Jehoshaphat: God answers his prayer
“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’” (2 Chronicles 20:15).
Jehoshaphat finished his prayer with the words, “our eyes are upon you” (v. 12). Like a shepherd, he stood before God with all his people, their little ones, wives, and children, looking up to heaven. Essentially, they were waiting on God.
God does not take His time responding to Jehoshaphat’s prayer. In the silence that followed, the Spirit of God speaks through Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah: “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat!” It was Jehoshaphat who had led the nation to seek the Lord, but the Lord responds to everyone in the country. He starts with the ordinary people of Judah, who would have felt the invasion first. Then He speaks to Jerusalem, where the Temple, the centre of the worship of God, was under threat. Finally, to a king who delighted in the ways of God. Jahaziel’s first words were words of comfort, “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude.”
The Lord often addressed the fear in the hearts of those He came to save. He said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid; only believe” (Mark 5:36). Paul writes in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Peter writes, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7). Here, hidden away in 2 Chronicles, a book we don’t often read, we have one of the most vivid examples of God taking His people’s cares and making them His own and, in doing so, removing their fear. We often think about casting our care upon the Saviour and the relief and peace this brings. Perhaps we don’t think enough about the Lord making our cares His own. The language is profound: “the battle is not yours, but God’s”. By making our cares His, He shows us both His love and His power. The people stood before the Lord in their weakness and need. God responded by standing between His people and all their fears. The Lord still does this.
Jahaziel explains they were to go to the battlefield, not to fight but to rejoice in God’s salvation. He said, ‘Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.”’ God takes them back to the experience of their forefathers at the Red Sea when Moses said, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today … The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:13-14).
In his hymn, “We’ll sing of the Shepherd that died”, Thomas Kelly writes,
This Shepherd by pity was led
To stand between us and the foe,
And willingly died in our stead.
The power of Christ’s love for us was expressed in the giving of Himself. Now in resurrection, He lives for us so that we can become, through faith, “more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). The Lord is with us!
