Faith vs Fear: Praying with King Jehosephat

“I don’t know what to do!” How many times has this been my cry to God? So very many. How about you? In the face of overwhelming circumstances, fear and anxiety threaten to choke out my faith. Imagine my surprise when I heard my own distress call echoed in Jehosephat’s prayer. In this study of 2 Chronicles 20 we’ll learn how Jehosephat prayed and was able to stand in faith despite his fear when three nations attacked. Let’s let God’s Word encourage us and teach us how to overcome fear by setting our eyes on God.

2 Chronicles 20

¹After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. ² Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). ³ Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ And Judah assembled to seek help from the LORD; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

Fasting & Seeking

Jehosephat’s first response to the fear of a foreign invasion was to call a fast and seek the Lord. This fast wasn’t just for the people in political leadership, or the religious leaders, but for all the people of Judah. The whole community of God’s people took up the call and fasted with Jehosephat.

Fasting isn’t a way to manipulate God to do our will, but it brings us to humility and total dependance on God. We can fast without prayer and pray without fasting, but the two activities combined are a powerful way to recognise God’s sovereignty in a situation and open our hearts to his will and wisdom. We don’t fast to gain power for ourselves, but to call on God to move in his power on our behalf.

In his commentary David Guzig says, “Jehoshaphat called the nation to express their humility and total dependence upon God through a public fast – that is, abstaining from all food for a period of time (typically a day or more) and drinking only water. In Mark 9:28-29, Jesus explained that prayer and fasting together were a source of significant spiritual power. It isn’t as if prayer and fasting make us more worthy to be blessed or do God’s work; it is that prayer and fasting draw us closer to the heart of God, and they put us more in line with His power. Fasting is a powerful expression of our total dependence on Him.”

Standing & Praying

⁵ And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, ⁶ and said, “O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.”

I love the echoes of the Lord’s prayer in Jehosephat’s opening words. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” God is in heaven, he is the creator and ruler of all, all nations, all kingdoms, all people. And his will is sovereign over all he has created. This recognition sets the tone for the rest of the prayer.

⁷ Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? ⁸ And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ⁹ ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’

Jehosephat prays God’s promises back to him. This is almost word for word what Solomon prayed in his Temple dedication prayer from 2 Chronicles 6 that we studied back in September. Jehosephat reminds God of the promise he made to hear the prayers in the temple that are prayed in His Name. This isn’t flippant half-hearted prayer, but from the  heart they cry out to the God of Abraham. He reminds God of his affection, that Abraham was God’s friend. He aligns himself with that friendship to God because they are Abraham’s descendants.

¹⁰ And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— ¹¹ behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. ¹² O our God, will you not execute judgment on them?

After Jehosephat reminds God of his promises he then calls on the justice of God. When we face situations that seem so unfair, God is Justice. It’s like what David said in 1 Samuel 17:26 when he went against Goliath, “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” Jehosephat is saying, we did nothing to provoke this attack, and they aren’t just attacking us, but the very inheritance you promised and gave to us.

Our Eyes are on You

Jehosephat finishes his prayer.

“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.”

To quote Spurgeon, “They said, ‘Our eyes are upon thee.’ What did they mean by that? They meant, ‘Lord, if help does come, it must come from thee. We are looking to thee for it. It cannot come from anywhere else, so we look to thee. But we believe it will come, men will not look for that which they know will not come. We feel sure it will come, but we do not know how, so we are looking; we do not know when, but we are looking. We do not know what thou wouldest have us to do, but as the servant looks to her mistress, so are we looking to thee, Lord. Lord, we are looking.'”

This is the heart of all prayer. In the face of fear and overwhelming circumstances we must take our eyes off what is causing our fear and turn them with hope and faith to the only one who can deliver us. Judah had three nations banded together, coming at them with an intent to wipe them out of the land. We are powerless against the trials that come against us. We have no control when other people sin against us. This sinful world will break our bodies and hearts and lives. Jehosephat shows us how to pray in true humility. We are ignorant and powerless in ourselves to meet the enemy and the only way to calm the anxiety and fear is to get our eyes off our circumstances and set them on God, our savior.

Do Not be Afraid

¹³ Meanwhile all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴ And the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. ¹⁵ And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.”

Has anything more encouraging ever been spoken? God delivered this prophetic reply through a son of Asaph, a priest and worship leader in the temple. We’ll read more later about the significant role worship leaders play in this battle. Jahaziel continues with some very specific instructions from the Lord.

¹⁶ “Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. ’Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you.”

