Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in Yahweh’s house, before the new court; and he said, “Yahweh, the God of our fathers, aren’t you God in heaven? Aren’t you ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in your hand, so that no one is able to withstand you. Didn’t you, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it to the offspring of Abraham your friend forever? They lived in it, and have built you a sanctuary in it for your name, saying, ‘If evil comes on us—the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this house, and before you (for your name is in this house), and cry to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ Now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned away from them, and didn’t destroy them; behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
All Judah stood before Yahweh, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
Then Yahweh’s Spirit came on Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly; and he said, “Listen, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, king Jehoshaphat. Yahweh says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, and don’t be dismayed because of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight this battle. Set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed. Go out against them tomorrow, for Yahweh is with you.’ ”
Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Yahweh, worshiping Yahweh. The Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise Yahweh, the God of Israel, with an exceedingly loud voice.
They rose early in the morning, and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh your God, so you will be established! Believe his prophets, so you will prosper.”
When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to Yahweh, and give praise in holy array, as they go out before the army, and say, “Give thanks to Yahweh; for his loving kindness endures forever.” When they began to sing and to praise, Yahweh set ambushers against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were struck. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. When they had finished the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy each other.
When Judah came to the place overlooking the wilderness, they looked at the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none who escaped.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23 He groundeth his prayer upon God’s power, whereby he…
He groundeth his prayer upon God’s power, whereby he is able to help, and also on his mercy, which he will continue toward his, forasmuch as he hath once chosen them and began to show his graces toward them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv5–24 2Ch 20:5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of…
2Ch 20:5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
Ver. 5. Before the new court.] Omnes docti ignorant quodnam fuerit atrium illud novum, saith Vatablus. It is generally taken for the priest’s court newly repaired, as the altar had been. {2Ch 15:8}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24 In the house of the Lord, largely so called,…
In the house of the Lord, largely so called, i.e. in one of the courts of the temple, even in the court of the people, and upon that brazen scaffold which Solomon had erected for such a purpose, 2Ch 6:13.
Before the new court, i.e. besides and before the priests’ court; for there were but two courts belonging to the temple, as is noted 2Ki 21:5; 23:12. And Jehoshaphat stood in the one, which must be that of the people; and before the other, which therefore can be no other than that of the priests’, which is called the new court, because it had been lately renewed when the altar was renewed, 2Ch 15:8, as the command of love is called a new command, Joh 13:34; 1Jo 2:8, because it was so solemnly renewed, and revived, and reinforced by Christ.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv14, 20 We have here God's gracious answer to Jehoshaphat's prayer;…
We have here God's gracious answer to Jehoshaphat's prayer; and it was a speedy answer. While he was yet speaking God heard: before the congregation was dismissed they had assurance given them that they should be victorious; for it is never in vain to seek God. 1. The spirit of prophecy came upon a Levite that was present, not in any place of eminency, but in the midst of the congregation, Ch2 20:14. The Spirit, like the wind, blows where and on whom he listeth. He was of the sons of Asaph, and therefore one of the singers; on that office God would put an honour. Whether he was a prophet before this or no is uncertain, most probably he was, which would make him the more regarded. There needed no sign, the thing itself was to be performed the very next day, and that would be confirmation enough to his prophecy. 2. He encouraged them to trust in God, though the danger was very threatening (Ch2 20:15): "Be not afraid; you have admitted fear enough to bring you to God, do not now admit that which will drive you to God, do not now admit that which will drive you from him again. The battle is not yours; it is not in your own strength, not for your own cause, that you engage; the battle is God's: he does and will, as you have desired, interest himself in the cause." 3. He gives them intelligence of the motions of the enemy, and orders them to march towards them, with particular directions where they should find them. Tomorrow (the day after the fast) go you down against them, Ch2 20:16, Ch2 20:17. It is fit that he who commands the deliverance should command those for whom the deliverance is to be wrought, and give the necessary orders, both for time and place. 