“Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.” — 2 Chronicles 20:17
The battle account we find in today’s text provides us with helpful instruction on trusting God when we face severe trials. One day King Jehoshaphat’s intelligence sources came with the horrifying news that an enemy coalition was coming against Judah and was only about thirty-five miles south of Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat and his entire kingdom were in grave danger. The king responded in the right way: he called a national prayer meeting and encouraged the people to trust God in the face of this overwhelming crisis. They did so, and God intervened. Judah literally won the war by prayer alone, without swinging a single sword!
Thousands of years later, God intervened for another nation that turned to God in prayer during a time of crisis. In May of 1940, World War II was raging across Europe. British, Belgian, and French forces were falling back across France and a thrust by Nazi Germany through the Ardennes successfully cut the Allied army in half. By May 19, Britain was looking for ways to get its forces back across the English Channel. By May 24, the Germans were poised to capture Dunkirk, the last port the British could feasibly use for evacuation. Almost 400,000 troops were trapped on the beaches there with a real threat of annihilation.
King George VI of England called for a National Day of Prayer to plead for divine intervention. In his address to the nation he said, “Let us with one heart and soul, humbly but confidently, commit our cause to God and ask His aid, that we may valiantly defend the right as it is given to us to see it.” In response, thousands of people flocked into churches to pray. The special service held in London’s Westminster Abbey filled to overflowing, and hundreds more kept vigil outside. “Nothing like this has ever happened before” was how one newspaper described the scene.
Then something occurred that historians, many decades later, still cannot explain. On the very day King George VI called the nation to pray, Hitler halted the German offensive only ten miles from Dunkirk. For nearly three days, as England knelt and petitioned God for deliverance, German tanks remained stationary. This gave the British forces time to form a defensive perimeter and move many of their troops to the English Channel.
Then another miracle occurred. Dunkirk was engulfed by inclement weather, making any effective response from the Nazis difficult. Meanwhile, word spread across England of the need for boats to cross the channel to Dunkirk to help evacuate the stranded soldiers. Men in rowboats, tugboats, fishing trawlers, and motorboats responded. Some of these small, unarmed crafts had never before been taken out of sight of land, and many lacked navigational equipment.
The English Channel is typically rough and choppy—not a good situation for inexperienced seamen—but once again something amazing happened. As the first small boats arrived on the shores of Dunkirk and soldiers began climbing into them, the water was calm, and yet there was still a thick, protective cloud cover. Back and forth the little boats went. A few at a time would load up a couple dozen men, head across the foggy channel, and then return for more. In the end, 338,226 British and Allied troops made it safely across the English Channel in a three-day period. The “Miracle of Dunkirk,” as it came to be known, remains the largest amphibious evacuation ever undertaken in wartime.1
While we may never personally face an enemy army arrayed against us in a physical battle, we will face spiritual battles. The enemy of our souls will attempt to overthrow us. However, we have a divine Helper who will never fail us if we place our trust in Him. How do we do that? We must recognize that our own strength is insufficient, and that the battle is not ours, but the Lord’s. We will need to make sure we are obeying God in every area to the best of our knowledge and are seeking His interests rather than self-oriented desires. Also, like Jehoshaphat and King George VI, we must ask for divine help. When we take these steps, we will find that we can rely on God’s power to win the battle for us!
1. Evan Miller, “The Four Miracles of Dunkirk,” Guideposts, God’s Grace, accessed September 2, 2023, https://www.guideposts.org/angels-and-miracles/ miracles/gods-grace/the-four-miracles-of-dunkirk/.
Chapter 20 of 2 Chronicles relates the invasion of Judah by the combined forces of the Moabites, Ammonites, and other allies (verses 1-4), Jehoshaphat’s prayer and God’s response through the prophet Jahaziel (verses 5-19), and the deliverance and defeat of Judah’s enemies (verses 20-30). The chapter concludes in verses 31-37 with summary remarks about the reign of Jehoshaphat.
When Jehoshaphat received word of the coming invasion, three responses are noted in verse 3: he feared, he set himself to seek the Lord, and he called the nation to express their humility and total dependence upon God through a public fast. Based on verses 4-5, it appears that the people assembled in the house of the Lord to pray for deliverance; this was in accordance with Solomon’s prayer in 2 Chronicles 6:34-35.
Jehoshaphat stood before the assembly to lead the people in a prayer that is recorded in verses 6-12. In it, Jehoshaphat reminded God that He had not permitted Israel to invade these nations when they came from Egypt to the Promised Land (see Deuteronomy 2:8-9 and 2:19). The implication was that since they had obeyed His divine prohibition, He should not allow these enemy nations to destroy Judah now. Jehoshaphat openly admitted that he did not have the solution. Their only recourse was to trust that God’s power would protect Judah when nothing else could.
Following Jehoshaphat’s prayer, the people seemingly stood silently before the Lord, waiting upon Him for direction or encouragement. Then God responded through the prophet Jahaziel. The divine command was to not be afraid or dismayed, because the battle belonged to God, and He would fight on behalf of Judah. They were to go out on the coming day to a specified location “by the cliff of Ziz” (verse 16)—an ascent which led inland to the northwest of En-gedi. God knew the plans of the attacking armies and He relayed this information to the king and people of Judah. In response, the people worshipped the Lord, who promised to save His people from this threat.
The next day, the people “rose early in the morning” to follow God’s command (verse 20). Verse 21 indicates that Jehoshaphat appointed singers to lead the army. It was clear that he expected a battle because he brought the army, but it was also clear that he expected a supernatural intervention because he instructed the singers and worshippers to go first.
The exact meaning of the phrase “the Lord set ambushments” in verse 22 is unclear. Possibly God used supernatural agents, or He may have motivated the inhabitants of the land to rise up against the invaders. Whatever the case, the result was panic among Judah’s enemies, causing them to fight among themselves and destroy one another. Based on verse 24, it seems that the army of Judah, led by the singing worshippers, never actually engaged the enemy forces. By the time they arrived at “the watchtower in the wilderness,” the enemy soldiers were already dead and no one had escaped. All Judah had to do was to collect the spoil, which was so great that the task took three days.
Verses 26-30 describe the thanksgiving of the people, and their return to Jerusalem “with joy.” News of this great victory came to neighboring countries, and the “fear of God” came upon them. As a result, Judah enjoyed peace for the remainder of Jehoshaphat’s reign.
The final verses of chapter 20 provide a summary of Jehoshaphat’s reign and an account of his unwise maritime alliance with Ahaziah King of Israel, which resulted in God’s divine judgment upon the fleet. A parallel account is found in 1 Kings 22:41-50.
III. The history of the kings of Judah
D. The reign of Jehoshaphat
3. The Ammonite invasion of Judah (20:1-30)
a. The invasion (20:1-4)
b. The prayer of Jehoshaphat for deliverance (20:5-13)
c. The prophecy of Jahaziel (20:14-17)
d. The praise for the Lord’s answer (20:18-19)
e. The defeat of the Ammonites (20:20-30)
(1) The defeat (20:20-23)
(2) The spoils (20:24-30)
4. The summary of his reign (20:31-34)
5. The fateful alliance with Ahaziah (20:35-37)
When Judah’s king and the people of the nation prayed and committed their perilous situation to God, He intervened on their behalf and a great victory was won. When we face spiritual battles, we can take the same steps and anticipate the same response from Him.
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