"Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir Defeated
It
happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon,
and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against
Jehoshaphat. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great
multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and
they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). And Jehoshaphat feared,
and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all
Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from
all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
Then
Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house
of the Lord, before the new court, and said: “O Lord God of our fathers,
are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of
the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no
one is able to withstand You? Are You not our God, who drove out the
inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the
descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwell in it, and
have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ‘If disaster
comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand
before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this
temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and
save.’ And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom
You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt,
but they turned from them and did not destroy them—here they are,
rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have
given us to inherit. O our God, will You not judge them? For we have
no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do
we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.
Then
the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son
of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the
sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, “Listen, all
you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King
Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed
because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but
God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the
Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the
Wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle.
Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who
is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed;
tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”
And
Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah
and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the
Lord. Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the
children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with
voices loud and high.
So they rose early in the morning and went
out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat
stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem:
Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His
prophets, and you shall prosper.” And when he had consulted with the
people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should
praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were
saying:
“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”
Now
when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against
the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah;
and they were defeated. For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up
against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them.
And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to
destroy one another.
So when Judah came to a place overlooking
the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their
dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.
When
Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found
among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious
jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could
carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there
was so much. And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of
Berachah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore the name of that
place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day. Then they
returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of
them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them
rejoice over their enemies. So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed
instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. And the
fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard
that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. Then the realm
of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.
The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign
So
Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he
became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s
name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. And he walked in the way of
his father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in
the sight of the Lord. Nevertheless the high places were not taken
away, for as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of
their fathers.
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and
last, indeed they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani,
which is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
After this
Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel,
who acted very wickedly. And he allied himself with him to make ships
to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber. But Eliezer
the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying,
“Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed
your works.” Then the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to
go to Tarshish."
1. "Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, ...........................
2. Jehoshaphat feared and Who did he seek?
3. What did Jehoshaphat do?
4. "So Judah gathered together to ask help from the ........................
5. What did Jehoshaphat say?
6.
"For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming
..................................... nor do we know what to do, but
our eyes ...............................................
7. Who stood before the Lord?
8. "Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon .......................................
9. "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for .................................
10. What were the instructions that were given to them?
11.
"And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all
Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed ........................
12.
"Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children
of the Korahites stood up to
...........................................
13. "Jehoshaphat stood and said ......................................................
14.
"And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who
should ..............................................................
15. "Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set .................................................
16. "For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against ...............................................
17.
"And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir,
they
.....................................................................
18.
"So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked
toward the ............................................................
19.
"When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they
found
.........................................................................
20. "And on the fourth day they ..................................................
21.
"Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat
in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with
......................................................................................
22. "So they came to Jerusalem, with ................................................
23. "And the fear of God was on .....................................................
24. How important is praising God?
25. What must you do in difficult situations?
B. Fear
C. Worship God / Keeping your eyes on the Lord
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