4. He assures them that they should be, not the glorious instruments, but the joyful spectators, of the total defeat of the enemy: "You shall not need to strike a stroke; the work shall be done to your hands; only stand still and see it," Ch2 20:17. As Moses said to Israel at the Red Sea (Exo 14:13), "God is with you, who is able to do his work himself, and will do it. If the battle be his, the victory shall be his too." Let but the Christian soldier go out against his spiritual enemies, and the God of peace will tread them under his feet and make him more than a conqueror. 5. Jehoshaphat and his people received these assurances with faith, reverence, and thankfulness. (1.) They bowed their heads, Jehoshaphat first, and then all the people, fell before the Lord, and worshipped, receiving with a holy awe and fear of God this token of his favour, and saying with faith, Be it unto us according to thy word. (2.) They lifted up their voices in praise to God, Ch2 20:19. An active faith can give thanks for a promise though it be not yet performed, knowing that God's bonds are as good as ready money. God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, Psa 60:5.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv5–24 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and…
And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord,.... In the temple, in the court of the people, where the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem were assembled, in the midst of which he stood very probably on the brasen scaffold erected by Solomon, Ch2 6:13,
before the new court: which must be the court of the priests, for he stood in the great court, or court of the people, and before this, which might be so called, because renewed or repaired when the altar was by Asa, Ch2 15:8. Dr. Lightfoot (t) thinks it was the court of the women; but it is a question whether there was any such court in the first temple; or that the great court was then divided into two, one for the men, the other for the women.
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(t) Prospect of the Temple, ch 18. p. 1090.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv5, 7, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24 The house - Largely so called, in the court…
The house - Largely so called, in the court of the people, upon that brazen scaffold which Solomon had erected. New court - Before the priests court: which is called the new court, because it had lately been renewed when the altar was renewed.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, 20, 22 Verse 6. Jehoshaphat stood] What an instructive sight was…
Verse 6. Jehoshaphat stood] What an instructive sight was this! The king who proclaimed the fast was foremost to observe it, and was on this occasion the priest of the people; offering in the congregation, without form or any premeditation, one of the most sensible, pious, correct, and as to its composition one of the most elegant prayers ever offered under the Old Testament dispensation.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23 2Ch 20:6-7. And said, O Lord God, &c. —…
2Ch 20:6-7. And said, O Lord God, &c. — Jehoshaphat himself was the mouth of the congregation to God, and did not devolve the work upon his chaplains. For though the kings were forbidden to burn incense, they were allowed to pray and preach. Art thou not God in heaven, &c. — Which none of the gods of the heathen are. Is not thy dominion supreme, over kingdoms themselves, and universal, over all kingdoms, even those of the heathen, that know thee not? Art thou not our God? — In covenant with us? To whom should we seek, to whom should we trust for relief, but to him whom we have chosen for our God, and who has chosen us for his people? Who gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend — To whom thou didst engage thyself to be his friend, and the friend of his seed for ever, and therefore we trust thou wilt not forsake us, his posterity.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 10, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 24 The new court - In Solomon’s Temple there were…
The new court - In Solomon’s Temple there were two courts. One of these had probably been renovated by Jehoshaphat or by his father, Asa 2Ch 15:8, and was known as “the new court.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24 New court of the priests. Why it is so…
New court of the priests. Why it is so called, does not appear. C. --- Some understand the court for the women; (Salien) others, that for Gentiles. Le Clerc --- Probably some of the courts had been found too spacious after the schism, and had been neglected; but now, as many had returned to serve the Lord in the dominions of Josaphat, he had made some repairs. T.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24 Jehoshaphat stood . . . in the house of…
Jehoshaphat stood . . . in the house of the Lord, before the new court--that is, the great or outer court (Ch2 4:9) called the new court, probably from having been at that time enlarged or beautified.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 5. Before the new court — This was probably…
5. Before the new court — This was probably the outer, or great court, (2Ch_4:9,) where the people were wont to assemble. It is spoken of as in the house of the Lord, because it belonged to, and so was a part of, the temple in the wider sense in which the term house of Jehovah was sometimes used. It is called the new court, either because it had recently been repaired and renovated by Asa or Jehoshaphat, or because it was a later arrangement than the inner court of the priests. The tabernacle had only one court, but Solomon or David seems to have planned this second or outer court as something new. Jehoshaphat stood before this new court, that is, at its entrance into the inner court, and there, in the presence of the congregation, offered the beautiful and appropriate prayer that follows.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 5. stood] Rather, rose up.
