THE SAME GOD

 

MAY 12, 2023

2 Chronicles 20:1-12

After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat. Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard and said: “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

“But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.

15, 17 Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.



I wonder if you have ever found yourself in such a place that you had no idea what you were going to do?

Jehoshaphat and the Judeans over which he was king found themselves in a very uncertain situation, a situation which filled them with great fear and anxiety. Now that’s an understatement eh. A vast army had come against them, undoubtedly one too powerful for them to withstand. We read “we have no power to face this vast army.” King and people admit they do not have the answer to this impending national and political disaster. Can you imagine a political leader today in the face of such impending crisis saying, “we don’t know what to do”? Well, in our reading today that’s what King Jehoshaphat confessed, but wait, did you notice that they knew where to go for help.

Today’s passage tells us they came from every town in Judah to Jerusalem to seek God.

They humbled themselves in prayer, called out in distress, and acknowledged through praise God’s power and His ability to conquer their enemy. And the Lord answered, “the battle is not yours, but God’s. Go out to face them tomorrow and the Lord with be with you.”

There is a message here for us from this account of Judah’s history. We end our week of reflections with this reminder: The same God that rescued them from the vast army will release us. So, lets seek Him with all our heart and acknowledge Him as our Lord, the One who is able to conquer our enemies. Even the enemy from within.

I invite you listen to the song below called “Same God” and be encouraged today.