet them; and the Lord shall be with you.

18 And Josaphat bowed with his face with all Juda and the dwellers in Jerusalem, they fell before the Lord to worship the Lord.

19 And the Levites of the children of Caath, and of the sons of Core, rose up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.

20 And they rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Thecoe: and as they went out, Josaphat stood and cried, and said, Hear me, Juda, and the dwellers in Jerusalem; put your trust in the Lord God, and your trust shall be honored; trust in his prophet, and ye shall prosper.

21 And he took counsel with the people, and set appointed men to sing psalms and praises, to give thanks, and sing the holy songs of praise in going forth before the host: and they said, Give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy for ever.

22 And when they began the praise and thanksgiving, the Lord caused the children of Ammon to fight against Moab, and mount Seir that came out against Juda; and they were routed.

23 Then the children of Ammon and Moab rose up against the dwellers in mount Seir, to destroy and consume them; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they rose up against one another so that they were utterly destroyed.

24 And Juda came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, and looked, and saw the multitude, and, behold, all fallen dead upon the earth, not one escaped.

25 And Josaphat and his people went out to spoil them, and they found much cattle, and furniture, and spoils, and precious things: and they spoiled them, and they were three days gathering the spoil, for it was abundant.

26 And it came to pass on the fourth day they were gathered to the Valley of Blessing; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore they called the name of the place the Valley of Blessing, until this day.

27 And all the men of Juda returned to Jerusalem, and Josaphat led them with great joy; for the Lord gave them joy over their enemies.

28 And they entered into Jerusalem with lutes and harps and trumpets, into the house of the lord.

29 And there was a terror of the Lord upon all the kingdoms of the land, when they heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.

30 And the kingdom of Josaphat was at peace; and his God gave him rest round about.

31 And Josaphat reigned over Juda, being thirty-five years when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Azuba, daughter of Sali.

32 And he walked in the ways of his father Asa, and turned not aside from doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord.

33 nevertheless the high places yet remained; and as yet the people did not direct their heart to the Lord God of their fathers.

34 And the rest of the acts of Josaphat, the first and the last, behold, they are written in the history of Jeu of Anani, who wrote the book of the kings of Israel.

35 And afterwards Josaphat king of Juda entered into an alliance with Ochozias king of Israel, (now this was an unrighteous man,)

36 by acting and going to him, to build ships to go to Tharsis: and he built ships in Gasion Gaber.

37 And Eliezer thee of Dodia of Marisa prophesied against Josaphat, saying, Forasmuch as thou hast allied thyself with Ochozias, the Lord has broken thy work, and thy vessels have been wrecked. And they could not go to Tharsis.

Chronicles II 20 Commentary

Chapter 20

The danger and distress of Judah. (1-13) Jahaziel's prophecy of victory. (14-19) The thanksgiving of Judah. (20-30) Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahaziah. (31-37)

Verses 1-13 In all dangers, public or personal, our first business should be to seek help from God. Hence the advantage of days for national fasting and prayer. From the first to the last of our seeking the Lord, we must approach him with humiliation for our sins, trusting only in his mercy and power. Jehoshaphat acknowledges the sovereign dominion of the Divine Providence. Lord, exert it on our behalf. Whom should we seek to, whom should we trust to for relief, but the God we have chosen and served. Those that use what they have for God, may comfortably hope he will secure it to them. Every true believer is a son of Abraham, a friend of God; with such the everlasting covenant is established, to such every promise belongs. We are assured of God's love, by his dwelling in human nature in the person of the Saviour. Jehoshaphat mentions the temple, as a token of God's favourable presence. He pleads the injustice of his enemies. We may well appeal to God against those that render us evil for good. Though he had a great army, he said, We have no might without thee; we rely upon thee.

Verses 14-19 The Spirit of prophecy came upon a Levite in the midst of the congregation. The Spirit, like the wind, blows where and on whom He listeth. He encouraged them to trust in God. Let the Christian soldier go out against his spiritual enemies, and the God of peace will make him more than a conqueror. Our trials will prove our gain. The advantage will be all our own, but the whole glory must be given to God.

Verses 20-30 Jehoshaphat exhorted his troops to firm faith in God. Faith inspires a man with true courage; nor will any thing help more to the establishing of the heart in shaking times, than a firm belief of the power, and mercy, and promise of God. In all our trust in the Lord, and our praises of him, let us especially look at his everlasting mercy to sinners through Jesus Christ. Never was an army so destroyed as that of the enemy. Thus God often makes wicked people destroy one another. And never was a victory celebrated with more solemn thanksgivings.

Verses 31-37 Jehoshaphat kept close to the worship of God, and did what he could to keep his people close to it. But after God had done such great things for him, given him not only victory, but wealth; after this, to go and join himself with a wicked king, was very ungrateful. What could he expect but that God would be angry with him? Yet it seems, he took the warning; for when Ahaziah afterward pressed him to join him, he would not, 1Ki. 22:49 . Thus the alliance was broken, and the Divine rebuke had its effect, at least for a season. Let us be thankful for any losses which may have prevented the loss of our immortal souls. Let us praise the Lord, who sought after us, and left us not to perish in our sins.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 20

Jehoshaphat having notice of a numerous army coming against him, 2Ch 20:1,2, betakes himself to fasting and prayer with his people, 2Ch 20:3-13, when they were immediately assured of victory by a prophet, which filled them with joy and thankfulness, 2Ch 20:14-21, and accordingly their enemies destroyed one another, and Jehoshaphat and his people returned to Jerusalem rejoicing and praising God, 2Ch 20:22-30, and the chapter is closed with an account of the latter part of Jehoshaphat's reign, 2Ch 20:31-37.