5. stood] Rather, rose up.
before the new court] The Temple of Solomon seems to have differed in respect of its courts from the Second Temple; and it is difficult to tell of what court the Chronicler is thinking in this passage. The Heb. word for “court” here is ḥâçer, but in 2Ch_4:9 (see note there) the “court (ḥâççr) of the priests” is distinguished from a court called the “great court” (Heb. “great Azârâh”). Perhaps the Chronicler means here “the ḥâççr of the priests” for Jehoshaphat stands not in but before it. Solomon’s great prayer was offered according to the Chronicler (2Ch_6:13) in “the court” (Heb. Azârâh).
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5–13 (no parallel in Kings). The Prayer of Jehoshaphat
This prayer should be compared with Solomon’s (2Ch_6:14 ff.).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–24 (5) And Jehoshaphat stood.—Comp. 2Ch_6:12-13.
(5) And Jehoshaphat stood.—Comp. 2Ch_6:12-13.
Judah and Jerusalem.—So 2Ch_20:27. Jerusalem is thus mentioned side by side with the country, as being by far the most important part of it. (See also the headings of Isaiah 1, 2)
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Before the new court.—This name, “the New Court,” only occurs here. It probably designates the “Great” (2Ch_4:9) or outer court of the Temple, in which the people assembled. Jehoshaphat stood facing the people, in front of the entrance to the Court of the Priests. Perhaps the court was called New, as having been recently repaired or enlarged. Syr. and Arab., “before the new gate.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 The new court. (see 2Ch_4:9 2Ch_15:8)
The new court. (see 2Ch_4:9 2Ch_15:8)
Vers. 5-19.
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The prayer of Jehoshaphat.
I THE SCENE.
1. The place.
(1) Jerusalem, the metropolis of the land, whose safety was imperilled.
(2) The house of Jehovah, the sanctuary on Mount Moriah, erected by Solomon as a dwelling-place for the God of Israel.
(3) The new court, the outer or great court of the temple. (1Ki_7:12) A quadrangle, this was probably called "new," because of having been restored or repaired by either Asa or Jehoshaphat.
2. The assembly.
(1) The inhabitants of Jerusalem with their wives and children.
(2) The representatives of Judah from all the cities of the land whether accompanied with their wives and children uncertain.
3. The suppliant. Jehoshaphat acted as the mouthpiece for himself and his people. Standing forth in the centre of the congregation, he offered "without form or any premeditation (?) one of the most sensible, pious, correct, and, as to its composition, one of the most elegant prayers ever offered under the Old Testament dispensation" (Adam Clarke).
II THE PRAYER.
1. The Being addressed Jehovah. Adored as:
(1) Personal and present. The God of Jehoshaphat and his people (vers. 7, 12). "He that cometh to God must believe that he is". (Heb_11:6)
(2) Ancestral and faithful. The God of their fathers (ver. 6), who had covenanted with these fathers, (Deu_5:2) and would remain true to the engagements then undertaken (2Ch_6:14; 1Ki_8:57)
(3) Celestial and mundane. The God of heaven as well as of earth, who dwelt among the armies of light and ruled among the kingdoms of the heathen. (Dan_4:35)
(4) Universal and local. Not the God of Israel and Judah alone, but the God to whom all empires and sovereigns owed allegiance (Psa_103:19 Psa_135:5, Psa_135:6; 1Ch_29:11; Dan_4:17; Rev_11:4)
(5) Omnipresent and omnipotent. Possessed of resistless power and might which no one could withstand (ver. 6).
