Have you ever found
yourself in what looked like a hopeless situation? Jehoshaphat, King of
Judah, knew what it meant to face overwhelming odds. His choice, and
God’s response, teaches us several lessons about what to do in difficult
circumstances.
Text:
II Chronicles 20:1-30
Body:
I.The Need for Preparation(Verses 1-4)
· Moabites and
Ammonites [descendants of Lot] and also Meunites [from Mt. Seir] came in
great multitudes to battle Judah.
· The King was alarmed.
His last experience on the battlefield was a narrow escape from death.
So he set his face to seek the Lord. (II Chronicles 17:3-4)
· Jehoshaphat
proclaimed a fast. This would help draw them closer to God. This was an
expression of humility and total dependence upon God. (Ezra 8:21-23)
(Matthew 6:16-18)
II.The Need for Prayer (Verses 5-12)
· Jehoshaphat addressed
Jehovah as being over all nations. Other people believed in localized
deities but the God of Israel was over the whole world. (Daniel 4:17)
King David prayed similarly in I Chronicles 29:11-12.
· He acknowledged God’s
victories in the past over Israel’s enemies. (Psalm 44:1-8)
· God had not allowed
Israel to invade Ammon or Moab. (Deuteronomy 2)
· “Set their eyes on
God” (Psalm 123:1-2)
III.The Need to Listen (Verses13-17)
· All of Judah waited
quietly for an answer.
· God spoke to them
through Jahaziel and told them what they needed to do in the battle.
[This is good advice for us as well.]
1. Do not be afraid or
dismayed; fear will not change your circumstances nor help conquer your
enemy. (Isaiah 41:10,13) (Luke 12:4-7)
2. Remember the battle
isn’t yours. David and Goliath are an example of this. (I Samuel
17:46-47)
3. Stand firm and hold
your position. (Ephesians 6:10-11,13)
IV.The Need to Trust (Verses 18-30)
· Israel fell down and
worshiped God. (Nehemiah 8:6)
· Their trust in
Jehovah was essential to victory. (Isaiah 7:9) “If you are not firm in
faith, you will not be firm at all.”
· They must have
trusted in God because the singers went first! (Verse 21)
· Note their faith
still had to act for God to bless them. It was an active and obedient
trust. (Hebrews 11:6)
· The result was that
the kingdom was at rest.
Conclusion:
As did Jehoshaphat, we
need to set our eyes on God; seek Him with all our heart; and trust Him
with absolute confidence. (Romans 8:37) “__in all these things we are
more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”