seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Chronicles 20:14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.
15 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. 16 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. 17 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.’”
18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his[c] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his love endures forever.”
for his love endures forever.”
22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 23 The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing[d] and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah[e] to this day.
27 Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies.28 They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.
29 The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.
c. 2 Chronicles 20:21 Or him with the splendor of
d. 2 Chronicles 20:25 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts corpses
e. 2 Chronicles 20:26 Berakah means praise.
Is this a story of mass hypnosis? Did those Israeli troops just go out and stand in specific spots while singing... and as a result.....there was some kind of a massacre?
This is from the easy English site.
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel. He was a Levite and he was a descendant of Asaph. Asaph lived when David was king. Jahaziel stood up among the people and he spoke to them a prophecy from the LORD.
They were afraid and the situation depressed them. But he told them that there was no cause for them to be afraid. The battle was God’s and God would fight it. The army of Jehoshaphat would not need to fight at all.
The army of Judah had to go the next day to the valley that leads to the Desert of Jeruel. They must get ready as if for battle. Then they would stand. And they would watch what would happen. The enemy would come through the Pass of Ziz.
The Pass of Ziz was a mountain path. It started about 7 miles (11 kilometres) north of En-Gedi. It went from the sea up to the Valley of Beracah, west of the town called Tekoa. The Desert of Jeruel was probably a flat area near Tekoa. The enemy would come this way to the Valley of Beracah, which leads to the Desert of Jeruel.
Jehoshaphat and the people believed what Jahaziel said. They all fell down and they worshipped the LORD. Then some of the Levites stood up and they led the people to praise the LORD.
Tekoa town was on a high hill. The Tekoa desert was to the east below the town.
Jehoshaphat sent the Levite singers in front of the army. They sang to the LORD. They praised the LORD. They thanked the LORD for his love. They sang as if they had won the battle already. In effect, they had, because God had promised it.
As the Israelites began to sing, the LORD started the battle. He put men in places where they could surprise the enemy. We do not know who these men were. There is a tradition that they might have been angels. But it is more probable that they were just men.
The enemy came to attack the Israelites. But before they could reach the Israelites, the LORD defeated them. He caused confusion in the enemy camp. As a result, the soldiers from Ammon and Moab killed all the soldiers from Mount Seir (that is Edom). Then the soldiers from Ammon and the soldiers from Moab fought against each other.
The men from Judah looked for the enemy camp. They expected to see a large camp. They should have seen hundreds of soldiers who were ready for war. But instead, they saw the dead bodies of the whole army.
Jehoshaphat led his army back to Jerusalem. The musicians led them into the city and to the LORD’s temple. There they praised the LORD with joy.
News about the defeat of the men from Moab, Ammon and the people called Meunites went to all the countries round Judah. They knew that God had done this. So, they were too afraid of him to make war with Judah. So, there was a time of peace.
Yep.... mass hypnosis.... God set his troops in the perfect place and while the Levites sang the enemy was convinced that they should kill one another. If this battle were to happen today..... I bet people would swear it was a gas attack. People would not believe that God would get involved in human's battles. These aren't just any humans though. These are God's chosen.
The commentary at blueletterbible.org has a pretty good explanation of the battle plan.
You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD: Judah did not need to fight in this battle, yet it did not mean there was nothing for them to do. It was a significant step of faith to position yourselves, to stand still, and to believe that you would see the salvation of the LORD in the face of a large attacking army.
Tomorrow go out against them: There were any number of ways that God could have defeated these armies assembled against Judah, but He appointed a way that demanded the participation of faith on behalf of Judah. They had to work on a faith-partnership with God.
Just stand there and look pretty.... sing my praises.... and pick up the plunder. Yep.... that would not go over in today's society at all. Meanwhile.... I know what they did with the plunder.... what about the bodies... oh that's right... the birds.... the birds and the animals had a feast, I guess.... smell the stench???? By the fourth day that place must have been ripe.