2. The pleas offered.
(1) The covenant mercies of Jehovah in first gifting the land to his friend, their father Abraham, and to his seed for ever; (Gen_12:1 Gen_13:17) second, driving out the inhabitants of the land before them (Exo_33:2 Exo_34:11; Deu_11:23; Psa_44:2) and third, in establishing them in possession of the vacated territory, so that for centuries they had dwelt in it (Lev_25:18; Deu_12:10)
(2) The expectation of Judah, that Jehovah would hear and keep them when in danger they called upon his Name (ver. 9). In this hope the temple had been built, and in the belief that this hope would be realized they now stood before Jehovah"s presence. (Psa_146:5)
(3) The ingratitude of the enemy, whom Israel on her way from Egypt had not been suffered to invade, (Deu_2:4, Deu_2:9, Deu_2:19) and who now repaid her clemency by attempting to drive her from her land. Such ingratitude on the part of nations and individuals is by no means infrequent. The only things men find it easy to remember are insults and injuries; kindnesses remain with difficulty in the human memory (Gen_40:23 1Sa_23:5-12; Ecc_9:14-16; 2Ch_24:22)
(4) The helplessness of Judah. Jehoshaphat and his people were without strength to contend with so great a company. Neither knew they in what direction to turn or what to do. No better plea can be laid before Heaven than a confession of human weakness, (Psa_6:2 Psa_22:11) since God"s strength is perfected in weakness. (2Co_12:9)
(5) The attitude in which they then stood. Their eyes were waiting upon Jehovah, (Psa_25:15 Psa_121:1, 2 123:1, 2) trusting, desiring, expecting. They had placed their hope in and anticipated their help from him, as in a similar crisis Asa had done (2Ch_14:11; Psa_121:1)
3. The petitions urged. That Jehovah would
(1) judge and defeat their enemies;
(2) hear and help them, the petitioners. The two requests were inseparable. Deliverance to Judah could only come through destruction of her adversaries. The Church of God may still conjoin the two petitions.
III THE ANSWER.
1. From whom it proceeded. Jehovah (ver. 15), or the Spirit of Jehovah (ver. 14). No answers to prayer except from him. Human lips can reply for God only in so far as God puts his words into them (Isa_51:16; Eze_3:17; Jer_5:14)
2. Through whom communicated. Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph; a man of
(1) honorable pedigree, being the fifth in descent, not from the Hemanite Mattaniah, a contemporary of David, (1Ch_25:4, 1Ch_25:16) but from Nethaniah the Asaphite; (1Ch_25:2, 1Ch_25:12) the letter n having been accidentally changed into a (Movers, Keil, Bertheau);
(2) honourable rank, being a Levite, and therefore of priestly station; and
(3) honourable calling, being, as a son of Asaph, a leader of psalmody in the temple worship, and now suddenly invested with the dignity of the prophetic office. God can find prophets anywhere when he wants them, not being bound to prophetical any more than to apostolical succession Elisha at the plough, (1Ki_19:19) Amos among the herdsmen. (Amo_1:1)
1. To whom it was addressed. To all Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to Jehoshaphat, the persons in whose name and on whose behalf the prayer had been offered.
2. Of what it consisted.
(1) A dissuasive against fear. "Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude," similar to that given by Moses to the fleeing Israelites, (Exo_14:13) and for a similar reason, that the battle was Jehovah"s more than theirs, and he would fight with and for them (Exo_14:14; 1Sa_17:47) The same is true of the battle the Christian Church is summoned to maintain against the three powers of evil, known as the world, the flesh, and the devil. (Mat_10:28)
(2) A command to advance. "Go ye down against them" (ver. 16), exactly as Moses was instructed to speak unto the children of Israel that they should go forward. (Exo_14:15) Little as God"s people can or could do if left to themselves, they are not at liberty to play the coward in face of the foe (Deu_31:6; 2Sa_10:12; Mar_15:43; Act_9:27; 2Pe_1:5) to subside into despair or take to their heels. Their duty is to stand fast, quit themselves like men, be strong, and persevere.
(3) A direction where to find the enemy. "Behold, they come up by the cliff or, "ascent" of Ziz, and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel" (ver. 16). This a part of the flat country extending from the Dead Sea to the neighbourhood of Tekoa, and called El Husasah, from a wady on its northern side (Robinson, vol. 2. p. 243). The ascent or mountain-road, Hazziz, led towards it from Engedi.
