DEVOTIONAL

The closing verses of 1 King lays out the succession of Israel and Judah, still divided kingdoms, to set the stage for 2 Kings. Before we get to King Ahaziah of Israel and King Jehoram of Judah, there are important parts to see from the reign of King Jehoshaphat. In 2 Chronicles 17-20, we see up close the life of Jehoshaphat as he leads a nation with a holy fear of the Lord. Every turn, Jehoshaphat remains close to the Lord. He is courageous because of the Lord. And as I read the passage, I feel how much life this breathes into Judah. This is much better than how we saw Ahab lead Israel.

One thing I picked up quickly are the parallels between Jehoshaphat to David and Solomon. During the twenty-five years as king of Judah, Jehoshaphat surrounds himself with mighty men of valor, receives gifts from other nations, goes to battle, and experiences rest for a season. Jehoshaphat is a man who seeks the Lord like David and Solomon too.

From the start the Lord establishes Jehoshaphat and grows him into a great king. Jehoshaphat starts his reign with the Lord as his motivation for every move he makes. First, Jehoshaphat removes the distraction of idol worship to redirect the gaze of the people to the Lord. Then, he sends officials and Levites to teach the people the Book of the Law of the Lord. When other nations hear about the changes in Judah under Jehoshaphat, how do they respond? It says in 2 Chronicles 17:10 that the fear of the Lord fell on other nations around Judah to where they left Judah alone for a while. Finally, the nation of the Lord is not attacked by enemies. Thank goodness. It has been a while.

Jehoshaphat's heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord... And Jehoshaphat grew steadily greater.

2 Chronicles 17:6,12

However as soon as Judah is threatened with war, Jehoshaphat assembles Judah and Jerusalem to pray to the Lord for direction. He seeks the Lord as the enemy approaches. He does not panic. The prayer of Jehoshaphat rolls off the tongue soft in humility and reverence. He does not speak to make his name great, but to make the name of the Lord great in 2 Chronicles 20:5-12. I wonder whether Jehoshaphat is on his knees when he says, “For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” Jehoshaphat responds in a way that challenges me. Are my eyes on the Lord? When I am faced with a challenge or difficult news my response is not always to seek the Lord.

As we finish reading 2 Chronicles 20, the Lord promises to give victory to Judah. And He does just that without Judah drawing a sword. The enemy nations of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir kill each other before they make it to Judah. It makes me laugh. Well, that is one way to get it done.

When the Lord promises to fight the battle for Judah, Jehoshaphat responds bowed to the Lord in worship. And all of Judah sings praises to the Lord. Did you catch when in the story they sing praises? Before they enjoy the spoil, Judah sings, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.” After the victory is theirs, Judah rejoices in how the Lord makes a way and provides great abundance at the Valley of Beracah which means “blessing”. Did you catch that? It was a valley. It was a place of blessing. How in the world? Valleys do not usually equal blessing in my life, but we learned from Israel under Ahab that Yahweh is the Lord of the hills and the valleys. And Judah testifies the same truth.

I want to end today with personal reflection as we apply the truths in this passage to our own lives. Maybe you are going into a cancer battle, or miscarriage, or divorce, or job loss and need the prayer of Jehoshaphat to breathe life into you. We are not required to sing our way into it for the Lord to make a way to the other side. But, when we admit to the Lord that we are powerless and we have no clue what to do, that is a good start. And I believe it is only then that we can fix our eyes on the Lord. My prayer is that this passage reminds us of the hope we have in the faithfulness of the Lord for Judah and our lives too.

Q: What is your current battle? Are your eyes on the Lord?

Additional reading: 1 Kings 22:42-53

 

For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.

2 Chronicles 20:12