Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: II Chronicles 18-20
II Chronicles 20:20
And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
Some words in the Bible are difficult to understand. Some are simple to understand. Often it seems that those words that are easy to understand are some of the most difficult to perform. Today’s words are just that; easy to understand, difficult to keep.
These words were spoken by the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat. They were said on the morning of a life and death battle between Judah and three great enemies, Moabites, Ammonites, and the inhabitants of mount Seir. If ever a nation needed help from God, it was Judah at that time.
So, the king stepped up and spoke simple words. …Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. What were they to believe? They were to believe that which Jahaziel prophesied. He, speaking for the Lord God, said, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. II Chronicles 20:15 He also added: Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord…
Again, such simple words. But they were facing an overwhelming enemy army, perhaps they could see the cloud of dust from their marching, maybe they could hear the clinking of their armor, their hearts were beating rapidly, their senses heightened for the battle, their future was at best uncertain. Now, here is one prophesying that they didn’t need to worry, they would not even need to fight. God would save them, God would give them the victory, God would be with them, and God would do all the work. On the surface, with the natural mind, these simple words must have been almost unbelievable.
But their king assured them. True to His prophecy, God did save them, He did give them the victory, He was with them, and He did all the fighting for them. So much so that they were three days in carrying away the spoils won in that battle. Yes, indeed: …Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established: believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. They did on that day!
But you cannot sail on yesterday’s wind. For after this, Jehoshaphat failed to keep his own simple words. Foolishly he joined himself with Ahaziah, the wicked king of Israel. Their joint venture of a navy was broken and destroyed. Yes, words so simple, but so difficult to live. Even unto today, Jehoshaphat’s words echo through the tunnel of time and perhaps even grow stronger. They are every bit as true in this hour as they were in Judah’s great hour of need. …Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
Dr. William T. Howe
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