(4) An instruction what to do on meeting them. To set themselves in battle array stand still and see the salvation of God (ver. 17). They would not require to fight. Jehovah would do the rest. Compare again the orders of Moses to the Israelites. (Exo_14:13) The instruction here given has its counterpart in that given by the gospel to sinners: "To him that worketh not, but believeth," etc. (Rom_4:5)
(5) An encouragement to hope for victory. "The Lord would be with them" (Ver. 17) and fight for them as he did for Israel at the Red Sea (Exo_14:13) and at Gibeon, (Jos_10:14) as Moses promised he would do every time they faced their enemies, (Deu_20:4) and as Nehemiah (Neh_4:20) afterwards believed he did. The same presence is enjoyed by the Church of God still. (Mat_27:20)
IV THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
1. By the king. "Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground" (ver. 18), in token of humility and reverence, as well as of adoration and submission (2Ch_29:30; Gen_18:2 Gen_24:26; Exo_4:31 Exo_34:8 Jos_23:7)
2. By the people. "All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord," in a solemn act of worship.
3. By the Levites. Those belonging to the children of the Kohathites and the children of the Korahites "stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with an exceeding loud voice," adding notes of thanksgiving and rejoicing to those of adoration and self-humiliation which Jehovah"s gracious answer inspired.
Learn:
1. The sorest need of man a God to flee to in the hour of trouble andday of calamity.
2. The highest glory of God that he can hear prayer and rescue theperishing.
3. The greatest peril of the Church"s enemies the fact that Jehovahfights against them.
4. The surest guarantee of victory for the Church of Jesus Christ thefact that the battle is the Lord"s.
5. The brightest hope for an anxious sinner that he only needs to standstill and see the salvation of God. W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv5, 12, 15, 17, 20, 21 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah.
2Ch_20:5-13
And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah.
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Mans extremity is Gods opportunity
I. That in the discipline of life we should expect dangers and extremities. To know other resources we must learn the weakness of our own.
II. That in these dangers and extremities God has many ways of deliverance. Human agency but a small part of holy ministry. Birds and beasts, insects, elements of Nature, and hosts of angels under His command. Hence the folly of proscribing, measuring, or limiting in Gods work.
III. That in all dangers and extremities of life we should look to God for help. (J. Wolfendale.)
If, when evil cometh upon us.
The cause of famine and our duty
I. What is the cause of famine?
1. Dishonour of God (Eze_14:13).
2. Blasphemy (Jer_23:10).
3. Sabbath-breaking (Isa_58:13-14).
4. Contempt of Gods Word (Rev_22:18-19).
II. What should be our duty when God sends a famine upon the land?
1. Humbling ourselves before Him in prayer.
2. Showing kindness to our neighbours (Psa_41:1-2). (Charles A. Maguire, M.A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv12, 20 2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
A STRANGE BATTLE
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2Ch 20:12.
A formidable combination of neighbouring nations, of which Moab and Ammon, the ancestral enemies of Judah, were the chief, was threatening Judah. Jehoshaphat, the king, was panic-stricken when he heard of the heavy war-cloud that was rolling on, ready to burst in thunder on his little kingdom. His first act was to muster the nation, not as a military levy but as suppliants, ‘to seek help of the Lord.’ The enemy was camping down by the banks of the Dead Sea, almost within striking distance of Jerusalem. It seemed a time for fighting, not for praying, but even at that critical moment, the king and the men, whom it might have appeared that plain duty called to arms, were gathered in the Temple, and, hampered by their wives and children, were praying. Would they not have done better if they had been sturdily marching through the wilderness of Judah to front their foes? Our text is the close and the climax of Jehoshaphat’s prayer, and, as the event proved, it was the most powerful weapon that could have been employed, for the rest of the chapter tells the strangest story of a campaign that was ever written. No sword was drawn. The army was marshalled, but Levites with their instruments of music, not fighters with their spears, led the van, and as ‘they began to sing and to praise,’ sudden panic laid hold on the invading force, who turned their arms against each other. So when Judah came to some rising ground, on which stood a watch-tower commanding a view over the savage grimness of ‘the wilderness,’ it saw a field of corpses, stark and stiff and silent. Three days were spent in securing the booty, and on the fourth, Jehoshaphat and his men ‘assembled themselves in the Valley of Blessing,’ and thence returned a joyous multitude praising God for the victory which had been won for them without their having struck a blow. The whole story may yield large lessons, seasonable at all times. We deal with it, rather than with the fragment of the narrative which we have taken as our text.
