seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Chronicles 20:1 After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites[a] came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.
2 Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom,(b) from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said:
“Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’
10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance.12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.
a. 2 Chronicles 20:1 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew Ammonites
b. 2 Chronicles 20:2 One Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate Aram
This morning... while I was making my bed....I was thinking about the bible studies. It occurred to me that the pattern I have puts someone else's commentary ahead of my thoughts. I was thinking it would take less time to read if I left out the other guy's stuff and just posted my own commentary. Then I realized that I would probably get a really big head... and I would probably get the idea that I actually know what I'm talking about. Ironically, when I went to Bible.org this morning.... there was a long long long long sermon on the power of prayer instead of a commentary on what the verses mean. Enduring Word was a little better this morning.... but the easy English site seemed to be the least preachy.
Jehoshaphat did not expect an attack by an army from Moab, Ammon, and the people called Meunites. The Meunites were a people from Mount Seir in Edom. They may have come from a town called Maon. Maon was about 12 miles (19 kilometres) south and east of the city called Petra.
This army came from Edom, which was a territory to the east and south of the Dead Sea. The army came round the south of the Dead Sea. They had already beaten the people in En-Gedi. En-Gedi was a town about half way up on the western shore of the Dead Sea.
The news of this large army made Jehoshaphat afraid. But he trusted God rather than his own army. He called on all the people in Judah to ask the LORD for help. He told the people not to eat any food but to pray to the LORD. The people came together from all the towns of Judah to pray.
The people came to the LORD’s temple in Jerusalem. Then Jehoshaphat stood up in front of them. He stood in the new square. And he led the people in a prayer to the LORD.
In Solomon’s temple, there were two squares. It seems that either Asa or Jehoshaphat had repaired one of these squares. Also, it may be that they extended this square. So, they called it the new square.
The king’s prayer starts with statements that God rules in heaven and on earth. The LORD is more powerful than all people. The LORD gave the country of Israel to the descendants of Abraham for all time. The LORD is the God of this people and they have built his temple. Jehoshaphat then refers to the prayer of Solomon and to the LORD’s answer to that prayer (6:28-30; 7:13-15).
When the Israelites came from Egypt, God did not allow them to attack the nations of Mount Seir. And God told them not to fight Moab and Ammon (Deuteronomy chapter 2). The people whom God did not allow Israel to kill now attacked Israel.
The LORD gave Israel to the Israelites as their country. Now this large army had come to capture the country from God’s people. Therefore, God should protect his country and he should punish those people.
Jehoshaphat did have a strong army (17:14). But maybe he could not get it to the battle quickly enough. They were not ready for war. Jehoshaphat would rather trust God than his army. If God were not with them, their strength would be like weakness. They would not be able to defeat the enemy. So, Jehoshaphat asked the LORD for advice and help. He would depend on God and not on his own strength.
All the men, women and children in Judah stood there. They agreed with Jehoshaphat’s prayer.
To me.... this shows the results of sending teachers to the towns. These were not ignorant people anymore. Jehoshaphat, teachers, priests, and Levites had been traveling all around the districts of Judah and Benjamin... along with traveling to new towns as they were annexed. The people weren't standing around wondering "What the heck are they talking about? I'm supposed to pray? What that about?" The people knew what was going on now. They have been to school and they were learning the Mosaic Law. They now saw themselves for what they really were.... a Theocracy!Other nations were human governed. Other nations had kings or pharaohs who set themselves up as mini-gods. The power of the mini-god is all in the human's imagination. In a Theocracy.... God is in charge.... when other nations go to war with a Theocracy.... God knows how the battle ends... and if He's in a generous mood... He could just move time along to the end of the battle to cut down on the pain of being lanced with a sword or being run over by a horse and chariot rig. He could.... but He doesn't because He wants to give everyone the time to trust and time to pick a team... God's or human's.
So in the grand scheme of things.... I can hear the believers tapping their little feet.... while they wait for the rest of the humans to wake up and choose.... I can almost see them with their little arms crossed across their chests..... tapping their little believing toes... saying "Come on already.... Join the Theocracy.... We're Waiting".
In the Bible Study today.... Jehoshaphat said a prayer.... and the people of Judah are waiting on a response.