A second time the Lord says to them, “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed.” He says it at the beginning of his response and again at the end. Basically he commands them, “Don’t be afraid, this is what will happen, don’t be afraid.” It is a constant encouragement from God in the old testament and Jesus in the new testament. The enemy uses fear to try and confuse and distract us from trusting God, but like Jehosephat, we can pray in the midst of our fears and hear God’s comforting words, “Do not be afraid. I will fight for you.”

But why did they have to go? Couldn’t they have just stayed in Jerusalem and prayed from there? God actually wanted to use their participation and obedience in faith, even though they wouldn’t have to fight. God had a miracle to show them that they couldn’t have seen if they had stayed in Jerusalem.

¹⁸ Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. ¹⁹ And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

Maybe they praised with something like Psalm 20.

1 May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Zion!
3 May he remember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
4 May he grant you your heart’s desire
and fulfill all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over your salvation,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!
6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with the saving might of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.
9 O LORD, save the king!
May he answer us when we call.

On Psalm 20 Spurgeon says, “Unbelief begins weeping for the funeral before the man is dead; why shouldn’t faith commence piping before the dance of victory begins? The times are evil at present, but so long as Jesus lives and reigns in his church we need not furl our banners in fear but advance them with sacred courage.”

Let’s read what Jehosephat does with that faith, and with that “sacred courage.”

Worship Your Way to Victory

²⁰ And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” ²¹ And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,
“Give thanks to the LORD,
for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Jehosephat encourages the people to believe in God and the word of his prophet. Earlier in Jehosephat’s reign he watched the King of Israel lose his life for disbelieving a prophet’s word. Jehosephat wasn’t going to repeat that mistake. In those days the word of the Prophets was to be trusted like we trust the Word of God. Then he takes counsel with the people. It’s a pretty big deal to ask the worship team to lead the army to battle. The worship team armed with horns and harps and their voices, not swords and shields and muscles. They armed themselves with “sacred courage” and went forward worshiping, singing the word of God. It’s no small thing to worship instead of worry. The words they sang were “Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever.” Here they were, worshiping and giving thanks before the battle was even begun. We don’t give thanks to the Lord for all the stuff he gives us, though we should, we don’t give thanks to the Lord for our nice comfortable lives, though we are the richest nation on the planet. We give thanks to the LORD because his steadfast love endures forever.
Fear and anxiety can overwhelm us, making us hopeless, sick and self destructive. With the Lord and his steadfast love we can do what Peter says in 1 Peter 5:7, and cast all our cares on Jesus because he cares for us. And like David says in Psalm 50:22, “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

So, putting feet to their faith, they went out, with the worshipers leading the army.

²² And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.²³ For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.

God kept his word and fought their battle. He basically inspired a civil war within the nations that had banded together to defeat Judah. Some scholars believe God may have sent some Angelic warriors to start the battle and confusion. God took care of the enemy as soon as Judah began worshiping. Their going and singing didn’t save them, but their going and singing was clear evidence of their faith that God would save them, and he did.

Salvation & Blessing

²⁴ When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. ²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. ²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the LORD. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day.

Beracah means “blessing.” What I love about this is that God blessed Judah with the spoil from three nations worth of soldiers and then they turned around and blessed the LORD. It’s another form of thanksgiving, of making sure we recognize where blessings come from, and who to honor for them. We don’t believe in coincidence or luck. God is sovereign. He knows all things. Judah didn’t fight that battle, remember? The spoil was theirs because God defeated their enemy and then gave it to them as a gift. It’s a picture of the Gospel, just like Jesus defeated Satan, sin and death for us and then gives us free gifts of salvation, his own righteousness, and eternal life.

²⁷ Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.²⁸ They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the LORD.²⁹ And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.”

The Battle is God’s

Verse 29 says that the “fear of God” came upon Israel’s enemies when they heard the Lord was fighting their battles. You can know your enemy will see who is fighting for you, then they will be the one to tremble in fear.

The people of Israel fasted, prayed, went into battle with “sacred courage” singing, then returned home still singing. What are you facing right now? Have you cried out to God saying “I don’t know what to do!” Pray instead like Jehosephat saying, “I don’t know what to do but my eyes are on you.” And then don’t look away, don’t get impatient, don’t let the enemy fool you into thinking God’s busy doing something else. The battle is God’s, He is fighting for you. His love for you is steadfast and endures forever.

In Matthew 10:29 Jesus says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”  So fight fear with faith. Set your eyes on Christ. Fast and pray. Believe God’s Word with sacred courage. Worship and give thanks. Rest in the victory you have in Jesus.