I. We see here the confidence of despair.
Jehoshaphat’s prayer had stayed itself on God’s self-revelation in history, and on His gift of the land to their fathers. It had pleaded that the enemy’s hostility was a poor ‘reward’ for Israel’s ancient forbearance, and now, with a burst of agony, it casts down before God, as it were, Judah’s desperate plight as outnumbered by the swarm of invaders and brought to their last shifts-’we have no might against this great company . . . neither know we what to do.’ But the very depth of despair sets them to climb to the height of trust. That is a mighty ‘But,’ which buckles into one sentence two such antitheses as confront us here. ‘We know not what to do, but our eyes are upon Thee’-blessed is the desperation which catches at God’s hand; firm is the trust which leaps from despair!
The helplessness is always a fact, though most of us manage to get along for the most part without discovering it. We are all outnumbered and overborne by the claims, duties, hindrances, sorrows, and entanglements of life. He is not the wisest of men who, facing all that life may bring and take away, all that it must bring and take away, knows no quiver of nameless fear, but jauntily professes himself ready for all that life can inflict. But there come moments in every life when the false security in which shallow souls wrap themselves ignobly is broken up, and then often a paroxysm of terror or misery grips a man, for which he has no anodyne, and his despair is as unreasonable as his security. The meaning of all circumstances that force our helplessness on us is to open to us Jehoshaphat’s refuge in his-’our eyes are upon Thee.’ We need to be driven by the crowds of foes and dangers around to look upwards. Our props are struck away that we may cling to God. The tree has its lateral branches hewed off that it may shoot up heavenward. When the valley is filled with mist and swathed in evening gloom, it is the time to lift our gaze to the peaks that glow in perpetual sunshine. Wise and happy shall we be if the sense of helplessness begets in us the energy of a desperate faith. For these two, distrust of self and glad confidence in God, are not opposites, as naked distrust and trust are, but are complementary. He does not turn his eyes to God who has not turned them on himself, and seen there nothing to which to cling, nothing on which to lean. Astronomers tell us that there are double stars revolving round one axis and forming a unity, of which the one is black and the other brilliant. Self-distrust and trust in God are thus knit together and are really one.
II. We see here the peaceful assurance of victory that attends on faith.
A flash of inspiration came to one of the Levitical singers who had, no doubt, been deeply moved and had unconsciously fitted himself for receiving it. Divinely breathed confidence illuminated his waiting spirit, and a great message of encouragement poured from his lips. His words heartened the host more than a hundred trumpets braying in their ears. How much one man who has drunk in God’s assurance of victory can do to send a thrill of his own courage through more timorous hearts! Courage is no less contagious than panic. This Levite becomes the commander of the army, and Jehoshaphat and his captains ‘bow their heads’ and accept his plan for to-morrow, hearing in his ringing accents a message from Jehovah. The instructions given and at once accepted are as unlike those of ordinary warfare as is the whole incident; for there is to be no sword drawn nor blow struck, but they are to ‘stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.’ They are told where to find the enemy and are bid to go forth in order of battle against them, and they are assured ‘that the battle is not theirs, but God’ s.’ No wonder that the message was hailed as from heaven, and put new heart into the host, or that, when the messenger’s voice ceased, his brother Levites broke into shrill praise as for a victory already won. With what calm, triumphant hearts the camp would sleep that night!
May we not take that inspired Levite’s message as one to ourselves in the midst of our many conflicts both in the outward life and in the inward? If we have truly grasped God’s hands, and are fighting for what is accordant with His will, we have a right to feel that ‘the battle is not ours but God’ s,’ and to be sure that therefore we shall conquer. Of course we are not to say to ourselves, ‘God will fight for us, and we need not strike a blow,’ Jehoshaphat’s example does not fit our case in that respect, and we may thank God that it does not. We have a better lot than to ‘stand still and see the salvation of God,’ for we are honoured by being allowed to share the stress of conflict and the glow of battle as well as in the shout of victory. But even in the struggles of outward life, and much more in those of our spiritual nature, every man who watches his own career will many a time have to recognise God’s hand, unaided by any act of his own, striking for him and giving him victory; and in the spiritual life every Christian man knows that his best moments have come from the initiation of the Spirit who ‘bloweth where He listeth.’ How often we have been surprised by God’s help; how often we have been quickened by God’s inbreathed Spirit, and have been taught that the passivity of faith draws to us greater blessings than the activity of effort! ‘They also serve who only stand and wait,’ and they also conquer who in quietness and confidence keep themselves still and let God work for them and in them. The first great blessing of trust in God is that we may be at peace on the eve of battle, and the second is that in every battle it is, in truth, not we that fight, but God who fights for and in us.
III. We learn here the best preparation for the conflict.
When the morning dawned, the array was set in order and the march begun, and a strange array it was. In the van marched the Temple singers singing words that are music to us still: ‘Give thanks unto the Lord, for His mercy endureth for ever,’ and behind them came the ranks of Judah, no doubt swelling the volume of melody, that startled the wild creatures of the wilderness, and perhaps travelled through the still morning as far as the camp of the enemy. The singers had no armour nor weapons. They were clad in ‘the beauty of holiness,’ the priestly dress, and for sword and spear they carried harps and timbrels. Our best weapons are like their equipment.
We are most likely to conquer if we lift up the voice of thanks for victory in advance, and go into the battle expecting to triumph, because we trust in God. The world’s expectation of success is too often a dream, a will-o’-the-wisp that tempts to bogs where the beguiled victim is choked, though even in the world it is often true; ‘screw your courage to the sticking point, and we’ll not fail.’ But faith, that is the expectation of success based on God’s help and inspiring to struggles for things dear to His heart, is wont to fulfil itself, and by bringing God into the fray, to secure the victory. A thankful heart not seldom brings into existence that for which it is thankful.
IV. We see here the victory and the praise for it.
The panic that laid hold on the enemy, and turned their swords against each other, was more natural in an undisciplined horde such as these irregular levies of ancient times, than it would be in a modern army. Once started, the infection would spread, so we need not wonder that by the time that Judah arrived on the field all was over. How often a like experience attends us! We quiver with apprehension of troubles that never attack us. We dread some impending battlefield, and when we reach it, Jehoshaphat’s surprise is repeated, ‘and, behold they were dead bodies, fallen to the earth.’ Delivered from foes and fears, Judah’s first impulse was to secure the booty, for they were keen after wealth, and their ‘faith’ was not very pure or elevating. But their last act was worthier, and fitly ended the strange campaign. They gathered in some wady among the grim cliffs of the wilderness of Judah, which broke the dreariness of that savage stretch of country with perhaps verdure and a brook, and there they ‘blessed the Lord.’ The chronicler gives a piece of popular etymology, in deriving the name, ‘the valley of blessing,’ from that morning’s worship. Perhaps the name was older than that, and was given from a feeling of the contrast between the waste wilderness, which in its gaunt sterility seemed an accursed land, and the glen which with its trees and stream was indeed a ‘valley of blessing.’ If so, the name would be doubly appropriate after that day’s experience. Be that as it may, here we have in vivid form the truth that all our struggles and fightings may end in a valley of blessing, which will ring with the praise of the God who fights for us. If we begin our warfare with an appeal to God, and with prayerful acknowledgment of our own impotence, we shall end it with thankful acknowledgment that we are ‘more than conquerors through Him that loved us’ and fought for us, and our choral song of praise will echo through the true Valley of Blessing, where no sound of enemies shall ever break the settled stillness, and the host of the redeemed, like that army of Judah, shall bear ‘psalteries and harps and trumpets,’ and shall need spear and sword no more at all for ever.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v14 The Miraculous Overthrow of the Enemies
The Miraculous Overthrow of the Enemies
v. 14. Then upon Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation, putting a wonderful prophecy into his mouth;
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v. 15. and he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou, King Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s; it was He whose honor was at stake, and who would take steps to defend it.
v. 16. Tomorrow go ye down against them; behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz, the ascent of Haziz, the pass which led from the lowlands of the Dead Sea to the valley near Tekoa, southeast of Bethlehem; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel, for to that point this large, flat valley extends.
v. 17. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle, it would be fought and won without their swords and bows; set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem, the deliverance which they would experience. Fear not nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord will be with you.
v. 18. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, in grateful acknowledgment of the announcement made by God through His prophet; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshiping the Lord, joining the king in his act of thanksgiving.
v. 19. And the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korhites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high, in an anthem of praise flowing from the conviction of faith that the victory was even new gained.
v. 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, in an address delivered to the people at some convenient place, probably near the gate of the city from which they set forth, Hear me, O Judah and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord, your God, placing their trust in Him in unwavering faith, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, as the bearers of His messages, so shall ye prosper.
v. 21. And when he had consulted with the people, advised them, exhorted them to confidence in God, he appointed singers unto the Lord, to lead the procession as it was led forth to the valley, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, the holy beauty and glory of Jehovah as the one true God and Savior, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord, for His mercy endureth forever, probably Psalms 136, which sets forth the great deeds of God.
v. 22. And when they began to sing and to praise, in a singular service of worship based upon faith in the victory promised to them, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir which were come against Judah, and they were smitten. It seems that certain divisions of the invading hordes, eager for booty, had determined to waylay any forces that might come along. When these attacked their own confederates, however, the result was a wild self-slaughter of the invading army, every man regarding his neighbor as a traitor and an enemy.
v. 23. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, the Meunites, utterly to slay and destroy them; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, when practically the entire force of the Meunites was annihilated, everyone helped to destroy another, the wild slaughter continued, because they were all crazed with the lust of blood.
v. 24. And when Judah, the procession which had left Jerusalem in the morning, came toward the watch-tower in the wilderness, on a rise of ground not far from Tekoa, where they could overlook the entire valley, they looked unto the multitude, they watched for the approaching hordes, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth and none escaped, the entire hostile army was exterminated.
v. 25. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, costly dress-goods and garments, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away, an immense booty, for the nomadic tribes carried all their costly possessions with them. And they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. Thus the victory came to Jehoshaphat without the use of arms, as a gift of God’s goodness, in return for the simple trust which he and the people had placed in Him alone. The same almighty God is the Refuge of His children today.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 of Judah and Jerusalem
of Judah and Jerusalem
This refers to the people from these places. AT: "of the people from Judah and Jerusalem" (See: Metonymy)
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are you not God in heaven? Are you not the ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations?
Jehoshaphat uses this rhetorical question to emphasize that God is in heaven and his authority over all things. This question can be written as statement. AT: "you are indeed God in heaven and the ruler over all the kings of the earth." (See: Rhetorical Question)
Power and might are in your hand
The words "Power" and "might" mean basically the same thing and emphasize the greatness of Yahweh's power. The word "hand" refers to possession. AT: "You possess great power" or "You have great power and might" (See: Doublet and Synecdoche)
Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land ... to the descendants of Abraham?
Jehoshaphat uses this rhetorical question to emphasize that God drove their enemies from their land and gave it to the Israelites. This question can be written as statement. AT: "It was you who drove out those who lived in this land for the sake of your people Israel and who gave it permanently to the descendants of Abraham." (See: Rhetorical Question)
translationWords
assembly
Jerusalem
house of God
court
heaven
nation
hand
eternity
descend
Abraham
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv10, 14, 20 20:10 Mount Seir was another name for Edom (see…
20:10 Mount Seir was another name for Edom (see Gen 32:3 and the study note on Gen 25:25).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.